memeorandum: UNMITIGATED GALT. Whatever understandable prejudice you might have against Ayn Rand … (alicublog)

11:30 PM ET, April 16, 2011

Top Items:

Sarah Palin to Obama: You ignored us in 2010, but you cannot ignore us in 2012! — ***UPDATED with Andrew Breitbart's speech*** — Sarah Palin, affirming her union connections, gave one of the best speeches I've heard her give today at a Tea Party event in Madison, WI.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, sisu, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, iOwnTheWorld.com and American Power

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Sarah Palin to GOP: ‘Fight like a girl’ — Sarah Palin unleashed a withering critique of congressional Republicans Saturday, lambasting them for not cutting spending deeper and faster, and saying the party needs to “fight like a girl.” — “We didn't elect you just to rearrange the deck chairs …

Discussion: CNN

Todd Richmond / Associated Press:

Labor protesters surround tea party at Palin rally — MADISON, Wis. - Hundreds of pro-union labor supporters surrounded smaller groups of tea party members waiting for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to appear outside the Wisconsin Capitol. — Palin was scheduled to take the stage at noon for the tea party's annual tax day rally.

Discussion: Ventura County Star Stories, Little Green Footballs and Hot Air

Monica Davey / New York Times:

Palin Speaks at Tea Party Rally in Madison — MADISON, Wis. — At first, the prospect drew mildly worried looks from people on both sides of this state's giant political divide: Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, was to appear on the steps of this state's Capitol …

John Nolte / Big Government:

Sarah Palin Steps Into Wisconsin, Points to Left Field, and Hits a Grand Slam — UPDATE: Oh look, the MSM's already making thing's up. See here. — If Sarah Palin's not running for president, what a terrible waste that would be of the single best stump speech I've heard since, well …

Discussion: Breitbart.tv and The Gateway Pundit

Larry O'Connor / Breitbart.tv:

Breitbart to TrumkaObama Leftist Agitators in Madison: ‘Go To Hell!’ — Read further analysis from ANDREW BREITBART at Big Government. — Andrew Breitbart rallied thousands of Tea Party protesters in Wisconsin today introducing Sarah Palin in the cold April weather.

Discussion: Big Government, Althouse, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

James Pethokoukis:
Palin in Madison: Veni, Vidi, Vici

Discussion: Riehl World View

Serafin Gomez / Fox News:
At Tea Party Rally, Rubio Blasts Obama: He'd rather get Re-Elected than Lead

Discussion: Cubachi, Liberty Pundits Blog and Fox Nation

host.madison.com:
Palin set to speak at tea party rally at Capitol

Discussion: protein wisdom, Don Surber and Althouse

R. Scott Moxley / Navel Gazing:

[UPDATED: Davenport Defiant] Racist Orange County Republican Email: President Obama and His Parents Are Apes — UPDATE, APRIL 16, 5:55 P.M.: This afternoon, Marilyn Davenport sent an email to fellow Orange County Republican elected officials, apologizing if anyone was offended and blasted the “liberal media” for reporting the story.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Associated Press, Little Green Footballs, HyperVocal, The Moderate Voice, iOwnTheWorld.com, Pam's House Blend and Balloon Juice

The Huffington Post:
Marilyn Davenport's Racist Email Denounced By OC GOP

Discussion: The Immoral Minority, Mediaite, Booman Tribune and CBS Los Angeles

alicublog:

UNMITIGATED GALT. Whatever understandable prejudice you might have against Ayn Rand, you have to admit that the giant concrete block of her novel on which Atlas Shrugged: Part I is based could make a movie of some sort. — Consider all that happens in it: Dagny Taggart …

Discussion: Firedoglake

CNN:

Bachmann assails Obama over Libya — Bluffton, South Carolina (CNN) - Addressing a crowd of Tea Party activists in South Carolina on Saturday, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann called President Obama's decision to intervene in Libya “foolish” and said the NATO mission could end up boosting al Qaeda.

Discussion: Cubachi, The Politico, Liberty Pundits Blog and The Page

CNN: Latest S.C. straw poll win goes to Ron Paul

CNN:
Barbour nabs straw poll victory in South Carolina

Discussion: GOP 12 and The Page

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Scalise says Obama violates Constitution over ‘czars’ — Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the chief sponsor of the effort to defund administration-appointed advisers known as “czars,” reacted angrily Saturday to a signing statement from Obama saying he plans to keep them.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, The Lonely Conservative and HotAirPundit

David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Stripping Congress of its Power of the Purse?

Discussion: Ironic Surrealism, Mother Jones, Doug Ross, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, The Other McCain and Balloon Juice

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

About My Support for Natural Gas — Oh, puh-leeze! — Some readers of The New York Times are unimpressed with the idea of substituting natural gas for imported oil, even though such a move would help wean the country from its dependence on OPEC. Or so it appears after I made that argument …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Talking Dog and Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality …

Washington Post:

NATO runs short on some munitions in Libya — Gallery: Conflict and chaos in Libya: As international airstrikes continue against forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi, rebels face difficult battles. — Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Firedoglake, Don Surber, Mother Jones, Questions and Observations and FrumForum

James Joyner / Foreign Policy:
Back in the Saddle — How Libya helped NATO get its groove back.

Discussion: Eunomia and New Atlanticist

Paul Krugman:

Civility is the Last Refuge of Scoundrels — At the beginning of last week, the commentariat was in raptures over the Serious, Courageous, Game-Changing Ryan plan. But now that the plan has been exposed as the cruel nonsense it is, what we're hearing a lot about is the need for more civility in the discourse.

Discussion: Economist's View, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice, American Power and The TrogloPundit

msnbc.com:

In 10 to 15 percent of cases, crucial heart test was rejected by firm hired to screen requests — Below: — “I gotta tell you Kathy, I can't keep living like this,” said Michael Fields, 46, who was experiencing tightness in his chest, numbness in an arm and light-headedness as he begged …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Suburban Guerrilla

Alex Knott / Roll Call:

FEC Launches Audit of Obama's 2008 Campaign — The Federal Election Commission has launched an audit into President Barack Obama's record-breaking 2008 campaign. — Individuals familiar with the campaign told Roll Call Friday that the FEC has been investigating the financial records of Obama's previous campaign.

Discussion: CNN

Ian Urbina / New York Times:

Chemicals Were Injected Into Wells, Report Says — WASHINGTON — Oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005 to 2009, according to an investigation by Congressional Democrats.