memeorandum: In Case You Missed It: Democrats Waving White Flag on Taking Back House in 2012 (Robert Stacy McCain/The Other McCain)

2:37 AM ET, March 31, 2011

Top Items:

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret support for Libya rebels — (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

New York Times:

C.I.A. Agents in Libya Aid Airstrikes and Meet Rebels — WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and contact rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's forces, according to American officials.

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, NO QUARTER, LewRockwell.com Blog and Balloon Juice

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
On The Latest From Libya — I'm still absorbing this news …

Discussion: Ross Douthat

New York Times:
Retreat for Rebels; Libyan Foreign Minister Quits

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum, JustOneMinute and TalkLeft

Emptywheel:
Where Will Obama Try Himself for Material Support for Terrorism?

Discussion: Hit & Run, Pajamas Media and The Raw Story

ABCNEWS:
President Obama Authorizes Covert Help for Libyan Rebels

Discussion: American Power, Political Punch and HotAirPundit

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The wisdom and legality of arming Libyan rebels

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Guardian, NewsReal Blog and AMERICAblog News

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:

VIDEO: Indiana GOP Rep Says Women Will Pretend To Be Raped To Get Free Abortions — Yesterday morning, the Indiana House considered an anti-abortion bill that “would put some of the tightest abortion restrictions in the nation into Indiana law.” Introduced by state Rep. Eric Turner (R) …

Discussion: Angry Black Lady Chronicles and Booman Tribune

Indianapolis Star:

House GOP tames Dems' efforts on abortion bill — House Republicans this morning defeated numerous attempts by Democrats to moderate a bill that would put some of the tightest abortion restrictions in the nation into Indiana law. — The bill, House Bill 1210, now is eligible for a final vote in the House later this week.

Discussion: Shakesville and The Reality-Based Community

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Obama's jaw-dropping hypocrisy on energy — The Post reports: … It's nice that he's discovered the importance of domestic energy development, but his rhetoric overlooks his own policies over the past two years. Yesterday on the Senate floor Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, The Right Sphere, JustOneMinute and Pirate's Cove

Democracy in America:
Reheated proposals — FOR 40-odd years now, Barack Obama …

Discussion: Grist, Washington Post, Free exchange and Mother Jones

The White House:
Remarks by the President on America's Energy Security

Discussion: Mother Jones, White House.gov Blog, AmSpecBlog, Firedoglake and The New Republic

Andrew C. Revkin / Dot Earth:
Obama's New Plan for Old Goal, Cutting Oil Imports

Discussion: The White House, Ecocentric, Grist and Michelle Malkin

Alister Bull / Reuters:
Obama wants to curb U.S. oil imports by a third

Discussion: The Foundry, ThinkProgress and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

David Rogers / The Politico:

Budget deal close with $33B in cuts — Budget talks came to life Wednesday but not without new tension between the White House and Senate Democrats, worried that the administration is too quick to agree to $33 billion in cuts to move Speaker John Boehner toward what remains a very uncertain deal.

Discussion: CNN

Fox News:
Republicans Pitch Unusual Backup Plan as Fragile Budget Talks Resume

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Fox Nation and Washington Post

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Chuck Schumer Caught on Tape Instructing Fellow Dems on How to Spin Media, Networks Ignore

Discussion: Flopping Aces and HotAirPundit

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
House Republicans plan symbolic bill to pressure Senate on shutdown

Discussion: The Huffington Post, A plain blog about politics, The Raw Story, TPMDC, Hot Air and Firedoglake

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

GOPers Demand Sean Duffy Salary Tape Be Pulled From The Internet (VIDEO) — First the Republican Party in Polk County, Wisconsin, pulled the tape of Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) fretting about making ends meet on his $174,000 a year salary from its own website. Now they want it gone from the whole Internet.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post, Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, The Moderate Voice, JSOnline, First Draft and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Abby Phillip / The Politico:

Shh! Obama gets anti-secrecy award — The president accepted a transparency award in a closed, undisclosed meeting. — President Obama finally and quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week — in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House on Monday.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Moe_Lane's blog and American Glob

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

GOP report: AARP stands to make $1 billion from ObamaCare, IRS should investigate — Good stuff. AARP is the Death Star of American entitlements, so if the GOP wants to reform Social Security and Medicare, they're going to have to fire some photon torpedoes.

Discussion: Associated Press

Republican Ways and Means:
Congressional Report Details AARP's Financial Gain From Health Care Law

Discussion: RedState and American Glob

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Hillary Clinton Favorable Near Her All-Time High — Secretary leads the president and vice president in popular appeal — PRINCETON, NJ — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's favorable rating from Americans is now 66%, up from 61% in July 2010 and her highest rating to date while serving in the Obama administration.

Discussion: The Hill, Taylor Marsh, The Note and Shakesville

The Politico:
Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates win no love on Capitol Hill

Discussion: Hot Air

David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:

Supreme Court rejects damages for innocent man who spent 14 years on death row — In a 5-4 ruling, justices overturn a jury verdict awarding $14 million to John Thompson, who had sued then-New Orleans Dist. Atty. Harry Connick Sr. because prosecutors hid a blood test that would have proved his innocence in a murder case.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Wonkette, Firedoglake, iOwnTheWorld.com, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Wall Street Journal, Shakesville, New York Times and This Just In

George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:

Budget Negotiators Reach Tentative Deal To Avert Government Shutdown — Sources tell me that budget negotiators on Capitol Hill have tentatively agreed on a deal that would involve at least $33 billion in spending cuts from this year's budget. That's $23 billion dollars more than Democrats …

Discussion: National Review, Daily Kos and Hot Air

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Cantor and the budget — My colleague David Rogers …

Discussion: The Politico, The Hill, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Taegan Goddard's …

Daniel Freedman / Freed Thinking:

Israel, The Third Nation on the Moon? — If all goes according to plan, by December 2012 a team of three young Israeli scientists will have landed a tiny spacecraft on the moon, explored the lunar surface, and transmitted live video back to earth, thereby scooping up a $20 million prize …

Discussion: NewsReal Blog and Pajamas Media

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

Setting the Record Straight on State's Film Production Tax Credit — Goodness, cleaning up the sloppiness of reporters could be a full time job. In response to The Daily Caller's online inquiry, I gave them a statement that the writer buried on his story's second page …

Discussion: Cubachi, Riehl World View, The Sundries Shack, Mediaite, National Review, Liberty Pundits Blog, Conservatives4Palin, Outside the Beltway and GOP 12

Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:
Sarah Palin Rips Into Daily Caller For Not Featuring Her Quote High Enough

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Salon, Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, National Review, Tax Foundation, Conservatives4Palin and FrumForum

CNN:

Only 14, Bangladeshi girl charged with adultery was lashed to death — Shariatpur, Bangladesh (CNN) — Hena Akhter's last words to her mother proclaimed her innocence. But it was too late to save the 14-year-old girl. — Her fellow villagers in Bangladesh's Shariatpur district had already passed harsh judgment on her.

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, iOwnTheWorld.com, Feministing and Clayton Cramer's Blog

Benjamin Svetkey / PopWatch:

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as ‘The Governator’ — EXCLUSIVE — He's been a famous body builder. He's been a killer cyborg from the future. He's been Governor of California. And now, in this week's exclusive cover scoop, Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals his plans for the next phase …

Discussion: Capitol Alert

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

With New ‘Monkey Bill,’ Tennessee Takes Evolution Education Back To Scopes — Eighty six years after the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial opened Tennessee classrooms to the teaching of evolution, the state House is trying to slam the door shut again. Tennessee's House Education Committee approved …

Discussion: Knoxville News-Sentinel

Live Action Blog:

Planned Parenthood CEO's False Mammogram Claim Exposed — Contact: Amy Kim, 323.454.3304, media@liveaction.org — WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30-A series of new undercover phone calls reveals that contrary to the claims of Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards and other supporters …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Washington Post, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Brody File, Erick's blog and Big Journalism

Chris Geidner / Poliglot:

Immigration Official: “The Hold Is Over” — The “hold” on same-sex married bi-national couples' green card applications — celebrated by immigration and LGBT advocates — is over, according to the spokesman for the agency that processes those requests. — “The guidance we were awaiting …

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Daily Dish and Pam's House Blend

Tea Party Patriots:

Continuing Revolution Rally — Where — Robert A. Taft Memorial, Washington, DC (North West of the Capitol Building, Directly West of Upper Senate Park). Click on map to go to Google for directions. — Why — Patriots across the nation spoke loudly last November. You voted for change.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and USA Today