memeorandum: Zeroing In on Lead in Hunters' Bullets (Douglas M. Main/Green)

10:10 AM ET, March 16, 2012

Top Items:

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Obama's oil flimflam — Yes, of course, presidents have no direct control over gas prices. But the American people know something about this president and his disdain for oil. The “fuel of the past,” he contemptuously calls it. To the American worker who doesn't commute by government motorcade …

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Conservatives4Palin

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Natural Born Drillers — To be a modern Republican in good standing, you have to believe — or pretend to believe — in two miracle cures for whatever ails the economy: more tax cuts for the rich and more drilling for oil. And with prices at the pump on the rise, so is the chant of “Drill, baby, drill.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather and The Huffington Post

Joel Achenbach / Washington Post: Gas prices spike, and American motorists rumble with anger, frustration

Sarah Palin / BREITBART.COM:

BREITBART IS HERE — There is a new street art poster that's being emailed around and will no doubt eventually be spotted on a street corner near you. It's a gritty black and white image of Andrew Breitbart looking both battle-worn and ever vigilant with the caption: “BREITBART IS HERE.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, his vorpal sword, The Gateway Pundit and Conservatives4Palin

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Gingrich: I'm not dependent on Sheldon Adelson to stay in race — Newt Gingrich on Friday denied that the reason he's able to stay in the GOP presidential race is because of funding by one major donor. — “No. I'm happy to have somebody who cares passionately about the Iranian nuclear weapon …

Discussion: CNN

Larry J. Sabato / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Romney Set to Dominate Race Through April

Discussion: Don Surber, Scared Monkeys, his vorpal sword, Washington Monthly, Politico, The Atlantic Wire, New York Times, American Prospect and Real Clear Politics

Rick Pearson / Chicago Tribune:
Romney moves up campaigning in suddenly crucial Illinois

Discussion: The Page and Wilson Perkins Allen …

Justin Sink / The Hill: Romney: No ‘secret deal’ with Ron Paul

Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:

Texas Loses Entire Women's Health Program Over Planned Parenthood Law … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Video, Hhs Texas Family Planning Program, Hhs Texas Medicaid, Rick Perry Planned Parenthood, Rick Perry Women's Health Program, Texas Women's Health Program, Texas-Planned-Parenthood, Politics News

Discussion: Shakesville, Jezebel, LifeNews.com and Daily Kos

David Morgan / Reuters:

Catholic bishops pressured Komen over Planned Parenthood — (Reuters) - When he visited the United States four years ago, Pope Benedict XVI blessed a box of silver ribbon-shaped pins for breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure and sent them to its founder, Nancy Brinker.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Josh Barro / The Barrometer:

Santorum Promises Broad War on Porn — You had better not be watching what Rick Santorum thinks you're watching. (Image via Wikipedia) — The Daily Caller flags a little-discussed position paper on Rick Santorum's campaign website—his pledge to aggressively prosecute those who produce and distribute pornography.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Hit & Run

Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:
Santorum: Obama DOJ favors ‘pornographers over children’

Discussion: rightwingwatch.org and GOP 12

Steven Nelson / The Daily Caller:
‘Vigorous’ Santorum crackdown may catch Internet porn viewers with pants down

Discussion: The Other McCain, Pundit & Pundette, Hot Air, The Jawa Report, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, LewRockwell.com Blog and Wonkette

Matt Kibbe / Politico:

Orrin Hatch is no conservative — “What do you call a senator who's served in office for 18 years?” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), asked about his opponent in the first of his many Senate campaigns. “You call him home.” — I have a similar question: What do you call a senator who claims to be …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots and BuzzFeed

Salt Lake Tribune:
Hatch cheered by initial GOP caucus reports

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and The Daily Caller

Investor's Business Daily:

Bigot Chris Matthews' War On Catholics And Mormons — Bias: Having lost that tingly feeling up his leg, MSNBC's Chris Matthews savages GOP presidential candidates as belonging to cults. Well, at least they didn't spend two decades listening to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Discussion: The POH Diaries

Eric Schmittand William Yardley / New York Times:

Suspect in Afghan Attack ‘Snapped,’ U.S. Official Says — WASHINGTON — The American staff sergeant suspected of killing 16 Afghan villagers had been drinking alcohol — a violation of military rules in combat zones — and suffering from the stress related to his fourth combat tour and tensions …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, emptywheel, The BLT, msnbc.com and The PJ Tatler

Matthew Shelley / NationalJournal.com:

After Giving Limbaugh a Bye, Romney Blasts Maher — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — The battle over potty-mouthed talk show hosts is getting partisan indeed. — After taking a pass on criticizing conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh for calling a Georgetown University student …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Show Tracker, Sky Dancing, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, ABCNEWS and Reuters

Tim Boyle / ABCNEWS:
Rahm Emanuel Uses Limbaugh Controversy Against Romney

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers and The Page

Lynn Bonner / Raleigh News & Observer:

Hundreds march against same-sex marriage amendment — TAKAAKI IWABU - TIWABU@NEWSOBSERVER.COM — Demonstrators voice their opposition to the North Carolina Same-Sex Marriage Amendment on Thursday, March 15, 2012, at a rally behind the legislative building on Halifax mall in Raleigh. — marriage |

Discussion: www2.nbc17.com, ThinkProgress and Towleroad News #gay

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin / The Rhode Island Catholic:
Five Problems with Homosexual “Marriage”

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Dan Amira / New York Magazine:

RutherfordGate: Historian Responds to President Obama's Hayes Slur — Rutherford B. Hayes: Very much pro-phone. — It's not unusual for President Obama to criticize his Republican predecessors from time to time, but this morning, he targeted his scorn not at George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan, but ... Rutherford B. Hayes.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Taylor Marsh, American Power, BuzzFeed, Don Surber, Questions and Observations, Politico, Wonkette, Weasel Zippers, Indecision Forever and Outside the Beltway

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Obama Mangles U.S., World History In Energy Speech

Discussion: Right Wing News, Mediaite, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, Ed Driscoll, New York Times, NewsBusters.org blogs and Jammie Wearing Fools

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Durbin: US buying weapons from same Russian manufacturer that is enabling massacre in Syria — Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Thursday decried the fact that the U.S. military is apparently buying tens of millions of dollars' worth of helicopters for the Afghan national army …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Raymond Hernandez / City Room:

Ackerman Won't Seek Re-Election to Congress — WASHINGTON — Representative Gary L. Ackerman, a longtime member of Congress from Queens and Long Island, announced on Thursday that he would not seek re-election, an unexpected development that brings an end to a colorful political career.

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, msnbc.com and The Page

Jamie Klatell / Ballot Box:
Rep. Gary Ackerman will not seek reelection

Discussion: Politico, CNN and The Hayride

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

At NCAA Tournament, Southern Miss Band Chants 'Where's Your Green Card?' At Hispanic Kansas State Player — During their school's NCAA Tournament game against Kansas State University today, members of the Southern Mississippi University band chanted, “Where's your green card?” at a Puerto Rican Kansas State player.

Discussion: BOR, BuzzFeed, New York Times, NECN, No More Mister Nice Blog and ImmigrationProf Blog

Juana Summers / Politico:
Rick Santorum on official language: Puerto Ricans should speak Spanish too

Discussion: Jezebel, The Caucus and The Moderate Voice

Benedict Carey / New York Times:

Male Fruit Flies, Spurned by Females, Turn to Alcohol — They were young males on the make, and they struck out not once, not twice, but a dozen times with a group of attractive females hovering nearby. So they did what so many men do after being repeatedly rejected: they got drunk, using alcohol as a balm for unfulfilled desire.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Truthdig

Carlo Munoz / The Hill:

McCain sees another Solyndra in Navy biofuels spending — The Navy's push to develop biofuels to run its fleet of planes and warships could devolve into a “Solyndra situation” for the Pentagon, a top Republican senator said today. — During Tuesday's hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee …

James Bamford / Wired:

The NSA Is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) — The spring air in the small, sand-dusted town has a soft haze to it, and clumps of green-gray sagebrush rustle in the breeze. Bluffdale sits in a bowl-shaped valley in the shadow of Utah's Wasatch Range to the east and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

Discussion: The Agonist

New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Dismissal of gun-rights suit upheld by 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel — A federal judge correctly dismissed a lawsuit against the city of New Orleans by a man who claimed that local law-enforcement authorities violated his constitutional right to bear arms, a divided panel …

Discussion: Law Blog