Top Items:

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.
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Rick Perry's campaign burned through millions — Texas Gov. Rick Perry burned through the bulk of a once-sizable campaign war chest late last year in what became an increasingly desperate attempt to right his listing — and ultimately doomed — presidential campaign, federal financial disclosures released late Monday show.

Romney headed for Florida victory — PPP's tracking of the Florida Republican primary wraps up with Mitt Romney at 39%, Newt Gingrich at 31%, Rick Santorum at 15%, and Ron Paul at 11%. Our three days of tracking found very little movement in the race: Romney was at 39-40% every day …
Discussion:
The Politico and GOP 12

Over 600,000 have already voted in Florida primary
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and The Politico

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


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, The Next Web, Discourse.net 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’.


Demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement threw condoms on Catholic schoolgirls, refused to allow a Catholic priest to give a closing prayer, and shouted down a pro-life speaker at a Rhode Island right to life rally on Thursday, according to its organizer.
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, Pat Dollard and The Gateway Pundit
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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
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hullabaloo, ECHIDNE of the snakes and The Mahablog

Contraception and “Religious Liberty”
Discussion:
CBS News, Nice Deb and ProfessorBainbridge.com


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

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


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:
Political Mojo, Firedoglake, emptywheel and The Agonist


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:
The Daily What, Nashville for the 21st Century and Towleroad News #gay
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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:
Gothamist, Gay Star News and The Daily Caller


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:
The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and National Review
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RNC chief doubles down on comparing Obama to disgraced Capt. Schettino
Discussion:
Hot Air

Debbie Wasserman Schultz hits Reince Priebus on Concordia jab
Discussion:
The Hill, Verum Serum, Right Wing Watch, ThinkProgress and Mediaite

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.


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 …


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

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, Daily Kos, Race 4 2012, A plain blog about politics, Swampland, Washington Monthly and American Prospect


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!, normblog and The Daily Dish, more at Mediagazer »
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Franzen warns ebooks are corroding values
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared and Althouse

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:
ABCNEWS, The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, Gawker and RADAMISTO