Top Items:
Rene Stutzman / Orlando Sentinel:
Police: Zimmerman says Trayvon decked him with one blow then began hammering his head — With a single punch, Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who eventually shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old, then Trayvon climbed on top of George Zimmerman and slammed his head …
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Frances Robles / MiamiHerald.com:
Multiple suspensions paint complicated portrait of Trayvon Martin — SANFORD — Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin was suspended from school in October in an incident in which he was found in possession of women's jewelry and a screwdriver that a schools security staffer described as a “burglary tool,” The Miami Herald has learned.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Little Green Footballs and National Review
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
An Unfortunate T-Shirt Hits Florida Streets In Wake Of Trayvon Martin Killing — Expanding the definition of “cracker,” a t-shirt featuring the photo of the man who shot Trayvon Martin is now available for purchase. — As seen at right (click to enlarge), the shirt has a picture of George Zimmerman and the words “Pussy Ass Cracker.”
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, ABCNEWS and American Power
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
Mother Seeks Trayvon Martin Trademarks — Records: Late teenager's kin filed pair of applications last week — The mother of Trayvon Martin has filed two applications to secure trademarks containing her late son's name, records show. — Sabrina Fulton is seeking marks for the phrases …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler and Clayton Cramer's Blog
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Former NAACP leader accuses Sharpton and Jackson of ‘exploiting’ Trayvon Martin — Former NAACP leader C.L. Bryant is accusing Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton of “exploiting” the Trayvon Martin tragedy to “racially divide this country.” — “His family should be outraged at the fact …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
What Everyone Needs To Know About The Smear Campaign Against Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)
What Everyone Needs To Know About The Smear Campaign Against Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)
Discussion:
Associated Press, iOwnTheWorld.com, New York Magazine and The Stranger …
Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:
Five States Still Debating ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws After Trayvon Martin's Tragic Death
Five States Still Debating ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws After Trayvon Martin's Tragic Death
Discussion:
CNN, The Huffington Post and Republic Report
Matt Gutman / ABCNEWS:
Trayvon Martin Killing Lead Prosecutor Says George Zimmerman Could Walk
Trayvon Martin Killing Lead Prosecutor Says George Zimmerman Could Walk
Discussion:
msnbc.com, ABCNEWS and The Huffington Post
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Argument recap: Moving on to the mandate (FINAL UPDATE) — When Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., commented at the end of Monday's first day of hearings on the health care law, “We'll continue argument on this case tomorrow,” it seemed to have a secondary meaning even if he did not intend it.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Mother Jones, The Volokh Conspiracy, American Prospect, New York Times, his vorpal sword, CNN, Washington Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Crooks and Liars, Wake up America, Law Blog, Time, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway, Above the Law, Daily Kos, Opinion L.A., Los Angeles Times, PJ Media, The PJ Tatler, aca litigation blog and New York Magazine
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Politico:
First glimpses of Supreme Court's thinking on health law — As protesters chanted outside, the Supreme Court opened three days of hearings Monday on President Barack Obama's landmark health care law by signaling that they will likely decide the core issues in the case now, rather than waiting until after 2014.
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNN, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Hill and No More Mister Nice Blog
Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Gohmert: Liberals should fear ‘redneck president’ if court upholds mandate — Liberals should be concerned about what a future “redneck president” could impose on them if the Supreme Court upholds the healthcare reform law's mandate that everyone have insurance, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Monday.
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Philip Klein / Campaign 2012:
SCOTUS skeptical of idea that mandate is a tax
SCOTUS skeptical of idea that mandate is a tax
Discussion:
Hot Air, American Spectator and Outside the Beltway
Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
President Obama Asks Medvedev for ‘Space’ on Missile Defense — ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’ — SEOUL, South Korea — At the tail end of his 90 minute meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev Monday, President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” …
Discussion:
BBC, Michael Turner, Politico, The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, The Enterprise Blog, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, Don Surber, Washington Post, The Agonist, National Review, The Heritage Foundation, Sister Toldjah, Outside the Beltway, Questions and Observations, AMERICAN DIGEST, Sense of Events, BuzzFeed, Swampland, americanthinker.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The New Republic, Wake up America, The Spectacle Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, Clayton Cramer's Blog, Atlas Shrugs, Power Line, Israel Matzav, Truthdig, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Campaign 2012, Pundit & Pundette, THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Taegan Goddard's …, Israpundit, White House Dossier, Taylor Marsh, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Shakesville
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Daniel W. Drezner:
The dirty little secret about second-term presidents
The dirty little secret about second-term presidents
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Maddow Blog, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, ABCNEWS, The Enterprise Blog and Swampland
J. David Goodman / The Lede:
Microphone Picks Up Obama's Private Exchange With Medvedev
Microphone Picks Up Obama's Private Exchange With Medvedev
Discussion:
The Caucus, msnbc.com, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and GOP 12
Juan Williams / The Hill:
Obama's health law proving successful — Just in time for the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the law's constitutionality this week. — This is a political column.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Conservatives4Palin
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Dylan Byers / Politico:
Newt Gingrich loses his print reporters — Newt Gingrich has lost his last embedded print reporters, reporters on the trail confirm. — The last two print reporters covering Gingrich full-time on the trail — from POLITICO and the Atlanta Journal Constitution — pulled out on Friday.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Wonkette, Truthdig and The Political Carnival
Dodai Stewart / Jezebel:
Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed [Hunger Games] — The good news? The Hunger Games made $155 million at the box office its opening weekend, making it the third-best debut in North American box office history. The bad news, however, reflects a level of idiocy that we weren't really expecting.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Julian Sanchez, msnbc.com, Colorlines, BuzzFeed and The Stranger …
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Models Based on ‘Fundamentals’ Have Failed at Predicting Presidential Elections — The 1988 presidential election was a victory for political science. Michael Dukakis had led George Bush in the polls for much of the spring and summer. But Mr. Bush had some fundamental advantages …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Prospect and The Monkey Cage
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Mitt: I Won't Detail Plans, Because Then I'd Lose — You'll have to wait until I'm elected. — Mitt Romney has embraced a budget plan that would entail cutting federal programs other than defense and Social Security by more than half. It does raise the question of how he plans to carry out such a sweeping goal.
Discussion:
PERRspectives, The News Burner, The Stranger … and Daily Kos
Stephanie Mencimer / Mother Jones:
Catholic Bishops Lose a Big Battle Over Contraception — For the past several months, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has been waging war on the Obama administration over reproductive health care, declaring it no less than a battle over religious freedom.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Booman Tribune
Alex Pareene / Salon:
The silly 2016 speculation game — It may be impossible to make any serious predictions about a far-off race, but that has never stopped a pundit — Being that it's still March 2012 and we have no way of knowing who will actually be president by the end of January 2013 (besides “not Ron Paul …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Lobbyists, Guns and Money — Florida's now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is. And it's tempting to dismiss this law as the work of ignorant yahoos.
Bloomberg:
President Obama embraces ‘Obamacare’ label. But why? — Even as the Supreme Court begins oral arguments over the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law today, the incumbent and his reelection team have made a critical strategic decision to embrace the term “Obamacare.”
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, CBS News, ABCNEWS, Ezra Klein, Public Religion Research … and Globe and Mail
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Mike Penney / WWDR?:
It's Not Just a “War on Women.” It's Worse. — I bumped into a friend I'll call Kim four or five days ago on my way to the chairlift for some afternoon skiing. She was on her snowboard and riding single for a few hours before her evening shift at a local restaurant.
Discussion:
Liberty Street and Crooks and Liars
Amanda Marcotte / American Prospect:
Mad 21st Century Men — I'll have to work this in quickly before it becomes a cliché, but despite the show title, female characters have eclipsed male characters in audience sympathies on Mad Men. Identity is the show's primary concern, putting the rapidly changing gender roles …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Feministing, Taylor Marsh and Mad Men
CNN:
Strauss-Kahn charged in alleged prostitution ring — (CNN) — Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged in France on Monday with “aggravated pimping” for his alleged participation in a prostitution ring, prosecutors said. — He is not allowed to have contact …
Discussion:
Gothamist, Wonkette and New York Magazine
David Leigh / Guardian:
Questions asked of News Corp over rival company's collapse — Software company NDS allegedly cracked smart card codes of ONdigital, according to evidence to be broadcast on Panorama — Part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire employed computer hacking to undermine the business …
Discussion:
The Agonist, more at Mediagazer »
David Brody / The Brody File:
Exclusive: Rick Santorum Doesn't Rule Out Possible VP Slot: 'I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country.' — In an interview at our Brody File studio on Monday, Rick Santorum refused to rule out accepting an invitation to be Mitt Romney's vice president nominee, saying, “I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country.”
Discussion:
Politico, ABCNEWS, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …, Daily Kos, CNN, New York Magazine, Wonkette, National Review and The Stranger …
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House Republicans delay Monday's vote on short-term highway bill — House leaders on Monday decided to delay a planned evening vote to extend authorization of federal highway programs, citing a new bipartisan effort to agree on how to extend the programs in the short term.
Discussion:
Politico and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*