Top Items:

We Will Not Play by Two Sets of Rules — In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs—non-candidate political committees that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests.
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Major Obama Donors Tied to Fugitive Who Fled to Mexico — Two American brothers of a Mexican casino magnate who fled drug and fraud charges in the United States and has been seeking a pardon enabling him to return have emerged as major fund-raisers and donors for President Obama's re-election campaign.
Discussion:
Associated Press, ABCNEWS, Politico, The Hill, Guardian, JustOneMinute, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post, Verum Serum and Election Law Blog


Obama embraces the super PAC — President Barack Obama — in an act of hypocrisy or necessity, depending on the beholder — has reversed course and is now blessing the efforts of a sputtering super PAC, Priorities USA Action, organized to fight GOP dark-money attacks.
Discussion:
Datechguy's Blog, Pirate's Cove, ABCNEWS, The Lonely Conservative and CommonBlog

Obama Yields in Marshaling of ‘Super PAC’
Discussion:
The Hill, Political Mojo, News Desk, ABCNEWS, Randy's Roundtable, Mediaite and ThinkProgress

Russell Simmons defends Obama campaign designer goods
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin and American Prospect

Obama campaign to support super PAC fundraising
Discussion:
JONATHAN TURLEY and The Spectacle Blog

Obama gives blessing to a super PAC
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Weasel Zippers and Politico

Karen Handel resigns from Komen for the Cure — Karen Handel, the former GOP candidate for governor, just announced her resignation as a senior vice president for public of Susan G. Komen for the Cure - one week after the breast cancer charity reversed itself on a decision to sever financial ties with Planned Parenthood.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Jezebel, Jill Stanek, US Politics, Daily Kos and Colorlines
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Karen Handel, Susan G. Komen official, resigns after Planned Parenthood dispute — ATLANTA (AP) — A high-ranking official resigned Tuesday from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity after a dispute over whether the group should give funding to Planned Parenthood, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
Discussion:
Business Insider and Taylor Marsh

Big Day for Santorum? — Rick Santorum could be headed for a big day in today's contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. Missouri looks like a probable win for Santorum. He's at 45% there to 32% for Mitt Romney and 19% for Paul. Minnesota provides an opportunity for a win as well.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, The Maddow Blog, Hot Air, Shakesville, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, Saint Petersblog, Taegan Goddard's …, Pundit & Pundette, Washington Post, The Caucus, The Atlantic Online, Wake up America, The Lonely Conservative and National Review
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Influential conservative blogger endorses ‘sweet meteor of death’ in GOP primary — Influential conservative blogger Erick Erickson said he would endorse the “sweet meteor of death” over any of the current GOP candidates, but would back the party's eventual nominee in the general election against President Obama.
Discussion:
American Prospect, Erick's blog, PolitiCal, Hot Air and The Reaction

5 things to watch Tuesday
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Wire, Time, Stateline.org and The Atlantic Online


White House, Surrogates Push Back on Catholic Bishop Uproar Over Contraception — I didn't think we had reached the point in America where providing free contraception would be seen as a risky political maneuver, but here we are. Last month, the Administration agreed to universal access …
Discussion:
National Review and The Hill
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Catholic League Poised To Go To War With Obama Over Mandatory Birth Control Payments — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Catholic leaders upped the ante Monday, threatening to challenge the Obama administration over a provision of the new health care law that would require all employers …

Birth Control and Why the Catholic Church Needs to Inform Its Own Conscience — I am the product of 14 years of Catholic school and am a practicing Catholic, actively involved in the church all of my life. As a woman with a career in politics and women's leadership, I have quietly worked within …
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove

Morning Bell: Obamacare Awakens a Sleeping Giant
Discussion:
Campaign 2012

Clint Eastwood: ‘I am Certainly Not Affiliated with Mr. Obama’ — FoxNation.com — Following the fall out over the controversial Chrysler Super Bowl halftime ad, Clint Eastwood spoke exclusively with O'Reilly Factor producer Ron Mitchell... Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod tweeted his support for the ad last night.
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Karl Rove ‘offended’ by Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad
Discussion:
Campaign Stops, The Moderate Voice, New York Times, The Atlantic Wire, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, 24 Frames, Paul Krugman, New York Magazine, Weekly Standard, nation.foxnews.com, The New Republic, National Review, detroitnews.com, emptywheel, The Nation, Wonkette, Hollywood Reporter, Philly.com, Big Government, Prairie Weather, Salon.com, The Car Connection, The Raw Story, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Poynter, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos


DocX Faces Foreclosure Fraud Charges in Missouri — One of the largest companies that provided home foreclosure services to lenders across the nation, DocX, has been indicted on forgery charges by a Missouri grand jury — one of the few criminal actions to follow reports of widespread improprieties against homeowners.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, naked capitalism and Foreclosure Fraud


This Is So Classy: ‘Yellow Girl’ — Thanks to TPM for a tip to what you see if you examine the HTML code* of the Pete Hoekstra / Fred Davis “we take your jobs” video. — The image of the “Chinese” girl in the video, who speaks American-accented English, is labelled as ... well, see for yourself:
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, News Desk, Balloon Juice, Wonkette, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Pete Hoekstra .com and Daily Kos

FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists — (Reuters) - Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday. — These extremists, sometimes known as “sovereign citizens …
Discussion:
Blogcritics, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys and Atlas Shrugs

David Frum Eviscerates Charles Murray's Latest Book — David Frum begins a withering review for The Daily Beast, “Charles Murray's Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 is an important book that will have large influence. It is unfortunately not a good book.”
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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Lavrov says seeks peace in Syria as forces bombard Homs — (Reuters) - Russia's foreign minister said he told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday that Moscow wanted to see peace in the Arab world as Syrian forces resumed a bombardment of Homs, a hub of protest and rebellion against Assad's rule.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, emptywheel and The Page
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Syria crisis: Russia's Sergei Lavrov meets Assad
Discussion:
Guardian, New York Times, msnbc.com and FP Passport


Court to rule on California gay marriage ban — (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court is set to rule on Tuesday whether California's ban on gay marriage is constitutional in a case that is likely to lead to a showdown on the issue in the U.S. Supreme Court. — California joined the vast majority …
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SUPREME COURT: — Judges already citing Wal-Mart ruling in environmental cases
Discussion:
Law Blog and SCOTUSblog


TPMDC — Are Republicans About To Commit Medicare Suicide? — It's shaping up to be spring 2011 redux. Just under a year ago, Republicans — euphoric after a midterm election landslide, and overzealous in their interpretation of their mandate — passed a budget that called for phasing …
Discussion:
Esquire, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*


Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures — Banks, accelerating efforts to move troubled mortgages off their books, are offering as much as $35,000 or more in cash to delinquent homeowners to sell their properties for less than they owe. — Lenders have routinely delayed …
Discussion:
Eschaton and Calculated Risk