memeorandum: Why Won't They Listen? — ‘The Righteous Mind,’ by Jonathan Haidt (William Saletan/New York Times)

5:50 PM ET, March 25, 2012

Top Items:

David Plouffe / CNN:

Plouffe calls out GOP candidates over Obama reaction — Washington (CNN) - “Reprehensible.” “Irresponsible.” “Hard to stomach.” — White House senior adviser David Plouffe did not mince words Sunday when talking about the reaction by Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum …

Discussion: The Other McCain, ThinkProgress, Politico, americanthinker.com, Washington Monthly and WTVT-TV

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Friend Suggests Zimmerman Used ‘Term Of Endearment,’ Not Racial Slur, Before Killing Trayvon Martin — George Zimmerman's attorney Craig Sonner and his longtime friend Joe Oliver have launched a public relations offensive arguing that Zimmerman acted in self-defense.

Discussion: The Political Carnival, The Raw Story, Obsidian Wings, ABCNEWS and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Rick Moran / americanthinker.com:

Plouffe calls out GOP candidates for criticizing Obama's Martin comments (Updated with clarification) — The president jumps into the Trayvon Martin controversy without all the facts being known, essentially calling for the shooter to be arrested and convicted, and yet it is GOP cadidates criticizing …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Examiner, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller

Ben Geman / The Hill:

Sen. Schumer presses DOJ to probe ‘stand your ground’ laws — Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is asking the Justice Department to expand its probe of the Trayvon Martin shooting to examine controversial “stand your ground” laws in Florida and other states. — Schumer, in comments Sunday on CBS's …

Discussion: Politico and Weasel Zippers

Arelis R. Hernandez / Chicago Tribune:
Trayvon Martin case: New Black Panthers offer $10,000 bounty for capture of George Zimmerman

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The PJ Tatler, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and American Power

Fox News:

Santorum wins Louisiana, next matchup Wisconsin — Rick Santorum won the Louisiana primary Saturday as project, solidify his support from conservative in the Deep South but still faces a tough next few weeks as he competes in Northern states where frontrunner Mitt Romney has done well.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Left Coast Rebel, The Other McCain, Conservatives4Palin and Scared Monkeys

Rick Santorum / Associated Press:

After Louisiana Win, Santorum Eyes Wisconsin — GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Another victory in hand but still badly trailing rival Mitt Romney, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum vowed to continue his campaign despite an increasingly steep climb to the nomination.

Discussion: Dean's World

New York Times:
Santorum Wins Louisiana Primary

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Caucus, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway, News Desk and American Power

Washington Post:
Santorum wins Louisiana primary

Discussion: Booman Tribune, State of the Union and Prairie Weather

Ginger Gibsonand Mj Lee / Politico:
Santorum locks in Louisiana

Discussion: Don Surber, Washington Monthly, CNN, americanthinker.com and New York Times

Robert Farley / Lawyers, Guns & Money:

Stupid or Lying: Wildly Overpaid Faculty Edition — The Kaplan Test Prep Daily has determined that American faculty are overpaid: … Right; the reason for the increase in college tuition is “insufficient teaching schedules,” not the massive increase in administrative costs.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Eschaton

Lisa Belkin / The Huffington Post:

Why Men Opting-Out Should Make You Angry … Economic Power , Liza Mundy , Parents News , The Opt-Out Revolution , Economics And Gender , Men And Sex , Opting In , Opting Out , Parentry , Slidepollajax , Stay At Home Dads , Stay At Home Moms , The Richer Sex , Women And Sex , Women News

Oliver Pickup / The Independent:

Hippies head for Noah's Ark: Queue here for rescue aboard alien spaceship — Thousands of New Agers descend on mountain they see as haven from December's apocalypse — NOTE: WE DO NOT STORE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS(ES) BUT YOUR IP ADDRESS WILL BE LOGGED TO PREVENT ABUSE OF THIS FEATURE.

Discussion: Althouse

William Saletan / New York Times:

Why Won't They Listen? — ‘The Righteous Mind,’ by Jonathan Haidt — You're smart. You're liberal. You're well informed. You think conservatives are narrow-minded. You can't understand why working-class Americans vote Republican. You figure they're being duped. You're wrong.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Monkey Cage and Truthdig

Dick Cheney / Associated Press:

Police in CA looking into possibility of hate crime in death of severely beaten Iraqi woman — EL CAJON, Calif. — A woman from Iraq who was found beaten next to a threatening note saying “go back to your country” has died, and police are investigating the possibility of a hate crime.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Moderate Voice

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

A Festival of Lies — THE historian Victor Davis Hanson recently wrote a brutally clear-eyed piece in The National Review, looking back at America's different approaches to Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan and how, sadly, none of them could be said to have worked yet.