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:
Yahoo! Good Morning America, Associated Press, The News Burner, Politico, msnbc.com, Examiner, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Stinque, Outside the Beltway, BuzzFeed, White House Dossier, newsfeed.time.com, Weasel Zippers, Patterico's Pontifications, Gawker, The Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Colorlines, Jammie Wearing Fools, Moonbattery, JustOneMinute, Twitchy and Gothamist
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Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
What Everyone Needs To Know About The Smear Campaign Against Trayvon Martin (1995-2012) — Trayvon Martin, as he appeared on his actual Facebook page — Over the last 48 hours, there has been a sustained effort to smear Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old African-American who was shot dead by George Zimmerman a month ago.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Post, Daily Mail, DISSENTING JUSTICE, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Stranger … and Roger Ailes
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, Weasel Zippers, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, 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
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:
The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
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:
Weasel Zippers, msnbc.com, Mediaite, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The PJ Tatler and Clayton Cramer's Blog
Lizette Alvarez / New York Times:
Florida Teenager Had Been Suspended Over Marijuana
Florida Teenager Had Been Suspended Over Marijuana
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Outside the Beltway, The PJ Tatler and Mediaite
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:
Mother Jones, The New Republic, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Huffington Post, Law Blog, Wake up America, American Prospect, PJ Media, The Maddow Blog, Above the Law, Opinion L.A., Crooks and Liars, Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, RADAMISTO, The PJ Tatler, Washington Wire, Outside the Beltway, CNN, New York Magazine, aca litigation blog and CBS News
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Ilya Somin / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Justices Skeptical of Claims that the Individual Mandate is a Tax — Today's Supreme Court oral argument transcript suggests that many of the justices, including at least three of the liberals, are skeptical of claims that the individual mandate is a tax. This is important not only for today's argument …
Discussion:
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, NationalJournal.com, Reuters, ABCNEWS, Guardian, Time, Patterico's Pontifications, Ezra Klein and SCOTUSblog
Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Gohmert: Liberals should fear ‘redneck president’ if court upholds mandate
Gohmert: Liberals should fear ‘redneck president’ if court upholds mandate
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Politico:
First glimpses of Supreme Court's thinking on health law
First glimpses of Supreme Court's thinking on health law
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNN, Scared Monkeys, ABCNEWS, New York Times, The Hill and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Philip Klein / Campaign 2012:
SCOTUS skeptical of idea that mandate is a tax
SCOTUS skeptical of idea that mandate is a tax
Discussion:
American Spectator, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway
New York Times:
Most Oppose at Least Part of Overhaul, Poll Finds — Two-thirds of Americans want the Supreme Court to overturn some or all of the health care law, even though large majorities support a few of its major aspects, according to a poll by The New York Times and CBS News.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
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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.'
Exclusive: Rick Santorum Doesn't Rule Out Possible VP Slot: 'I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country.'
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics, CNN, Daily Kos, ABCNEWS, The Huffington Post, Politico, Wonkette, New York Magazine, National Review and The Stranger …
Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Santorum defends cursing at New York reporter
Santorum defends cursing at New York reporter
Discussion:
Campaign 2012, New York Times, Political Insider, The Huffington Post and The Stranger …, more at Mediagazer »
Lucy Madison / CBS News:
Poll: Support for war in Afghanistan hits all-time low
Poll: Support for war in Afghanistan hits all-time low
Discussion:
New York Times, Hot Air and Politico
Daniel W. Drezner:
The dirty little secret about second-term presidents — ABC News reports on a “hot mic” moment between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: … Now, compared to past “hot mic” moments, this certainly seems less, well, profane. Nevertheless, it has gotten …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Eunomia, The Maddow Blog, ABCNEWS, The Heritage Foundation, The Enterprise Blog, The PJ Tatler and Swampland
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Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
President Obama Asks Medvedev for ‘Space’ on Missile Defense — ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’
President Obama Asks Medvedev for ‘Space’ on Missile Defense — ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’
Discussion:
Eunomia, BBC, Russia & India Report, Michael Turner, The Hill, The Heritage Foundation, The Enterprise Blog, The PJ Tatler, BuzzFeed, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Washington Free Beacon, CNN, The New Republic, Sense of Events, Sister Toldjah, americanthinker.com, Questions and Observations, Don Surber, The Hill, Belmont Club, Hot Air, Wake up America, Clayton Cramer's Blog, Truthdig, The Agonist, AMERICAN DIGEST, Swampland, Washington Post, Michelle Malkin, Campaign 2012, The Spectacle Blog, Atlas Shrugs, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Gateway Pundit, Israpundit, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Pirate's Cove, THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE, Pundit & Pundette, Guardian, Israel Matzav, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Taylor Marsh, Politico, Power Line, Taegan Goddard's …, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Shakesville, White House Dossier and Betsy's Page, more at Mediagazer »
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, Reuters, ThinkProgress, CBS News and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
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, The Mahablog and Booman Tribune
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:
Julian Sanchez, Colorlines, ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed, The Stranger … and msnbc.com
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 Post, Wonkette, Washington Monthly, Truthdig and Rumproast
Charles Thompson / PennLive.com:
Pennsylvania representative asks if female co-sponsors of state ultrasound bill are ‘men with breasts’ — Pennsylvania State Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, picked up the political hand grenade that is the state's ultrasound bill today when she wondered aloud at a Capitol rally …
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers, Pundit & Pundette and Campaign 2012
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:
Gawker, Jezebel, Gothamist, Wonkette and New York Magazine
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Pascal Rossignol / Reuters:
France's Strauss-Kahn under investigation in pimping case
France's Strauss-Kahn under investigation in pimping case
Discussion:
Agence France Presse, Associated Press and TalkLeft
Sarah Huisenga / NationalJournal.com:
Gingrich Begins Charging $50 for Photos at Events — Candidate previously posed for free with people attending his appearances. — HOCKESSIN, Del. - In a sign that his campaign is in need of fresh funds, Newt Gingrich on Monday began charging $50 to have a photograph taken with him following …
Discussion:
Politico
Jeff Sneider / Variety:
Jane Fonda to play Nancy Reagan in ‘Butler’ — Actress will portray former First Lady in Lee Daniels pic — In the midst of recruiting an all-star ensemble for his long-gestating passion project “The Butler,” director Lee Daniels has tapped Jane Fonda to play Nancy Reagan.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and Jammie Wearing Fools
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 and Capital New York
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
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:
The News Burner, PERRspectives, The Stranger … and Daily Kos
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:
Eunomia, Guardian, 24Ahead, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, New York Magazine and Tampa Bay Times
Ben Geman / The Hill:
Senate opens fight on oil tax breaks — The Senate voted 92-4 Monday to begin an election-year floor debate over Democratic legislation to repeal oil industry tax breaks, a plan that's unlikely to ultimately pass but provides a platform for partisan warfare over gasoline prices.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune