memeorandum: Cows fed linseed to stop them belching (Louise Gray/Telegraph)

10:30 AM ET, April 2, 2011

Top Items:

Deadly Protests for Koran Burning Reach Kandahar — KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Violent protests over the burning of a Koran in Florida flared for a second straight day, with young men rampaging through the streets of this southern capital, flying Taliban flags and wielding sticks.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway and Pirate's Cove

Guardian:

Is the Florida pastor who burnt the Qur'an morally responsible for the deaths of UN staff in protests in Afghanistan? | Poll — Ten UN staff have been killed in a violent protest in Afghanistan against the burning of a copy of the Qur'an by a Christian fundamentalist pastor in Florida last week.

Discussion: Harry's Place, Pajamas Media and Jihad Watch

Una Moore / UN Dispatch:
This Attack is Different — Mark asked me to respond …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Registan.net, New Atlanticist, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo, Los Angeles Times, Outside the Beltway and FrumForum

New York Times:
Pastor Who Burned Koran Demands Retribution

Discussion: Maggie's Notebook and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Ismail Sameem / Reuters:
Nine dead in Afghan Koran burning protests

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Informed Comment

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Afghan mob kills at least 12 UN workers in protest over Terry Jones's Koran-burning

Discussion: CBS News and Pajamas Media

New York Times:
Afghans Avenge Florida Koran Burning, Killing 12

Tom A. Peter / Christian Science Monitor:
UN staff killed by Afghan mob enraged over Florida Quran burning

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Truthdig

John Nolte / Big Government:

Devastating New Ad Might Be Game Changer in Wisconsin's Crucial April 5th Election — As is the case with any important election, events are happening fast as we approach the final weekend prior to the crucial Tuesday April 5 vote that will ultimately decide the future of Wisconsin for a generation to come.

Discussion: Nice Deb, TBogg, The Lonely Conservative, The Underground Conservative, Hot Air, We Party Patriots and JSOnline

David Weigel / Weigel:

Wisconsin Unions Attack Prosser for Calling a Judge a “Total Bitch” — This is one of the closing arguments against David Prosser in Wisconsin, from the Greater Wisconsin Committee. — The backstory: … So the video in the ad of Prosser looking like Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon is not from the incident.

Discussion: Althouse, The Raw Story, JSOnline and Ben Smith's Blog

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Dem Party of Wisconsin: Expect at Least Six Recall Elections

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jon Terbush / TPMDC:

Poll: Americans Wrongly Estimate $178 Billion In Fed. Budget Goes To Public Broadcasting — In a CNN poll of American adults released Friday, the median guess on what percentage of the federal budget goes to public broadcasting was 5%. With a $3.55 trillion budget last year …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, The Impolitic and Weigel

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
CNN Poll: Americans flunk budget IQ test

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

King Barack I — Many of us supported this president because he promised to bring back the constitutional balance after the theories of Yoo, Delahunty, et al put the president on a par with emperors and kings in wartime. And yet in this Libya move, what difference is there between Bush and Obama?

Discussion: The Other McCain and Instapundit

Robert Costa / National Review:

Paul Rankles Reid on Libya — Washington — Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a Tea Party favorite, has boxed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) into a corner. After a quiet day of quorum calls and speeches, Reid abruptly adjourned the upper chamber Thursday and postponed votes until Monday.

Discussion: Hot Air, Another Black Conservative, Cubachi, Patterico's Pontifications, Liberty Pundits Blog, AmSpecBlog and Pajamas Media

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Republicans: No deal on budget cuts

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Hill, Weekly Standard and The Hill

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Boehner: Government shutdown would cost more money than it would save

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos and The Politico

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Reid jabs Tea Party: ‘There were tens of them’ at DC rally

Discussion: Washington Post, The Politico and Weasel Zippers

Louise Gray / Telegraph:

Cows fed linseed to stop them belching — Dairy farmers in Britain are doing their bit for the environment by feeding cows a special “health food” diet to make them burp and break wind less. — Feeding cattle linseed can reduce the amount of methane by up to 40 per cent …

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

Daily Mail:

Obama: All federal vehicles MUST be environmentally friendly by 2015 - except my limo — Barack Obama's presidential limousine will be exempt from his drive to make all government vehicles environmentally friendly, the Secret Service has revealed. — The president last week insisted …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and Scared Monkeys

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Obama, Libya, and Me — One of the reasons to vote for someone for president — perhaps the key reason, in fact — is good judgment. Hillary Clinton may have taken a lot of flack for her “3 am phone call” ad during the Democratic primaries in 2008, but she was basically right: ideologically …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Pajamas Media, The Daily Dish, New Atlanticist and Hit & Run

CNN:

Barbour's wife ‘horrified’ at presidential prospects — (CNN)- The wife of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says she is “horrified” that her husband is seriously considering a bid for the presidency. — In an interview with CNN affiliate WLOX in Biloxi, Marsha Barbour admitted the …

Discussion: The Politico, Outside the Beltway and Washington Wire

Washington Post:

Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes — We know a lot more today about what happened in the Gaza war of 2008-09 than we did when I chaired the fact-finding mission appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council that produced what has come to be known as the Goldstone Report.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and normblog

John / Power Line:

Are We Doomed? — I grew up in a farm state, South Dakota, and still recall a joke that was then popular. It grew out of the fact that the number of farmers in the U.S. was constantly declining, while at the same time the Department of Agriculture was steadily growing.

Discussion: Pat Dollard, The Lonely Conservative and Top of the Ticket

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Rep. Trent Franks Warns 'I Don't Know That The Country Can Survive' If President Obama Is Reelected — Tomorrow, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) will hold a press conference to announce if he will run for Arizona's Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ). (Current rumors indicate Franks may pass on a bid.)

Discussion: Arizona Republic, The Last Tradition, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and DownWithTyranny!

Wes Barrett / Fox News:

Bachmann Tops Romney in First Quarter Fundraising — Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., raised a combined total of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2011, outgaining presumed presidential contender Mitt Romney who raised $1.9 million over the same period. — Bachmann's political action committee …

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, Washington Post, Don Surber, CNN, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Liberty Pundits Blog, Cubachi, Weigel, FrumForum, Swampland, TPMDC, GOP 12, Indecision Forever and Joe. My. God.

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Michele Bachmann collects $2 million in first fundraising quarter

Discussion: American Power, The Politico and Taylor Marsh

News from the University of Wisconsin-Madison:

Chancellor's message on academic freedom and open records — Note: To view a letter from UW-Madison legal counsel regarding the records request for Professor Cronon's emails, click here. — Members of the campus community, — Two weeks ago UW-Madison received an open records request …

Discussion: TPMDC, Emptywheel, Shakesville and JSOnline

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Donald Trump gets regular Fox News spot — Donald Trump, who says he is seriously considering a presidential run, will now appear on Fox News every Monday morning. — A Fox News representative, Dana Klinghoffer, said that Trump will be a regular guest, not a contributor, and thus will not be paid.