Top Items:
Jennifer Steinhauer / The Caucus:
On a Senate Call, a Glimpse of Marching Orders — Um, Senators, ever heard of the mute button? — Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, Charles Schumer of New York …
RELATED:
The Hill:
Dems adopt divide and conquer strategy on spending cuts — Democrats are deploying a divide-and-conquer strategy in their negotiations with House Republicans over spending cuts. — After being put back on their heels earlier in the budget message battle, Senate Democrats are now trying …
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Prairie Weather
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Hoyer: Odds of government shutdown have increased over past two weeks
Hoyer: Odds of government shutdown have increased over past two weeks
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and National Review
Jackie Calmesand Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Part of the Budget Fight: Picking a Bad Guy
Part of the Budget Fight: Picking a Bad Guy
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Caucus and The Atlantic Online
George Zornick / ThinkProgress:
Sarah Palin Exaggerates Cost of Libya Intervention By 700% — Last night on Fox News, Greta van Susteren hosted former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to discuss what Palin termed the “squirmish” in Libya. True to form, the former governor was reckless with basic facts and casually septupled the cost of U.S. intervention.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
FACT CHECK: How Obama's Libya claims fit the facts — WASHINGTON (AP) — There may be less than meets the eye to President Barack Obama's statements Monday night that NATO is taking over from the U.S. in Libya and that U.S. action is limited to defending people under attack there by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
Wall Street Journal:
Obama, Libya and the GOP
Obama, Libya and the GOP
Discussion:
GOP 12, BackyardConservative and Ben Smith's Blog
The White House:
Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Libya
Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Libya
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner, Ross Douthat, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Democracy in America, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Washington Examiner, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, The Nation, The Atlantic Online, TalkLeft, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wizbang, National Review, Hit & Run, FP Passport, The Huffington Post, Scared Monkeys, Close Read, Lawfare, Betsy's Page, The Enterprise Blog, Shakesville, The Caucus, The Daily Dish, Fausta's Blog, The Duck of Minerva, Althouse, The Hill, Washington Monthly, CNN, Pajamas Media, GayPatriot, The Jawa Report, NationalJournal.com, SWJ Blog, Taylor Marsh, The Washington Note, FREEDOM EDEN, The Maddow Blog and The Democratic Daily
Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
In Obama's speech, echoes of JFK
In Obama's speech, echoes of JFK
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Nice Deb and Weasel Zippers
Eric Hananoki / Media Matters for America:
CRUISE SHIP CONFESSION: Top Fox News Executive Admits Lying On-Air About Obama — In newly uncovered audio, a Fox News executive boasts that he lied repeatedly during the closing days of the 2008 presidential campaign when he speculated on-air “about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism.”
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Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:
Obama a Socialist? Fox News Exec Said So, but Didn't Believe It — Bill Sammon, who's responsible for the network's Washington coverage, linked Obama to socialism many times during the 2008 campaign, but didn't believe the allegation, he acknowledged. — In the final stretch of the 2008 campaign …
Discussion:
The Right Sphere, Washington Monthly, Salon, The Daily Beast, nancynall.com and Poynter
Dallas Voice:
Bill Maher at the Winspear on Sunday night: 'Your new theater isn't gonna be clean for long' — I've seen Kathy Griffin perform live, and Joan Rivers and Lisa Lampanelli and Chris Rock — and they are all hilarious and edgy and daring comics who say outrageous things and go places that scare …
Discussion:
The Wire, Shakesville, NewsBusters.org blogs, Maggie's Notebook, Conservatives4Palin and Oliver Willis
RELATED:
Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:
...how much overtime would the drones at Media Matters rack up?
...how much overtime would the drones at Media Matters rack up?
Discussion:
The New Editor
Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Report: Bill Maher doubles down — calls Sarah Palin a ‘c**t’
Report: Bill Maher doubles down — calls Sarah Palin a ‘c**t’
Discussion:
That's What She Said and Weasel Zippers
Michael Yon / Online Magazine:
Calling BULLS**T on Rolling Stone — Seldom do I waste time with rebutting articles, and especially not from publications like Rolling Stone. Today, numerous people sent links to the latest Rolling Stone tripe. The story is titled “THE KILL TEAM, THE FULL STORY.” It should be titled: “BULLS**T, from Rolling Stone.”
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Jawa Report, iOwnTheWorld.com, Fausta's Blog and Da Techguy's Blog
Joe Scarborough / Reuters:
The hypocrisy of the American left — Self-righteousness is a dangerous vice. It breeds arrogance and moral blind spots for those who come to believe they are superior to those who share different worldviews. — Televangelists have fallen prey to this feeling of superiority …
Discussion:
The Mahablog and The New Republic
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The Note:
Take Two: Donald Trump Releases Official Birth Certificate — ABC News Michael Falcone reports: — Donald Trump learned the hard way this week that if you're going to call on the president to release his official birth certificate, you'd better do the same.
Discussion:
The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, The Wire and ABCNEWS
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Scott incredibly unpopular — You could say Rick Scott's honeymoon is over...but that would suggest he had one in the first place. A December PPP poll shortly before Scott took office found that only 33% of Florida voters had a favorable opinion of their new Governor to 43% who viewed him negatively.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Left Coast Rebel, Orlando Sentinel and Oliver Willis
RELATED:
Alex Roarty / NationalJournal.com:
Howard Dean: Democrats Should Be ‘Quietly Rooting’ for Shutdown — Speaking at the National Journal Insiders Conference on March 29, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said that a government shutdown would be bad for the country but good for Democrats.
Discussion:
Hot Air, TPMDC and AmSpecBlog
New York Times:
3-Month Nightmare Emerges in Rape Inquiry — CLEVELAND, Tex. — A year ago, the 11-year-old girl who the police say was the victim of repeated gang rapes in this East Texas town was an outgoing honor roll student, brimming with enthusiasm, who went on hikes and planted trees with a youth group here.
Kerry Picket / Washington Times:
Cash for Clunkers 2: The Return of Government Motors — Ready for another cash for clunkers program? It looks like General Motors is attempting to replace it's own consumer incentives with tax payer money. The car company, bailed out of bankruptcy in 2009 by the American tax payer …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Right Wing News, The Enterprise Blog and Pajamas Media
JSOnline:
State stops collecting union dues, starts charging more for health care — By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel — Madison - Gov. Scott Walker's administration is no longer collecting dues on behalf of state unions and as of Sunday began charging employees …
Discussion:
Cubachi, Firedoglake, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daley Gator, theblogprof, Wake up America, Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, Liberty Pundits Blog, Althouse, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Don Surber, Taylor Marsh, The Political Carnival, National Review, WisPolitics Budget Blog, The Camp Of The Saints, The Lonely Conservative, TPMDC, The Political Environment and Townhall.com
Ian Sample / Guardian:
Japan ‘has lost race’ to halt meltdown — Fukushima meltdown fears rise after radioactive core melts through vessel - but ‘no danger of Chernobyl-style catastrophe’ — • In pictures: Fukushima nuclear emergency - week three — • Interactive: Japan earthquake: Ian Sample on efforts to contain the nuclear accident
Discussion:
Climate Progress
Spencer Ackerman / Danger Room:
NATO Chief Opens The Door to Libya Ground Troops — The mantra, from President Obama on down, is that ground forces are totally ruled out for Libya. After all, the United Nations Security Council Resolution authorizing the war explicitly rules out any “occupation” forces.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Pajamas Media, The Raw Story, Guardian, Saideman's Semi-Spew and National Review
PJ Crowley / Guardian:
Why I called Bradley Manning's treatment ‘stupid’ — The US should uphold the highest standards towards its citizens, including the WikiLeaks accused. I stand by what I said — Earlier this month, I was asked by an MIT graduate student why the United States government was “torturing” …
Discussion:
Emptywheel and FP Passport
RELATED:
Greg Mitchell / The Huffington Post:
What's Wrong With Tonight's ‘Frontline’ on ‘The Private Life of Bradley Manning’
What's Wrong With Tonight's ‘Frontline’ on ‘The Private Life of Bradley Manning’
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, Emptywheel and The Nation
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Conservative Think Tank Seeks Michigan Profs' Emails About Wisconsin Union Battle ... And Maddow — A free enterprise think tank in Michigan — backed by some of the biggest names in national conservative donor circles — has made a broad public records request to at least three in-state universities …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Raw Story, AlterNet, Veracity Stew and The Maddow Blog
Dan Gilgoff / CNN:
Gingrich fears ‘atheist country ... dominated by radical Islamists’ — Newt Gingrich at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. — Hours after declaring Sunday that he expects to be running for president within a month, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he's worried the United States could be …
Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Levin takes on Ron Paul supporters: ‘I promise you his followers are the biggest a-holes of them all’ — There's no doubt that 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas has some dedicated followers, and they're especially ambitious in using the Internet to spread their message.
Discussion:
Mediaite and LewRockwell.com Blog
Alex Margolin / HonestReportingBackspin:
Breaking News: Facebook Shuts Down Third Intifada Group — Despite previous statements saying they would monitor but not remove the controversial Facebook group calling for a Third Intifada, Facebook administrators shut down the group early Tuesday morning in response to enormous pressure from pro-Israel activists.
Discussion:
Israpundit, The Blaze, Pajamas Media, Atlas Shrugs and Maggie's Farm
Deadline.com:
Matt Weiner's Talks For ‘Mad Men’ Mega Deal Could Collapse Over Cost-Shaving — Negotiations between Mad Men creator/executive producer Matt Weiner and AMC and Lionsgate Television seemed close enough to expect the cable network's signature show to lock a fifth season in time for AMC's April upfront meetings with advertisers.
Discussion:
ArtsBeat, PopEater, Show Tracker, Mediaite, Guardian, Company Town, Gawker and Jezebel
Byron Tau / Ben Smith's Blog:
Qadhafi's obscurity — Before Muammar Qadhafi — the Osama bin Laden of the 1980s — re-emerged onto the global scene as public enemy number one this spring, he had become a bit of a geopolitical has been, and a search of the clips finds little evidence that Barack Obama gave him much thought at all.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and National Review
Chris Geidner / Poliglot:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Asks Field Offices to Put Bi-National Immigration Cases on Hold — Following up on reports from this weekend, Metro Weekly just received confirmation from Christopher Bentley, the spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Pam's House Blend, PR Newswire, The Daily Dish, The Raw Story, Slog, AMERICAblog Gay, Jezebel and Joe. My. God.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Left, Right And Time — I suffer, it seems, from an affliction that bedevils many. I now find myself largely opposed to most Republicans and in favor of a Democratic president as an even tempered pragmatist. But I have not reimagined myself as a leftist. Others have, of course, but I wince a little every time.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
The Continuing Story of Romney's Mormon Problem — Even with rabid conservative opposition to health care reform, and his role in crafting Massachusetts' system of universal health care, Mitt Romney remains the prohibitive favor for the Republican presidential nomination.
Discussion:
Yglesias, Christianity Today and msnbc.com