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 …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Politico, ABCNEWS, Examiner, New York Magazine, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, newsfeed.time.com, Stinque, JustOneMinute, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, BuzzFeed, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, Colorlines, The Raw Story, Moonbattery, Orlando Sentinel and Gothamist
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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:
The Daily Caller, Little Green Footballs, Weasel Zippers and National Review
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
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 and ABCNEWS
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
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Former NAACP leader accuses Sharpton and Jackson of ‘exploiting’ Trayvon Martin
Former NAACP leader accuses Sharpton and Jackson of ‘exploiting’ Trayvon Martin
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
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:
The Huffington Post, Republic Report and GazetteNET
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:
American Prospect, The New Republic, Mother Jones, The Volokh Conspiracy, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, CNN, Washington Wire, Wake up America, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, PJ Media, Time, Law Blog, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway, Above the Law, Daily Kos, Opinion L.A., Los Angeles Times, The PJ Tatler, New York Magazine and aca litigation blog
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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, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and No More Mister Nice Blog
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
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Health Act Arguments Open With Obstacle From 1867
Health Act Arguments Open With Obstacle From 1867
Discussion:
Reuters, The Atlantic Online, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Hill, Guardian, Latest from Crain's …, DCist, Althouse, The Hill, The Stranger …, msnbc.com, SCOTUSblog and Taylor Marsh
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, The Hill, The Enterprise Blog, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, The Heritage Foundation, Washington Post, Don Surber, The Agonist, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Sister Toldjah, Outside the Beltway, Questions and Observations, Swampland, AMERICAN DIGEST, Sense of Events, BuzzFeed, americanthinker.com, The Spectacle Blog, The Gateway Pundit, The New Republic, Wake up America, Clayton Cramer's Blog, Michelle Malkin, Power Line, Israel Matzav, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Atlas Shrugs, Pundit & Pundette, Truthdig, THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE, Campaign 2012, Taegan Goddard's …, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, White House Dossier, Israpundit, Taylor Marsh, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Shakesville
RELATED:
Daniel W. Drezner:
The dirty little secret about second-term presidents
The dirty little secret about second-term presidents
Discussion:
Hot Air, ABCNEWS, The Maddow Blog, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, The Enterprise Blog and Swampland
Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
Obama asks Russia for ‘space’ through election
Obama asks Russia for ‘space’ through election
Discussion:
CNN, Weasel Zippers and Betsy's Page
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
RELATED:
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, The Political Carnival and Truthdig
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, Colorlines, msnbc.com, BuzzFeed and The Stranger …
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.
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 and American Prospect
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
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 …, CNN, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, National Review, Wonkette and The Stranger …
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
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:
The News Burner, The Stranger … and Daily Kos
Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:
U.S. Customs Will Recognize Same-Sex Families At Borders — The Department of Homeland Security announced today that same-sex families will soon be able to cross the border together, filing just one form for all “members of a family residing in one household.”
Discussion:
The Stranger …
Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
The Great Whisperer — The late New York Times columnist Bill Safire was known for channeling the “Great Mentioner,” the unseen oracle who launched political careers into the stratosphere simply by mentioning a person's name. Today, a more malevolent oracle is at work in Washington …
Discussion:
24Ahead, Guardian, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, New York Magazine and Tampa Bay Times