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For those who misunderstood my joke today, here's my quest for forgiveness... Last week my joke at the Conservative Political Action Conference generated laughter and media attention. Today on Andrea Mitchell's show, my aspirin joke bombed as many didn't recognize it as a joke but thought …
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Foster Friess Doubles Down — So on his “Campfire Blog,” which is apparently how he communicates with the world when he's not on our television screens, Santorum Super-PAC heavy and all-purpose spokesman Foster Friess apologized to the poor dumb humorless people who didn't get his “joke” …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Mediaite, CNN and Balloon Juice

GOP candidate says she wants to kick Santorum ‘in the jimmy’
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Politico


Santorum dodges Friess ‘bad joke’
Discussion:
Politics, News Desk, Shakesville, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Campaign 2012 and National Review

Foster Friess: In my day, women “used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives”
Discussion:
Mediaite, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos


Exclusive: Feds arrest man allegedly heading to U.S. Capitol for suicide mission after sting investigation — Authorities have arrested a man allegedly on his way to the U.S. Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack on one of the nation's most symbolic landmarks, Fox News has learned exclusively.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, New York Times, Atlas Shrugs, Gawker, NO QUARTER, Weasel Zippers, RedState, The Jawa Report, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler and Associated Press
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Federal agents arrest man who allegedly planned suicide bombing on U.S. Capitol — The FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man Friday after a lengthy investigation into an alleged plot to carry out a suicide attack on the Capitol. — In a cryptic news release …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Algemeiner.com and The Heritage Foundation


Top GOP Senator Says ‘If Romney Loses Michigan, We Need a New Candidate’ — A prominent Republican senator just told me that if Romney can't win in Michigan, the Republican Party needs to go back to the drawing board and convince somebody new to get into the race.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, GOP 12, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway and Balloon Juice


Maine GOP: Results went to spam — Maine Republican Party chairman Charlie Webster has admitted that the state party made numerous clerical errors in counting the state's caucus results — even omitting some votes because emails reporting tallies “went to spam” in an email account.
Discussion:
Portland Press-Herald, MaineGOP.com, CNN, Daily Kos, Frontloading HQ, Slate, Bangor Daily News and Swampland
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Mike DeWine Switches Endorsement From Mitt Romney To Rick Santorum
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog and Outside the Beltway

Romney's Victory in the Maine Caucuses Is at Risk
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Washington Wire and Politico

Romney: Rombo ad is “most negative ad I've seen”
Discussion:
National Review


TPMDC — Obama Administration Wouldn't Defend Blocking Military Benefits From Same-Sex Couples — The Obama Justice Department has concluded that legislation banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and Towleroad News #gay
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Gingrich to get another $10 million from casino backer - sources — Sheldon Adelson, left, and Newt Gingrich, right — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's faltering campaign is about to get another shot in the arm, CBS News has learned. — Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson plans …
Discussion:
Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog and Political Insider
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Republican donor expected to shell out $10 million to Gingrich super PAC
Discussion:
GOP 12, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Business Insider, ABCNEWS, Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's …, The PJ Tatler and Ballot Box

The Jeremy Lin Problem — Jeremy Lin is anomalous in all sorts of ways. He's a Harvard grad in the N.B.A., an Asian-American man in professional sports. But we shouldn't neglect the biggest anomaly. He's a religious person in professional sports. — We've become accustomed …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Weasel Zippers, No More Mister Nice Blog, Feministing, The Maddow Blog and Gothamist

Time Warner Cable and MSG Resolve Dispute — The 48-day standoff between the MSG Network and Time Warner Cable ended Friday, according to two people aware of the resolution who were not authorized to speak publicly. — The end of the impasse will be announced Friday afternoon by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and executives of both companies.
Discussion:
Deadline.com, business.time.com, Capital Tonight, Gothamist and Media Decoder


The Myth of Runaway Health Spending — The growth rate of national health expenditures has been declining for a decade, driven by better medical care and consumer choice. — New data show that health spending over the past several years has been normalizing toward the rate of general inflation …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler
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Entitlements Hysteria — Wall Street Journal , Federal Budget …
Discussion:
Economist's View

Google's iPhone Tracking — Web Giant, Others Bypassed Apple Browser Settings for Guarding Privacy — Google Inc. and other advertising companies have been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of people using Apple Inc.'s Web browser on their iPhones and computers …
Discussion:
Bits, TechCrunch, The Heritage Foundation, Politico, CNET, VentureBeat, Washington Post, Mashable!, Big Journalism, AllThingsD, The Daily Caller and Slashdot, more at Techmeme »

Dick Cheney is lobbying for gay marriage in Maryland? — Buried in Annie Linskey's Baltimore Sun story today about GOP Maryland Delegate Wade Kach coming out in support of marriage equality is this little tidbit: … Dick Cheney is personally lobbying on behalf of gay marriage? Really?
Discussion:
Box Turtle Bulletin, Baltimore Sun and ThinkProgress
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Maryland lawmakers under national pressure on marriage bill
Discussion:
Daily Kos, HorsesAss.Org, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, Gay Politics and Box Turtle Bulletin


A Syllabus for the ‘Occupy’ Movement — Conservatives are wrong to deride college courses on the anti-Wall Street protests. Here's a lesson plan and possible reading list. — Schools from New York's Columbia to Chicago's Roosevelt University are offering courses on the “Occupy” movement.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, Belmont Club, Hit & Run and Ed Driscoll


Al Sharpton's SUV impounded at La Guardia Airport — Can I get a witness? — The Rev. Al Sharpton tried to move heaven and earth yesterday to keep his SUV from being towed at La Guardia Airport — but no amount of preaching could stop Port Authority cops from impounding the vehicle.
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, Washington Free Beacon and Gothamist

U.S. Unemployment Increases in Mid-February — Underemployment also up, to 19.0% — PRINCETON, NJ — The U.S. unemployment rate, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 9.0% in mid-February, up from 8.6% for January. The mid-month reading normally reflects …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and The Lonely Conservative


Ethics panel members recused in Maxine Waters case — Six members of the House Ethics Committee - including all five Republicans on the secretive panel - have recused themselves from the long-running case involving Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.), an unprecedented move that raises …
Discussion:
The Raw Story

Blacklisted, But Not Beaten — My days as a political analyst at MSNBC have come to an end. — After 10 enjoyable years, I am departing, after an incessant clamor from the left that to permit me continued access to the microphones of MSNBC would be an outrage against decency, and dangerous.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Politico, Associated Press, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, 24Ahead, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Booman Tribune, The Daily Caller, The Daily Dish, The PJ Tatler, NewsBusters.org, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Impolitic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, Colorlines, Speakeasy, Media Decoder, Daily Pundit, YID With LID, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gawker, Deadline.com, Daily Kos and Liberal Values, more at Mediagazer »


Over-regulated America — The home of laissez-faire is being suffocated by excessive and badly written regulation — AMERICANS love to laugh at ridiculous regulations. A Florida law requires vending-machine labels to urge the public to file a report if the label is not there.
Discussion:
FreeEnterprise.com, The Atlantic Online, Politico and americanthinker.com

Record 19 reporters, media execs join Team Obama — For some Washington reporters and media execs, cheering their team from the sidelines just isn't good enough: Tugging on a red, white and blue Team Obama jersey is the answer. — That's the case for a whopping 19 journalists and media executives …
Discussion:
Don Surber and Weasel Zippers

Rick Santorum's mysterious, paradoxical manifesto, ‘It Takes a Family’: Character Sketch — Every presidential race has its mysteries. Who really won the recent low-turnout Maine caucuses—and why are the Republicans having so much trouble counting caucus votes?
Discussion:
Hullabaloo