memeorandum: Collins is first GOP senator to oppose Ryan budget proposal (Josiah Ryan/The Hill)

1:15 PM ET, April 23, 2011

Top Items:

Shameful U.S. inaction on Syria's massacres — FOR THE PAST five weeks, growing numbers of Syrians have been gathering in cities and towns across the country to demand political freedom — and the security forces of dictator Bashar al-Assad have been responding by opening fire on them.

Discussion: Firedoglake, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Balloon Juice and Maggie's Farm

BBC:

Syria unrest: ‘Bloodiest day’ as troops fire on rallies — Amateur video purportedly showing large protests across the country — Protesters in Syria report 60 people killed by security forces - the highest death toll in five weeks of unrest against President Bashar al-Assad.

Discussion: Syria Comment, Right Wing News, The Washington Note, Jay Currie and The Reaction

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Statements on Syria — Obama, in what Crowley describes as a …

Discussion: Hot Air, CNN and Swampland

Voice of America:
Listen to what VOA's Cecily Hilleary and Steve Bangley discovered after talking to Syrian eyewitnesses …

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit

Anthony Shadid / New York Times:
Security Forces Kill Dozens in Uprisings Around Syria

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Hit & Run, FrumForum, The Belgravia Dispatch, Al Jazeera Blogs and CNN

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Paul Krugman says “So, let's try another shot to the head.” — I realize he's talking about a misconception, and he has designated the misconception a “zombie,” and according to zombie lore, zombies are destroyed by shooting them in the head. But still. That's quite a violent way to talk …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Paul Krugman:

Zombie Tax Lies — The claim that only rich people pay taxes is a zombie lie — something that keeps coming back no matter how many times it's killed by evidence. — So, let's try another shot to the head. — Yes, high-income people pay the bulk of the federal income tax. But that's not the only tax!

Discussion: The Mahablog and The New Republic

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Of Donald, Dunces and Dogma — I told myself that I wouldn't be dragged into Donald Trump's “birther” cesspool, yet here I am. — It became too much to ignore when he climbed to the top of the Republicans' admittedly weak field of presidential contenders and serious minds began to suggest …

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway and Weasel Zippers

Justin Elliott / Salon:
Trump to Salon: “You will be very surprised”

Discussion: TechCrunch and The Atlantic Online

Molly Hendrickson / WBAY-TV:

School District Employee Disciplined for Political Phone Call — A Sheboygan gas station owner is baffled after a mystery caller tells a clerk it's a bad idea to do business with a Sheboygan-area state senator. — It started Tuesday when a woman called Dick Hiers's Northeast Standard gas station …

Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin: Wisconsin School Employee Makes Threatening Phone Call to Business for Selling Gas to GOPer

Wall Street Journal:

Shutter Fraternities for Young Women's Good — In the fall of 1984, a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia named Liz Securro was invited to a fraternity party. While there, she was given a tour of the historic house and offered a cup of the dark green cocktail that was its specialty.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Althouse and Instapundit

Gautham Nagesh / The Hill:

Obama: No ‘silver bullet’ to bring down gas prices — President Obama said Saturday there are no easy answers for lowering gas prices, which are hovering above $4 a gallon, and criticized politicians who push plans to immediately reduce the price of gas. — “You see people trying …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Hill, Marist Poll, The Politico, JammieWearingFool and FrumForum

The Professor / Streetwise Professor:
The Department of Distraction Swings Into Action

Discussion: Power Line, Pundit & Pundette and Hit & Run

Charles Lane / Washington Post:

China's train wreck — Video: Is China's high-speed rail a model for U.S. transportation? Based on his travels in China, Washington Post editorial writer Charles Lane thinks not. — For the past eight years, Liu Zhijun was one of the most influential people in China.

Discussion: Power Line

Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:

[UPDATED TITLE:] Terry Jones Jailed, Apparently for Refusing to Promise Not to Demonstrate in Front of a Mosque [STILL FURTHER UPDATE: Released From Jail, Ordered to Stay Away from Mosque] — [Original title: Dearborn Jury Holds Terry Jones May Be Barred from Organizing Rally Outside Mosque.]

Discussion: protein wisdom, Patterico's Pontifications and Hot Air

MyFOX Detroit:
Gun Belonging to Pastor Terry Jones Goes Off Outside FOX 2 Studios

Discussion: Fox News, The Raw Story and Wonkette

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

MCCAIN RETURNS TO LIBYA — UNDER VERY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.... Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) yesterday became the highest profile U.S. official to visit Libya since international military intervention began, and gave a hearty endorsement to the rebels fighting the Gadhafi government.

Discussion: The Hill, Eschaton, The Hill and Sweetness & Light

Eric Roper / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Voting is indeed a right, Zellers agrees after radio show error — House Speaker Kurt Zellers found himself in a constitutional bind on Thursday after saying that voting was a privilege, not a right. — The Maple Grove Republican made the comment Wednesday night during a local radio show, “The Late Debate.”

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and TPMDC

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Builders of New Homes Seeing No Sign of Recovery — RICHMOND, Ill. — In this distant Chicago suburb, a builder has finally found a way to persuade people to buy a new house: he throws in a car. — Kim Meier's spring promotion, which includes a $17,000 credit at a nearby General Motors dealer …

Discussion: The Big Picture, The Politico and Calculated Risk

The Politico:

John Ensign bolted to avoid more public embarrassment — Sen. John Ensign abruptly announced his resignation after it grew increasingly clear to him that he would not be able to avoid a public review of the sordid allegations surrounding his sex scandal, including the open airing of details …

Discussion: Daily Kos