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STATEMENT OF GOV. BARBOUR — “I will not be a candidate for president next year. This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided. — “Hundreds of people have encouraged me to run …
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FiveThirtyEight, The Caucus, The Huffington Post, Weigel, The Hill, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, GOP 12, Weasel Zippers, Crooks and Liars, A plain blog about politics, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, Talking Points Memo, TPMDC, Althouse, FrumForum and National Review
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Haley Barbour bows out of 2012 — Haley Barbour said Monday that he won't run for president in 2012, removing a fundraising powerhouse with establishment clout from the Republican primary field. — “This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family …
Discussion:
CNN, The Moderate Voice, RedState, Outside the Beltway, MyDD, The Iowa Republican, Verum Serum, The New Republic, The Democratic Daily and AmSpecBlog


Why Haley Barbour pulled the plug — Haley Barbour had his presidential announcement plan lined up: A May 2 launch, followed by a fly-around to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida, before winding up in in Jackson on Saturday the 7th for a big home-state fundraising bash.


‘Fat Redneck’ for President — Iowa likes Haley Barbour, who's set to announce his 2012 plans. In the huge GOP field, don't bet against him. — Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in Jackson, Mississippi on August 27, 2009. — Haley Barbour lugs more than his share of baggage into the Republican presidential arena.
Discussion:
CNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine, The Daily Dish and Oliver Willis

Gov. Haley's advice to GOP presidential hopefuls: Change your message
Discussion:
Cubachi, CNN, Liberty Pundits Blog and Firedoglake

Clement firm drops DOMA case — In a real victory for supporters of same-sex marriage — and marking what seems like real marginalization for its foes — a major law firm has reversed course and will refuse to represent the House of Representatives in defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
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Law Firm Backs Out Of Agreement To Defend DOMA: Vetting Process Was ‘Inadequate’ [UPDATE] … Eric Holder Attorney General , Gay Marriage , Defense Of Marriage Act , Boehner Defense Of Marriage Act , Doma , King And Spalding , King And Spalding Defense Of Marriage Act , Marriage Equality , Politics News

Clement quits firm over Defense of Marriage Act flap
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RedState, Lawfare, Poliglot, The BLT, Equality Matters, New York Magazine, National Review, Above the Law, Weigel and Joe. My. God.


Firm defending Defense of Marriage Act withdraws from case
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New York Times, USA Today, The Atlantic Online and Pajamas Media

WH Fails to Release Easter Proclamation — President Obama failed to release a statement or a proclamation recognizing the national observance of Easter Sunday, Christianity's most sacred holiday. — By comparison, the White House has released statements recognizing the observance …
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White House smacks Rev. Franklin Graham for ‘birther’ talk — The White House slammed influential evangelical leader the Rev. Franklin Graham on Monday for questioning President Obama's birthplace. — Graham, a son of the Rev. Billy Graham who has served as a spiritual adviser …
Discussion:
RealClearPolitics Video Log, The Gateway Pundit, Politics and FrumForum

Obama spokesman fires back at Franklin Graham
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland


Ron Paul Launches Presidential Campaign — Rep. Ron Paul's long-held advocacy of smaller government and less taxes has made him a tea party hero. — Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, whose outspoken libertarian views and folksy style made him a cult hero during two previous presidential campaigns …
Discussion:
The Iowa Republican, Don Surber, Weasel Zippers and Vox Popoli
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Rep. Ron Paul to announce 2012 presidential exploratory committee — Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R) will announce he is forming a presidential exploratory committee on Tuesday in Iowa, according to a source close to the congressman. — The two-time presidential candidate is scheduled …
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN, Hot Air and GOP 12

Ron Paul Will Launch Presidential Exploratory Committee Tomorrow
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Wonkette, Des Moines Register, Gawker, The Raw Story and Mock, Paper, Scissors


Boehner: Oil Companies Share Blame for Gas Prices, Open to Cutting Subsidies — At a time of skyrocketing gas prices and near-record profits for oil companies, House Speaker John Boehner made a major concession today: Congress should consider cutting multi-billion dollar subsidies to oil companies.
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Wire, The Hill, Hot Air, The Hill, The Page, TPMDC, Wake up America and FrumForum
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House Speaker John Boehner to President Obama: ‘Come on! Time to Grow Up’ About Deficit and Taxes
Discussion:
The Hill

Trump claims Obama birth certificate ‘missing’ — Washington (CNN) - Real estate mogul Donald Trump's latest claim about President Obama's birth certificate is that it's missing. — “Well I've been told very recently, Anderson, that the birth certificate is missing,” Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday.
Discussion:
Hot Air
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Donald Trump Responds to Robert De Niro's Criticisms: 'He's Not the Brightest Bulb'
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The Gateway Pundit, Fox Nation, Taylor Marsh, Riehl World View, Weasel Zippers and The Huffington Post

NBC Allows Trump To Begin Campaigning On ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’
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Mediaite, The Moderate Voice and AMERICAblog Elections

High court rejects quick review of health care law — WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation …
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Justice Kagan Does Not Recuse Herself From Court's Decision To Dismiss Health Care Petition
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Washington Post and Firedoglake

BITTER PILLS — Multitrillion-dollar piles of debt …
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Prairie Weather


Union Official, Professor Teach How-to College Course in Violent Union Tactics — If you are wondering why some folks are starting to question whether a college education is worth the cost, the video below goes a long way towards explaining it. Recently, the University of Missouri-St. Louis …
Discussion:
LaborUnionReport.com, Hot Air, Weigel, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart.tv, Weasel Zippers, Sister Toldjah, Pajamas Media and Big Journalism
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Rachel Maddow: 'I'm definitely not an autocutie' — The top US news anchor on why she prefers jokes to anger and why she is proud to be gay — It's 10.05pm on a rainy Tuesday night in the MSNBC studio in the now famous New York address, 30 Rock, and Rachel Maddow - one of the highest profile news anchors …
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Mediaite, JammieWearingFool, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

DEFINE ‘PEACETIME’.... Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R), back on the presidential campaign trail, isn't sitting down for a lot of media interviews — but he loves writing op-eds. Romney's latest ran in New Hampshire's largest paper this morning. … The nonsense-per-sentence ratio is awfully high here …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Weigel, Daily Kos, TPMDC, Eschaton, msnbc.com and AMERICAblog Elections
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Allen West: Liberal Women Are ‘Neutering American Men’ — Last week, Tea Party favorite Rep. Allen West (R-FL) addressed his base at a Women Impacting Nation (WIN) meeting in Boca Raton, FL. WIN's mission is to “educate and equip women with knowledge of God's truth” and …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers and Sky Dancing


IMF bombshell: Age of America nears end — Commentary: China's economy will surpass the U.S. in 2016 — Front Page - News Viewer - Commentary - Markets - Investing - Personal Finance - Community - Games — BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.

Libya hurting Obama...even though many don't know where it is — Barack Obama's approval numbers have been hitting record lows in our polls and others of late and one of the things that's really hurting him right now is Libya- even though barely half of voters in the country actually know where it is.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Mudville Gazette

Appeals court set to hear Obama ‘birther’ case May 2 — A federal appeals court will hear arguments next week about whether Barack Obama was born in the United States and is ineligible to serve as president. — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California will hear arguments on May 2 in the case of Wiley Drake v. Barack Obama.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Atlantic Online


WikiLeaks: Guantánamo Bay terrorists radicalised in London to attack Western targets — At least 35 terrorists incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay were sent to fight against the West after being indoctrinated by extremist preachers in Britain, secret files obtained by The Daily Telegraph disclose.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit


WikiLeaks: Leaked files accuse BBC of being part of a ‘possible propaganda media network’ — The BBC is accused of being part of a “possible propaganda media network” for Al Qaeda, according to the leaked US files on the Guantanamo detainees. — Analysis by The Daily Telegraph suggests …
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Salon, Weasel Zippers, Mudville Gazette and Newshoggers.com, more at Mediagazer »


Bad Education — Image: Plans for a new athletic center at Ithaca College. From msidesign.com. — The Project On Student Debt estimates that the average college senior in 2009 graduated with $24,000 in outstanding loans. Last August, student loans surpassed credit cards …
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Questions and Observations and Yglesias