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Mitt Romney On Fox & Friends: ‘I Wish I Could Claim I Was Hispanic’ — On Monday morning's Fox and Friends, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney let out another one of those “I'm running for office, for Pete's sake!” bursts of honesty which, like a burlesque revue at a leper colony, are revealing, but not in a good way.
Discussion:
THEROOT.COM and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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GOP Voters Continue to Give Field Subpar Ratings — Obama Seen as More Understanding than Romney, Gingrich — Amid a bruising primary campaign, Republicans remain unimpressed with their party's presidential field. In fact, more Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Ballot Box

Over 600,000 have already voted in Florida primary
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, The Politico and The Strata-Sphere

Poll finds increasing dissatisfaction in GOP field
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Hot Air


Doing It For the Gipper: Why Old People Could Be Newt Gingrich's Saving Grace
Discussion:
Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications and ABCNEWS

Obama best understands people, poll finds
Discussion:
Ballot Box and CNN

Santorum promises high road, 'We'll beat them straight up'
Discussion:
The Politico

Gingrich forces outspent by nearly $12 million on Florida airwaves
Discussion:
CNN, The Atlantic Online, Babalú Blog, Wake up America, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos


COMPARING THE COMPENSATION OF FEDERAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYEES — HOW DOES THE COMPENSATION OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES COMPARE WITH THAT OF EMPLOYEES IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR? — Employees of the federal government and the private sector differ in ways that can affect compensation.
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CBO: Federal workers better compensated than in private sector
Discussion:
The Jawa Report


US bars friends over Twitter joke — Ordeal ... Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting were locked up — TWO pals were barred from entering the US after innocent tweets joking about “destroying America” were picked up by the country's anti-terror cops. — US special agents monitoring Twitter …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, Discourse.net, The Next Web and VentureBeat
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'I'm going to destroy America and dig up Marilyn Monroe': British pair arrested in U.S. on terror charges over Twitter jokes — Two British tourists were barred from entering America after joking on Twitter that they were going to ‘destroy America’ and ‘dig up Marilyn Monroe’.

Obama's Breach of Faith Over Contraceptive Ruling — Obama's breach of faith over contraceptive ruling — One of Barack Obama's great attractions as a presidential candidate was his sensitivity to the feelings and intellectual concerns of religious believers.
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Birth Control Matters — Birth control matters to women. This is not an opinion. It is a fact. But you wouldn't know it reading political coverage of the administration's decision to do the right thing and approve the rule mandating coverage of it. — And frankly, that's shameful.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, ECHIDNE of the snakes and The Mahablog

Contraception and “Religious Liberty”
Discussion:
Religion Dispatches, Washington Post and ProfessorBainbridge.com

Racial code words obscure real issues — Two weeks ago at the Fox News/Wall Street Journal debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., I asked each GOP presidential candidate some pointed questions about the racial politics that will play a big role in the presidential campaign.


Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Obama's Bodyguard — Meet the Democratic leader who's blasting Republicans and reaching out to a peeved Congress. — The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee is running late, prepping for an MSNBC interview while she brushes her tangled mass …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and National Review
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Debbie Wasserman Schultz hits Reince Priebus on Concordia jab
Discussion:
The Hill, Verum Serum, Right Wing Watch, ThinkProgress and Mediaite

RNC chief doubles down on comparing Obama to disgraced Capt. Schettino
Discussion:
Hot Air


State Senator Behind “Don't Say Gay” Bill Refused Service At Restaurant — Tennessee state senator Stacey Campfield, who recently said that it is “virtually impossible” to contract HIV through heterosexual sex, was kicked out of a restaurant in Knoxville. He went quietly.
Discussion:
Nashville for the 21st Century, The Daily What and Towleroad News #gay
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Donald Trump Staff in Talks With Financiers, Campaign Managers to Explore Third Party Bid — ABC News' Huma Khan and Jennifer Wlach report: — Donald Trump's top political adviser told ABC News he's speaking to “high-level political operatives” to explore a third-party presidential bid …
Discussion:
M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …


Leon Panetta's explicitly authoritarian decree — The DoD chief says clearly: once the president accuses a citizen of terrorism, execution without trial is permitted — CBS News' Scott Pelley appears to be one of the very few American journalists bothered by, or even interested in …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Political Mojo, emptywheel and The Agonist

Gingrich Wants A Government That Respects ‘Our Religion’ Not ‘Every Other Religion’ — As TP's Igor Volsky pointed out today, Newt Gingrich has been accusing President Obama of perpetrating a “war on religion,” saying the president has made it more difficult for people of faith to practice their beliefs.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland


While clarifying remarks linking civil rights to gay marriage, Gov. Christie calls N.J. assemblyman ‘numbnuts’ — TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie this morning attempted to clarify statements he made about same sex marriage and civil rights, but in the process called an openly gay assemblyman …
Discussion:
Gay Star News, Gothamist and The Daily Caller


Jonathan Franzen: e-books are damaging society — Jonathan Franzen has launched a passionate defence of the printed book, warning that our desire for the instant gratification of e-books is damaging for society. — Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom, is being hailed as one of America's greatest novelists
Discussion:
Mashable!, The Daily Dish, xpostfactoid, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and normblog, more at Mediagazer »
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Franzen warns ebooks are corroding values
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared and Althouse

I'll see your white knight and raise you a filing deadline. Why It's Too Late for Entry in the Republican Nomination Race — Way back in the summer (of 2011), FHQ began fielding calls and emails from a number of media outlets asking about the filing deadlines for primaries and caucuses in the various states.
Discussion:
Salon.com, A plain blog about politics, Daily Kos, Race 4 2012, Washington Monthly, Swampland and American Prospect

Palin: ‘Vote for Newt. Annoy a Liberal.’ — Todd Palin has endorsed Newt Gingrich. And Sarah Palin, before the S.C. primary, urged voters to vote for Gingrich to keep the primary going. And in a Fox News interview this weekend, she reiterated that message.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, ABCNEWS, Gawker and RADAMISTO

New York Archdiocese Worker Accused of $1 Million Embezzlement — For eight years, the woman worked in accounts payable for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, gaining the trust of her superiors. — Colleagues praised her quiet dedication and hard work, and noted that she prayed often …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, New York Magazine and Gothamist

Newt's promise: No reporters as moderators — Newt Gingrich lashed out at the media today during a rally in Pensacola, Florida, suggesting that all reporters are in the tank for President Obama: — “As your nominee, I will not accept debates in the fall in which the reporters are the moderators …
Discussion:
Poynter, more at Mediagazer »


Concerned that too many “deniers” are in the meteorology business, global warming activists this month launched a campaign to recruit local weathermen to hop aboard the alarmism bandwagon and expose those who are not fully convinced that the world is facing man-made doom.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com and Michelle Malkin


An internal Gingrich campaign memo obtained by The Daily Caller shows the campaign is planning to continue long after Tuesday's Florida primary, stating simply: “this race is just getting started.” — The memo, from National Political Director Martin Baker, notes Romney's lack …