memeorandum: Supreme Court Allows Tax Credit for Religious Tuition (Adam Liptak/New York Times)

10:35 PM ET, April 4, 2011

Top Items:

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

House GOP's ‘Radical’ Plan For Medicare, Medicaid — If anything will make it easier for House conservatives to back off on shutting down the government this week, it's the prospect of a different, and much larger fight over the federally funded social safety net.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Brilliant at Breakfast, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and CANNONFIRE

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Truly Pathetic — Why on earth did the Democrat speaking for the Democrats just now on Hardball say it was “courageous” but “politically stupid” for Paul Ryan to put up a plan to abolish Medicare and other federal social programs? That's the best he can do? “Courageous”? That's simply amazing.

Discussion: That Mr. G Guy's Blog

Paul D. Ryan / Wall Street Journal:

The GOP Path to Prosperity — Our budget cuts $6.2 trillion in spending from the president's budget over the next 10 years and puts the nation on track to pay off our national debt. — Congress is currently embroiled in a funding fight over how much to spend on less than one-fifth of the federal budget for the next six months.

Discussion: Ricochet.com, Hot Air and RedState

Myglesias / Yglesias:
Will Paul Ryan Propose a Giant Tax Hike To Make Tax Cuts For the Rich Affordable?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Firedoglake, New York Times, Guardian, Marginal Revolution, Weigel and The New Republic

Paul Krugman:
Privatizing Medicare

Discussion: The Daily Dish, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, Washington Monthly, The New Republic, The Incidental Economist, Washington Post, Wonk Room and AMERICAblog News

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:
Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicaid gamble

Discussion: Opinion L.A. and Hit & Run

Naftali Bendavid / Wall Street Journal:
GOP Aim: Cut $4 Trillion

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Dems ‘likely’ to offer budget alternative to Rep. Ryan's plan

Discussion: The Politico and FrumForum

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Bring on the Bamboozlement — As House Republicans cue …

Discussion: That Mr. G Guy's Blog and MyDD

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Boehner digs in on spending cuts, saying $33B is ‘not enough’ — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Monday that a spending accord with the Senate and White House must contain more than the $33 billion in immediate cuts Democrats have said the two sides already agreed upon.

Discussion: The Politico, The Lonely Conservative, Fox News, Cubachi, The Hill, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Liberty Pundits Blog and FrumForum

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Public Would Blame Both Sides if Government Shuts Down — Tea Party Reps Say Stand on Principle Even If It Means a Shutdown — With an April 8 deadline approaching for a possible shutdown of the federal government, the public remains divided over whether congressional Republicans …

Discussion: Poll Watch Daily, Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic Online, CNN and The Hill

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:

House GOP to distribute shutdown plan — Republican leaders are preparing the House for a government shutdown, as they plan to distribute a pamphlet about the mechanics of a partial congressional work-stoppage to all lawmakers' offices Tuesday morning, according to several senior House aides.

Discussion: National Review, The Lonely Conservative and Doug Ross

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
41 senators vow to oppose Planned Parenthood rider

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Blue Collar Philosophy, Pajamas Media and FrumForum

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Top Republicans: There Is No Budget Deal

Discussion: Firedoglake, Roll Call, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Clinton: Shutdown would hurt GOP but might not be ‘traumatic’ for economy

Discussion: Don Surber, The Politico, Hot Air, Pat Dollard, The Moderate Voice, Connecting.the.Dots and FrumForum

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama invites leaders to budget talks

Discussion: The Politico and FrumForum

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:

KSM to be tried by military commission at Gitmo; Holder set to make announcement today — Attorney General Eric Holder today will announce that self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad will be tried in a military commission, CBS News has learned.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Taylor Marsh, Verum Serum, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, AmSpecBlog, Riehl World View, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Emptywheel and BLACKFIVE

Chris Good / The Atlantic Online:
A Hamstrung Eric Holder Blasts Critics of Civilian Trials

Discussion: Hot Air and Flopping Aces

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
In Reversal, 9/11 Plotter to Be Tried by Military Panel

Discussion: Emptywheel, News Desk, Althouse, Philly.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, TalkLeft, Outside the Beltway, Power Line, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed / Fox News:
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Accused 9/11 Co-Conspirators to Face Military Trial

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Maggie's Notebook, National Review, Pat Dollard, Sister Toldjah, Babalú Blog, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Lonely Conservative, Right Wing News and Pirate's Cove

Michelle Malkin:
Obama administration retreats (again) on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed civilian trial; Holder blames Congress

Discussion: UrbanGrounds

The United States Department of Justice:
Statement of the Attorney General on the Prosecution of the 9/11 Conspirators

Discussion: TalkLeft and Blog of Rights

JSOnline:

No degree, little experience pay off big — Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions. — Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration overseeing environmental …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Inside Scoop, Wonkette, The Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Democratic Daily and Jesus' General

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

Source: Pig's foot sent to congressman's office — Washington (CNN) - A frozen pig's foot and a note laced with anti-Semitic rants were sent to Rep. Peter King's Capitol Hill office, a congressional source familiar with the situation confirmed to CNN Monday.

Discussion: American Power

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Bloody pig's foot sent to Rep. Peter King

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers and POWIP

The Note: Bloody Pig's Foot Mailed to Top House Republican

First Read / msnbc.com:
Cops investigating pig's foot sent to Rep. Peter King's office

Discussion: FrumForum

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Allows Tax Credit for Religious Tuition — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday effectively upheld an Arizona program that aids religious schools, saying in a 5-to-4 decision that the plaintiffs had no standing to challenge it. — The program itself is novel and complicated …

Discussion: WyBlog, Booman Tribune, The Reaction, The Political Carnival and Balloon Juice

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:
MONEY TALKS — Eight of the current Supreme Court Justices …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Law Blog

Doug Kendall / The Huffington Post: McComish, the Supreme Court and the Fiesta Bowl Scandal

Robert Costa / National Review:

Graham Responds to Steyn, Stuttaford — In response to the criticism by Mark Steyn and Andrew Stuttaford about his weekend comments on free speech and Koran burning, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) called me this afternoon to flesh out his thoughts on the matter. — Here is the transcript:

Discussion: Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, Wonkette, Pajamas Media, Wall Street Journal and The Daily Dish

Mark Steyn / National Review:

Re: Lindsey Graham and the First Amendment — Andrew, ever since I ran into a spot of bother in Canada, I've found myself giving speeches in defense of freedom of expression in Toronto, London, Copenhagen, etc. I did not think it would be necessary quite so soon to take the same stand …

Discussion: Hit & Run, RedState, theblogprof, Diana West, The Other McCain, Althouse and Cold Fury

JSOnline:

Campaign to recall Wirch says it has enough signatures — The head of the campaign to recall Sen. Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) says the group has gathered enough signatures to force a recall election. — Dan Hunt, chairman of Taxpayers to Recall Robert Wirch, says his organization has …

Discussion: TPMDC, The Hill, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Pajamas Media

Kathleen Lucadamo / NY Daily News:

No fried food: Health Dept. workers cringe at new rules restricting foods, fragrances, decorations — No overbearing perfume. No obscene pictures. And definitely no French fries for work lunches. — That's the new edict for employees of the same city Health Department that brought …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media and Sweetness & Light

Margot Roosevelt / Los Angeles Times:

Critics' review unexpectedly supports scientific consensus on global warming — A UC Berkeley team's preliminary findings in a review of temperature data confirm global warming studies. — A team of UC Berkeley physicists and statisticians that set out to challenge the scientific consensus …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The Political Carnival, Hit & Run, Watts Up With That? and Little Green Footballs

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

John Phillips: Why Hillary Clinton must run in 2012 — If Hillary Clinton's primary voters and President Obama had their relationship status listed on their Facebook pages, it would change from “Married” to “It's complicated.” — To be fair, Hillary voters never fell in love with Obama, they just fell in line.

Discussion: CNN, Proof Positive, The Radio Patriot, Don Surber, Wizbang, The Democratic Daily and Sipsey Street Irregulars

Andrew Goldman / New York Times:

Katie Couric Has a Few Regrets — When you started hosting the “CBS Evening News” in 2006, there was a lot of talk about mold-breaking. Now the show looks very much like the other network broadcasts. — In retrospect I would have given people what they were used to, a traditional newscast.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Conservatives4Palin, newsfeed.time.com, The Wire, The 6th Floor, Taylor Marsh, PopWatch, Poynter and Inside TV, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Scherer / Swampland:

Four Hidden Messages In Obama's 2012 Reelection Launch — If you haven't yet seen it, here is the video that President Obama is using to launch his 2012 campaign. — Notice anything? Here's what I saw: — 1. The new slogan—"It begins with us"—is not a statement of fact.

Discussion: The New Republic and Ben Smith's Blog