memeorandum: Garzón found guilty in wiretapping case (Guardian)

11:50 AM ET, February 9, 2012

Top Items:

Obama mandate on birth control coverage stirs controversy — WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders and Republican presidential candidates joined Catholic religious groups on Wednesday in denouncing the Obama administration's mandate requiring health insurers to offer birth control coverage, but the White House stood its ground.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, American Prospect, The Huffington Post, Political Mojo, Politico, Hullabaloo, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, US Politics, Daily Kos and The Loyal Opposition

Amy Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:

The Contraception Coverage Debate Isn't Just About the Bishops — Obama should do right by the progressive Catholics who made his health reforms possible and expand the religious exemption to the new contraceptive mandate in the law. — If abortion rights advocates are feeling their oats this week, they have good reason.

Discussion: Swampland, The New Republic and CNN

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Obama administration struggles to contain uproar over birth-control rule

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk and ThinkProgress

ABCNEWS:
Senate Democrats Say Obama ‘Reinforced’ His Stance on Contraception Mandate at Democratic Retreat

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Hot Air, Campaign 2012, Pirate's Cove, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative and The Gateway Pundit

Linda Greenhouse / Opinionator:
Whose Conscience?

Discussion: National Review, beliefnet, New York Times and No More Mister Nice Blog

Alec MacGillis / The New Republic:
On Birth Control, Obama Saved By The Taco Bell?

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, USA Today, Balloon Juice and National Review

Michael Sean Winters / ncronline.org:
Compromise? Not So Fast

Discussion: Ross Douthat, Politico, GetReligion, Hotline On Call, CatholicVote.org and Rod Dreher

New York Times:

States Negotiate $26 Billion Agreement for Homeowners — After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation's biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Financial Times, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Booman Tribune, The Page and DealBook

Yves Smith / naked capitalism:

The Top Twelve Reasons Why You Should Hate the Mortgage Settlement — As readers may know by now, 49 of 50 states have agreed to join the so-called mortgage settlement, with Oklahoma the lone refusenik. Although the fine points are still being hammered out, various news outlets (New York Times …

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Times, Business Insider, Calculated Risk, US Politics, Wall Street Journal, Prairie Weather and Discourse.net

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

49-State Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Will Be Finalized Today — Forty-nine states, every one but Oklahoma, as well as federal regulators will participate in a foreclosure fraud settlement that will release the five biggest banks (Wells Fargo, Citi, Ally/GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America) …

Discussion: Slate, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Business Insider and emptywheel

Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:

Return of the Culture Wars: Can Mitt Romney Win Conservative Backing? — The resurgence of social and cultural issues in voters' minds poses new challenges for GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney as he reels from surprising losses Tuesday to conservative favorite Rick Santorum.

Discussion: The Reaction

Jonathan Martinand Manu Raju / Reuters:
Mitt Romney's message from GOP: Step it up

Discussion: ABCNEWS, New York Times, CNN and Gothamist

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
Romney ventures into lion's den at CPAC

Discussion: CNN, Shakesville and Right Wing Watch

New York Post:
Romney's new test — Newt Gingrich's surprise victory …

Discussion: The Page

Wall Street Journal:

Where's the Rest of Them? — Santorum's rise, Romney's weakness, and the GOP coalition. — Rick Santorum did his second Lazarus act on Tuesday with his triple victory in two Midwest states and Colorado, interrupting Mitt Romney's media coronation. The question now is whether the Pennsylvanian can …

Discussion: GOP 12

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Eye doctor warns of dangers of political protest on gay marriage — It's been called the “most fabulous form of protest,” but according to one medical expert, the potential dangers of “glitter bombing” are far from marvelous. — In an increasingly popular form of protest, activists are throwing glitter on unsuspecting targets.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Keith Coffman / Reuters: Colorado student charged in “glitter bomb” of Romney

Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
The Rick Santorum boomlet presents an interesting conundrum …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Examiner, CNN, GOP 12, Swampland, The Daily Beast and Hot Air

Jim Vandehei / Reuters:

The political transformation of Barack Obama — There are two indisputable facts about politics. — The first is that every modern president in the fourth year of his presidency resorts to the cheap political stunts, broken promises and truth-fudging it takes to win reelection in what has been and will be a 50-50 nation.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, The Maddow Blog and The Hill

Corky Siemaszko / NY Daily News: Obama: I'm going after Romney, not Wall Street

Rolling Stone:
Why Wall Street Should Stop Whining

Discussion: The Confluence and The Huffington Post

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Pol ‘Tebows’ after bill Ok'd — Virginia Del. Robert Bell celebrated his bill passing the state House on Wednesday by taking a knee and Tebowing. — The legislation — dubbed the “Tebow bill” for the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow — would allow the state's homeschooled students …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Stateline.org and New York Times

msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: Romney retools his message — Romney retools his message — with his biography and even his policy... GOPers and conservatives tell Romney to step it up... Dems break ranks on the contraception issue... Yet polling (for now) shows the issue isn't as controversial …

Discussion: The Hill, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12, Guardian and CNN

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

Obama, Explained — As Barack Obama contends for a second term in office, two conflicting narratives of his presidency have emerged. Is he a skillful political player and policy visionary—a chess master who always sees several moves ahead of his opponents (and of the punditocracy)?

Truth Wins Out:

Truth Wins Out to Slam Newt Gingrich for Hypocrisy on Marriage Equality in Thursday Roll Call Ad — Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director — WASHINGTON - Truth Wins Out is placing a provocative full-page ad in the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call on Thursday admonishing Newt Gingrich …

Discussion: Good As You, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.

Justin Ravitz / Us Weekly:

Rick Santorum's Sweater Vest Slammed by Scarlett Johansson — Scarlett Johansson isn't ready to talk yet about Nate Naylor, her just-revealed boyfriend of five months. — The sartorial choices of Rick Santorum and the Republican National Committee, however, were fair game for Johansson …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Carol E. Lee / Washington Wire:

Michelle Obama Takes Aim at Military Weight — First Lady Michelle Obama leaves Thursday for a three-day, four-state tour to mark the second anniversary of her “Let's Move!” initiative to get Americans to eat healthier and be more physically fit. … The trip is a mix of events and announcements …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

New Huckabee Radio Show Could Vie With Limbaugh — Rush Limbaugh will soon have a new radio rival: Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who ran for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago and thought about running again this year. — Instead, he will be running …

Discussion: GOP 12, Media Decoder, Business Insider, Washington Post and Alan Colmes' Liberaland, more at Mediagazer »

iowahawk:

A Fistful of Rebates — It's halftime. — Both teams are in their locker rooms discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half. Diagramming plays. Texting their agents and German supermodel wives. Reviewing Belichick's aerial spy photos. — It's halftime in America, too.

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Report: White House to offer 10 states waivers on No Child Left Behind — President Obama on Thursday will offer waivers to 10 states that applied for exclusion from some aspects of the No Child Left Behind Law, according to a report in The Associated Press that cited an anonymous White House official.

Discussion: CNN

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Santorum: Obama Has Put America On ‘The Path’ Of Executing Religious People By Decapitation — Rick Santorum continued to rail against President Obama's so-called war against religion during a town hall in Plano, Texas Wednesday night. The former Pennsylvania senator …