memeorandum: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Affirmative Action Case (Adam Liptak/New York Times)

6:05 PM ET, February 21, 2012

Top Items:

SANTORUM'S SATAN WARNING — “Satan has his sights on the United States of America!” Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has declared. — “Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack …

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, New York Post, The Caucus, The New Republic, Don Surber, Big Government, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal:

Sex, Lies and Rick Santorum — The politics of the double standard on social issues. — When Barack Obama was campaigning for president in 2008, he declared that marriage is between a man and a woman. For the most part, his position was treated as a nonissue. — Now Rick Santorum is campaigning for president.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Dish, Weekly Standard, Foster Friess, Connecting.the.Dots, Politico and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Rich Lowry / National Review:

The Effrontery of Rick Santorum — The media has unleashed the hounds on Rick Santorum. — He was last seen a step ahead of the braying pack, trying to explain that he hadn't accused President Barack Obama of being a crypto-Muslim. The former Pennsylvania senator criticized …

Discussion: American Prospect, The American Conservative, The Mahablog, TheBlaze.com, Washington Wire, Pundit & Pundette and alicublog

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Santorum: “You're Not A Christian” — Defenders of Rick Santorum are very angry that anyone would suggest his “phony theology” comments about the president represented an attack on a fellow Christian's beliefs. Turns out he was a bit more direct about it in an appearance in 2008 …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

It's not conservative, It's reactionary — A number of social conservatives, sensing that Rick Santorum has hit a trip wire, are complaining that he's being skewered for being a social conservative. That's demonstrably wrong. The nonstop flaps (some of which concern past episodes …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Booman Tribune

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Mitt's Friends Open Up New Front on Rick — It's been an implicit part of the rules of engagement in the GOP presidential race that no candidate can be criticized for being too conservative, particularly by Mitt Romney. Thus Rick Perry drew fire not for flirting with secession and nullification theories …

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh and Balloon Juice

Frank Newport / Gallup:
Santorum Expands Lead, but Romney Gets Electability Vote

Discussion: Hot Air, Reuters, Firedoglake, Boston Globe, Arizona Republic, The Other McCain, TIME Ideas, Investor's Business Daily, CNN, Lists, Ballot Box, The Week, Towleroad News #gay, The Caucus, GOP 12, National Review, Washington Wire and msnbc.com

Rick Santorum / CNN:
CNN/Time Poll: All tied up in Arizona

Discussion: Ballot Box

Alex Altman / Swampland:
TIME/CNN Arizona Poll: Romney Holds Narrow Lead over Santorum

Discussion: Washington Post and Guardian

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Santorum leads in Washington

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Pundit and GOP 12

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
25 Photos Of Mitt Romney Looking Perfectly Normal

Discussion: Wonkette, Gawker and Balloon Juice

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
Women Prefer Santorum to Romney by 10-Point Margin, Says Gallup

Discussion: protein wisdom

Steven Bertoni / Money Talks:

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson Says He Might Give $100M To Newt Gingrich Or Other Republican — Sheldon Adelson: The GOP's $25 billion man … Sheldon Adelson plays as stubbornly in politics as he does in business. So the criticisms that he's trying to personally buy the presidential election …

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Two Charts That Should Make Romney Gulp — It's no secret that, as far as frontrunners go, Mitt Romney's never exactly set the grassroots on fire. But his latest fundraising numbers drive home just how weak his small donor appeal is compared to his rivals — and especially President Obama.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Campaign 2012

Politico:
Mitt Romney's burn rate a boon for Barack Obama

Discussion: OpenSecrets.org, Daily Kos, Washington Post, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Business Insider, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, The Caucus and Reuters

Rick Santorum / CNN:
Obama campaign takes a swing at Santorum

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:
Mr. Right eludes the GOP

Discussion: Democracy in America and Marbury

Felix Salmon:

The improbable Greece plan — Greece is now officially a ward of the international community. It has no real independence when it comes to fiscal policy any more, and if everything goes according to plan, it's not going to have any independence for many, many years to come.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Paul Krugman, US Politics, Reuters, The Atlantic Online, EU Referendum, Associated Press, Newshoggers.com, Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, americanthinker.com and National Review

Peter Spiegel / Agence France Presse:

Greek debt nightmare laid bare — A “strictly confidential” report on Greece's debt projections prepared for eurozone finance ministers reveals Athens' rescue programme is way off track and suggests the Greek government may need another bail-out once a second rescue - set to be agreed on Monday night - runs out.

Discussion: Via Meadia, National Review, The Atlantic Online, Felix Salmon, Political Mojo and New York Times

James Crugnale / Mediaite:

Watch Franklin Graham Question President Obama's Faith, Explain Why Mormons Aren't Christian On Morning Joe — On Tuesday, Franklin Graham appeared on Morning Joe and made some statements that threw the show's panel — which included Alex Wagner, Willie Geist, and John Heilemann — into disarray.

Discussion: Thoughts and Rantings, Religion Dispatches, Balloon Juice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Mollie Reilly / The Huffington Post:
Franklin Graham Calls Obama's Religious Beliefs Into Question

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Gateway Pundit and Gothamist

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

In Apologizing for Global Warming Hoax, Peter Gleick Blames His Victims — The Heartland Institute was vicitimized by global warming fanatics who published stolen documents and at least one forged document in their attempts to portray the Institute as dishonest.

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, Guardian, Watts Up With That?, The Huffington Post and Tim Blair

New York Times:
Activist Says He Lied to Obtain Climate Papers

Discussion: Online NewsHour, JunkScience.com, Guardian and ThinkProgress

Peter H. Gleick / The Huffington Post:
The Origin of the Heartland Documents

Daily Mail:

Didn't get the memo? Hillary Clinton dons lime green shirt for G20 ‘family photo’ while everyone else wears white — It is the fear of every party guest, turning up in an outfit not suited to the dress code. — And unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, her slip up was witnessed by top government officials from across the globe.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Weasel Zippers and HotAirPundit

Chris Geidner / Poliglot:

BREAKING: Proposition 8 Proponents to Seek Full Ninth Circuit Review — Charles Cooper, the lead attorney for the proponents of Proposition 8, tells Metro Weekly that the proponents of the California marriage amendment will be asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, On Top Magazine Headlines, Towleroad News #gay, Law Blog, The Volokh Conspiracy, New York Times, Joe. My. God. and Shakesville

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Santorum in 95: ‘I Was Basically Pro-Choice All My Life, Until I Ran For Congress’ … 2012 Election , Rick Santorum , Elections 2012 , Video , Politics News , Doug Walgren , Doug Walgren Rick Santorum , Reagan Republican , Rick Santorum 2012 , Rick Santorum Abortion , Rick Santorum Pennsylvania …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Business Insider and Wonkette

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Affirmative Action Case — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a major case on affirmative action in higher education, adding another potential blockbuster to a docket already studded with them. — The court's decision in the new case holds …

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, Los Angeles Times, ACS Blog, Washington Post, American Spectator and Feministing

CNN:

Official: Burned Islamic religious material had ‘extremist inscriptions’ — Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Religious materials — including Qurans that were burned at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, sparking Afghan protests — were removed from the library of a detainee center …

Discussion: Washington Post, Jihad Watch, The Gateway Pundit and Outside the Beltway

Samar Zwak / Reuters:
Afghans vent fury over Koran burning, U.S. apologizes

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Campaign 2012 and White House Dossier

Larry Kudlow / National Review:

A Bolder Romney Tax-Cut Plan Is Coming — Team Romney tells me there will be a bolder tax-cut plan released either at the debate tomorrow night (if Mitt gets it in) or more formally at his Detroit Economic Club speech on Friday. I'm embargoed from releasing details until tomorrow.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air and Daily Kos

Jonathan Strong / Roll Call:

Associate Confronted Rep. Ron Paul About Flights — In March 2005, David James called Rep. Ron Paul's (R-Texas) Congressional office for some documentation. — James's nonprofit group, the Liberty Committee, had paid for one of Paul's flights, and James needed a receipt or boarding pass to document the expense.

Discussion: Hot Air, Examiner, Thoughts and Rantings, Big Government, Online NewsHour, Weekly Standard, msnbc.com and The Spectacle Blog

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

False Recovery 2.0: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like 2011 — The US economy is billions of dollars and 1.7 million jobs stronger than we were twelve months ago. But the same headwinds that doomed last year's recovery are swirling again. — Reuters — Let's play “Name That Year of the Recovery.”

Discussion: Associated Press and RedState

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Gallup survey shows ‘sharp deterioration in job market’ in Feburary — Unemployment could rise back to 9 percent of the U.S. population in Feburary according to a Gallup survey released Tuesday, painting a grim picture for the Obama Administration that had been temporarily buoyed by promising jobs figures at the end of January.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers