Top Items:
New York Times:
A Certificate of Embarrassment — With sardonic resignation, President Obama, an eminently rational man, stared directly into political irrationality on Wednesday and released his birth certificate to history. More than halfway through his term, the president felt obliged to prove that he was a legitimate occupant of the Oval Office.
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The Politico:
A new era of accusation and innuendo — President Barack Obama's appearance Wednesday in the White House briefing room to present a documented rebuttal of suspicions that he was not really born on U.S. soil was more than just a surprise. It was a decisive new turn in the centuries-long American history …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Right Wing News, Guardian, Climate Progress and CNN
Rachel Rose Hartman / Yahoo! News:
Birtherist response highlights racial undertones of ‘debate’ — During the 2008 campaign, questions about John McCain's birth in the Panama Canal Zone on a U.S. military base prompted some to ask whether McCain was eligible to be president, since the Constitution stipulates that anyone …
Discussion:
Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice, TPMDC and Dependable Renegade
Ryan J. Reilly / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:
Orly Taitz: Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate Should Say ‘Negro’ Not ‘African’
Orly Taitz: Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate Should Say ‘Negro’ Not ‘African’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, WorldNetDaily, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, Pam's House Blend, Sky Dancing, TPMDC, Washington Wire, Salon, Alas, a Blog, Weigel, Jack & Jill Politics, Fox News, National Review, Mother Jones, The Raw Story, Comments from Left Field, Outside the Beltway, Raw Replay, rubber hose, Wonkette, American Power and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Emily Ramshaw / The Texas Tribune:
Texas Pol Still Isn't Satisfied on Obama Birthplace
Texas Pol Still Isn't Satisfied on Obama Birthplace
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Post, ABCNEWS and The Scoop
Baratunde Thurston / Jack & Jill Politics:
(video) With President Obama's Birth Certificate, Klansman Trump Reminds Blacks They Will Never Be American
(video) With President Obama's Birth Certificate, Klansman Trump Reminds Blacks They Will Never Be American
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Notes From Underground, msnbc.com, Shakesville, News One, Firedoglake and Crooks and Liars
Melissa Clouthier / RedState:
President Obama's Birth Certificate: Why Now?
President Obama's Birth Certificate: Why Now?
Discussion:
Associated Press, GayPatriot, Top of the Ticket, Ben Smith's Blog, The Gateway Pundit, alicublog, Mediaite and TPMDC
Associated Press:
Dozens of tornadoes kill 194 in 5 Southern states — PLEASANT GROVE, Ala. (AP) — Dozens of tornadoes spawned by a powerful storm system wiped out entire towns across a wide swath of the South, killing at least 194 people, and officials said Thursday they expect the death toll to rise.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit and RedState
RELATED:
CNN:
Tornadoes ravage South; 231 dead
Tornadoes ravage South; 231 dead
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Jawa Report, Poynter, Reuters, Mediaite, New York Magazine and Raw Replay
Kim Seversonand Anahad O'Connor / New York Times:
Tornado Ravages Alabama City; Storm Toll Grows
Tornado Ravages Alabama City; Storm Toll Grows
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Lede, The Page and newsfeed.time.com
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Rand Paul has ‘birther’ demand for Trump: Prove you're a Republican — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday took a swipe at billionaire businessman Donald Trump, demanding to see his “Republican registration.” — While speaking at a breakfast with New Hampshire Republicans one day after …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice, The Political Carnival, The Caucus, JammieWearingFool, CNN and Washington Post
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Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Rand Paul Questions Trump's Republican Credentials — CONCORD, N.H. - Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, opened a breakfast speech here Thursday at the Merrimack County Republican Committee with a new demand for proof - not of President Obama's citizenship, but of Donald Trump's Republican credentials.
Discussion:
YID With LID, GOP 12, Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Post and The Huffington Post
Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:
Epic: Lawrence O'Donnell Hammers NBC; Demands They Reveal Trump's Future Plans
Epic: Lawrence O'Donnell Hammers NBC; Demands They Reveal Trump's Future Plans
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org and Booman Tribune
Laura Hudson / ComicsAlliance.com:
Superman Renounces [SPOILER] in ‘Action Comics’ #900 — After recently undertaking a journey to walk — not fly — across the United States in the “Grounded” storyline and reconnect with the country and everyday Americans, Superman appears to be taking another step that could have major implications …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Great news: Superman to renounce his U.S. citizenship
Great news: Superman to renounce his U.S. citizenship
Discussion:
Big Hollywood, UrbanGrounds and Right Wing News
CNBC:
Economic Growth Slow as Inflation Measure Spikes Up — U.S. economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter as higher food and gasoline prices dampened consumer spending, and sent a broad measure of inflation rising at its fastest pace in 2-1/2 years.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Weasel Zippers
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Catherine Rampell / New York Times:
U.S. Economic Growth Slows to 1.8% Rate in Quarter
U.S. Economic Growth Slows to 1.8% Rate in Quarter
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, BBC and New York Magazine
Mireya Navarro / New York Times:
Solar Panels Rise Pole by Pole, Followed by Gasps of ‘Eyesore’ — ORADELL, N.J. — Nancy and Eric Olsen could not pinpoint exactly when it happened or how. All they knew was one moment they had a pastoral view of a soccer field and the woods from their 1920s colonial-style house; the next all they could see were three solar panels.
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community, City Room, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice
Indianapolis Star:
Governor weighs signing abortion bill — Legislation would take away $2 million of $3 million that Planned Parenthood receives — 9:23 AM — Governor weighs signing abortion bill — Gov. Mitch Daniels said this morning he does not know yet if he will sign House Bill 1210 …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Ben Smith's Blog and Shakesville
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Mike Konczal / American Prospect:
Bernanke Gives a Press Conference — The big takeaway from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's historic press conference was that the focus, both of questions asked and Bernanke's own remarks, addressed a situation that would be the exact opposite of the one we're in now. — What is our current situation?
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New York Times:
Aiming for One Percent Inflation?
Aiming for One Percent Inflation?
Discussion:
Yglesias, Economist's View and Eschaton
New York Times:
Honoring Those Who Said No — IN January 2004, Spec. Joseph M. Darby, a 24-year-old Army reservist in Iraq, discovered a set of photographs showing other members of his company torturing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. The discovery anguished him, and he struggled over how to respond.
Discussion:
Blog of Rights, Lawfare and Balloon Juice
Shawn Millerick / New Hampshire Journal:
Poll: Mass. Republicans want ‘RomneyCare’ repealed — A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in Massachusetts would like to see the 2006 health care law enacted by then-Gov. Mitt Romney and the state legislature repealed and replaced with something else …
Discussion:
GOP 12 and The Politico
Gallup:
More Than Half Still Say U.S. Is in Recession or Depression — Democrats rate the economy better than Republicans or Tea Party supporters — PRINCETON, NJ — More than half of Americans (55%) describe the U.S. economy as being in a recession or depression, even as the Federal Open Market Committee …
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Clusterstock
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Alabama death toll hits 128 — Dems aim to marginalize Trump; Robert Gibbs demands 10 years tax returns — Panetta-Petraeus announcement: Rose Garden, 3:10 pm — Reid plans vote on Ryan plan — SUNDAY SO FAR: Sen. Marco Rubio on “Meet.” — DCCC invites you to the “R-Oil Wedding.” www.roilwedding.com
Discussion:
New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos
The Daily Caller:
The demand threatened to open another yawning abyss, the debate over affirmative action and race, and black leaders sharply rebuked Trump. — “Trump and the rest have played a very divisive card from the fact of his birth to now implying that he got into two Ivy League schools …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and Yglesias
Evan Axelbank / WPTV:
Rep. West says Medicare spells end of United States — Several booted from Boca town hall — BOCA RATON, Fla. - If those opposed to Rep. Allen West have their way, the 2012 election will be fought on his recent vote to privatize Medicare starting in 2023.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Wonk Room and South Florida Daily Blog
Rasmussen Reports:
National GOP Primary Poll: Trump 19% Romney 17% Huckabee 15% — Republican primary voters at this early stage of the game now give billionaire developer Donald Trump the edge over presumptive favorites Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in the race to be the GOP's presidential nominee in 2012.
Discussion:
GOP 12 and The Daily Caller
Allan Hall / The Sun:
Fanatics' fury at Muslim Playgirl — A MUSLIM actress has caused a storm by posing naked for Playboy. — Sila Sahin has been branded a “whore” and a “western slut” after appearing topless on the cover of the German edition of the men's magazine. — And Islamic fanatics have posted threatening internet messages.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Hyscience, Power Line, theblogprof, The Jawa Report, Pirate's Cove, PoliPundit.com and Jihad Watch