Top Items:
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.
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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.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Left Coast Rebel, Atlas Shrugs, Pajamas Media, The Cable, Another Black Conservative, Shakesville, ParaPundit, Say Anything, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Firedoglake, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, The Lonely Conservative, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC, This Just In, BLACKFIVE, Israel Matzav, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Page, Swampland, Gawker, American Glob, National Review, Salon, CNN, Taylor Marsh and New York Times
Matt Negrin / The Politico:
Tapper offers Carney ‘straw men’ — The temperature in the White House briefing jumped up Wednesday afternoon as Jake Tapper and Jay Carney vented some of their frustrations with each other publicly. — At one point, Tapper dissed Carney by saying he could provide a “room full of straw men” for the White House press secretary.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
On The Latest From Libya — I'm still absorbing this news and don't want to vent immediately, because there is still part of me that simply cannot believe that president Obama has already ordered covert action in Libya on one side in a civil war, and is now actively discussing whether to arm …
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
NationalJournal.com:
CIA Deploys to Libya as White House Authorizes Direct Assistance to Rebels
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Right Sphere and Big Peace
Ross Douthat:
The President's Credibility Gap
Discussion:
NewsReal Blog, AMERICAblog News, FrumForum and Foreign Policy
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:
msnbc.com, The Other McCain, The Huffington Post, FrumForum, Say Anything, CNN, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Washington Post, Pundit Press, Daily Kos and The Hill
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The Politico:
Tea partiers warn GOP on dealmaking — It's not like Republicans need a reminder of the tensions within their own ranks on government spending cuts. — But if they forget what's at stake, all GOP lawmakers need to do Thursday is walk outside the Capitol, where perhaps hundreds …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times and Fox Nation
Washington Post:
Republicans and Democrats begin negotiating possible budget agreement — After weeks of arguing, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill began negotiations Wednesday on a possible budget agreement that would slash federal spending by as much as $33 billion and avert a government shutdown.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Guardian, USA Today, New York Times, Wonk Room, The BLT, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Washington Wire and National Review
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
In Case You Missed It: Democrats Waving White Flag on Taking Back House in 2012
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Da Techguy's Blog, The Lonely Conservative and Speaker
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.
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Democrats consider proposing tax hikes — Senate Democrats are discussing plans to introduce tax policy changes that they say would raise federal revenues and broaden the budget debate beyond discretionary spending cuts. — Democrats feel they have been boxed by Republicans into a debate …
Discussion:
FrumForum, Prairie Weather and JammieWearingFool
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) …
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Marc Lacey / New York Times:
An Arizona Senate Race Waits to See if Giffords Emerges to Run — TUCSON — Representative Gabrielle Giffords is still in the hospital, but some of her most ardent backers are so enamored of the idea of her running for the Senate that they describe the inevitable campaign commercials …
Mj Lee / The Politico:
Planned Parenthood praises POTUS — After taking flak from Planned Parenthood during the health care debate last year, President Barack Obama has returned to its good graces, garnering praise from a group whose federal funding is at stake in the heated budget debate with Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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The Politico:
Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates win no love on Capitol Hill — President Barack Obama's foreign policy “A” team — led by Cabinet secretaries Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates — failed to quiet criticism of U.S. military action in Libya Wednesday during a pair of classified briefings on Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Hot Air and The Lonely Conservative
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Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Hillary Clinton Favorable Near Her All-Time High
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville and The Note
Associated Press:
Ohio Legislature Passes Bill Curbing Unions — COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Legislature voted Wednesday to severely limit the collective bargaining rights of 350,000 public workers, sending a bill that sparked weeks of pro-labor protests to Republican Gov. John Kasich, who is expected to sign it by the end of the week.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
Ohio Lawmakers Pass Anti-Union Bill
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Antitrust Cry From Microsoft — The wheel of technology history turns remarkably fast. Microsoft, whose domination of the technology industry provoked a landmark federal antitrust case, is crying foul against Google and urging European Union antitrust officials to go after the search giant.
Discussion:
Law Blog and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
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Brad Smith / TechNet Blogs:
Adding our Voice to Concerns about Search in Europe
Discussion:
The Politico, Guardian, Engadget and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
Stack / USW Blog:
A Well-Intentioned Bad Idea — International Vice President, United Steelworkers — By now anyone who had not yet heard of the Koch brothers has been introduced to them. Every major newspaper and magazine has run an article about the brothers who until recently lived largely under …
Discussion:
laborunionreport's Diary, Moe Lane and Da Techguy'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:
Right Pundits, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and Capitol Alert
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Rubio Takes the Lead — Urges Congress to authorize military action, endorse regime change. — THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained the text of a letter freshman senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent tonight to the Senate majority and minority leaders. In it, Rubio proposes that the Senate authorize …
Discussion:
CNN, Say Anything, Post on Politics and Naked Politics
Timothy R. Homan / Bloomberg:
Jobless Claims in U.S. Fell by 6,000 Last Week to 388,000 — Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market is firming heading into the second quarter. — Jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 388,000 in the week ended March 26, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.
Discussion:
Dow Jones Newswires and The Reaction
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 to the debate about 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
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.
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
What a shutdown could cost us — (Jin Lee - Bloomberg) I don't want to start a market panic here. I've no desire to be known for “The Klein Crash of 2011.” But it's safe to say that much of Washington finds the low, low yields on Treasurys — which represent the market's serene confidence …
Discussion:
Yglesias, Flopping Aces, TPMDC and Orlando Sentinel
Wall Street Journal:
Sokol Resigns After Stock Disclosure; Berkshire Succession Thrown Into Question — David Sokol, considered by outsiders to be the most likely candidate to succeed Warren Buffett, resigned from Berkshire Hathaway after purchasing shares of a company he suggested Buffett buy. Neal Lipschutz and Alistair Barr discuss.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and Law Blog
Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
TheDC Exclusive: Bachmann on possible 2012 White House bid: 'This isn't a game for me' — In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, ripped detractors of her potential presidential bid saying her decision on whether to run, coming “early summer,” is a “serious” one.
Discussion:
GOP 12 and The Right Sphere
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