memeorandum: John Kerry: They're swiftboating Obama (Byron Tau/Politico)

12:10 AM ET, March 30, 2012

Top Items:

Adrian Chen / Gawker:

White Supremacist Hacks Trayvon Martin's Email Account, Leaks Messages Online — The racist smear campaign against Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen shot to death last month in Florida, has reached a new level of ghoulishness. A white supremacist hacker says he's broken into Martin's email …

Discussion: Mediaite, Riptide 2.0, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Little Green Footballs and Colorlines

Washington Post:

Tracy Martin recounts police version of son Trayvon's death — A police detective told the father of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin that his son initiated two confrontations with the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot him. — Tracy Martin, describing the police version of events …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, MiamiHerald.com, Los Angeles Times, msnbc.com, Examiner, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Huffington Post, Stinque, Daily Kos, The Reaction and American Power

David Remnick / News Desk:

Bruce and Trayvon: American Skin — Last night, I bolted work to catch the first show of two by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band in Philadelphia. I first saw Springsteen when he was the opening act for Chicago, in 1973 (which means I saw him even before Jon Landau branded him, indelibly, as “rock and roll's future").

Discussion: Examiner, MiamiHerald.com, ThinkProgress and Feministe

Toddstarnes / Fox News:

Palin Believes Obama Orchestrated Martin Remarks — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said lawmakers need to tone down the rhetoric in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting and suggested that President Obama orchestrated remarks he made about the teenager's death.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Little Green Footballs and Conservatives4Palin

Extra:

‘Extra’ Exclusive: Oprah Winfrey Sounds-Off on Trayvon Martin Tragedy — “Extra's” AJ Calloway sat down exclusively with Oprah Winfrey in St. Louis, where she spoke for the first time about the tragic death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. She also talked about cancelling Rosie O'Donnell's show …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, EURweb, Los Angeles Times, Gothamist and Change of Subject

Valerie Boey / Orlando and Central Florida News …:
EXCLUSIVE: Robert Zimmerman interview

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

How did legal observers and Obamacare backers get it so wrong? — I didn't mention this yesterday, but in his interview with me about the limiting principle, former Reagan Solicitor General Charles Fried was scaldingly critical of the willingness of the conservative bloc of Supreme Court justices …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, RedState, Taylor Marsh, Wake up America, ThinkProgress, American Prospect, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, americanthinker.com, US Politics, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Prairie Weather and tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

A Moment of Silence for Obamacare — Prayers, depression, and Latin phrases. Obamacare looks to have had another very bad day. — The Supreme Court heard three days of oral argument on the Affordable Care Act — Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. — It bears pointing out that for all …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Health Care at the High Court, The Mahablog, Politico, Above the Law, Daily Kos, New York Times, Courthouse News Service, The New Republic and Taylor Marsh

New York Post:

A supreme shock for ‘La-La’ libs — The panicked reception in the mainstream media of the three-day Supreme Court health-care marathon is a delightful reminder of the nearly impenetrable parochialism of American liberals. — They're so convinced of their own correctness …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Patterico's Pontifications, Betsy's Page, Viking Pundit and Opinionator

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Overconfidence: the fatal flaw

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Taylor Marsh

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Tony Scalia's Retirement Has Started Early

Discussion: Althouse, his vorpal sword, Balkinization, Washington Free Beacon, THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE and New York Magazine

Conn Carroll / Campaign 2012:
Breyer's unhinged Commerce Clause ramblings

Discussion: ACS Blog, Wake up America, Hit & Run, Pundit & Pundette and The Huffington Post

Byron Tau / Politico:

John Kerry: They're swiftboating Obama — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has lent his name to a fundraising solicitation that raises the specter of millionaires and billionaires funding an outside effort against President Obama. — “When I was the Democratic nominee for president in one of the closest …

Discussion: CNN and Weasel Zippers

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Mitt Romney Made Fun Of John Kerry For Having A Large Home

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Hot Air and Los Angeles Times

Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
Mitt Romney can thank President Obama's “flexibility” for Marco Rubio's endorsement.

Discussion: Hot Air, News Desk, Mail Online, The Caucus, Eunomia, GOP 12, Washington Wire and Guardian

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House approves 90-day highway bill, dares Senate to reject it — The House on Thursday morning approved a 90-day extension of federal highway programs over the objections of angry Democrats, a move that dares Senate Democrats to reject the bill just days before federal authorization expires.

Discussion: Reuters, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, CNN and Booman Tribune

Alan I. Abramowitz / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
The Early Outlook for the 2012 Congressional Elections: A Forecasting Perspective

Discussion: RedState and Ezra Klein

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi: Pray for transportation bill

Discussion: Politico

Logan Smith / Palmetto Public Record:

Haley indictment imminent? Stay tuned... Two well-placed legal experts have independently told Palmetto Public Record they expect the U.S. Department of Justice to issue an indictment against South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on charges of tax fraud as early as this week.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Taegan Goddard's … and Business Insider

Apickering / Fair Labor Association:

Foxconn Investigation Report — Publication date: — Thursday, March 29, 2012 — On February 13, FLA launched an independent investigation into labor rights allegations at Foxconn, an Apple supplier in China. FLA assessors logged more than 3,000 staff hours inside the factories.

Discussion: GigaOM, BBC and Mike Daisey

New York Times:
Electronic Giant Vowing Reforms in China Plants

Discussion: The Stranger …

Aeisenberg / Fair Labor Association:
Fair Labor Association Secures Commitment to Limit Workers' Hours, Protect Pay at Apple's Largest Supplier

Discussion: Mashable!, TechCrunch and New York Magazine

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Timothy Dolan: Expanding Access To Birth Control Would Undermine ‘The American Enterprise,’ Spread ‘Secularism’ — Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York took his case against the Affordable Care Act's new rule requiring insurers and employers to provide preventive care services …

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Un-Godly liars: the Catholic Bishops should just run for office if they want to be politicians

Discussion: The Confluence and Newshoggers.com

Paul Thompson / Telegraph:

Parents of murdered British students criticise Barack Obama — The parents of two British students murdered in Florida have criticised President Barack Obama for his lack of compassion over their son's deaths. — Shawn Tyson — His failure to respond to three letters sent to the White House …

Discussion: Power Line, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop, Don Surber and The Hinterland Gazette

Health Care at the High Court:

GOP Ad Uses Doctored SCOTUS Audio — The GOP ad released online earlier this week makes it appear Solicitor General Donald Verrilli gave a worse presentation than he did, a Bloomberg News analysis of the ad and the court's official audio recording shows. The full story follows:

Discussion: The Raw Story, SCOTUSblog and Daily Kos

Democracy in America:

Just a flesh wound — NEWT GINGRICH does not eat sandwiches; he fundamentally transforms them, radically changing them from solid foodstuff to masticated bolus to energy. Last summer, Mr Gingrich fundamentally transformed the nature of modern political campaigning. How did he do that?

Discussion: Washington Post, American Prospect, Washington Monthly and A plain blog about politics

ABCNEWS:
Mitt Romney Confirms Secret Meeting With Newt Gingrich Last Week

Discussion: Campaign 2012 and Hot Air

Brian Brown / NOM Blog:

“Gay Marriage has Backfired...”, NOM Marriage News — “Gay marriage has backfired on the Democratic Party.” — With those words one of my personal heroes, New York State Sen Rev. Rubén Díaz (a Democrat from the Bronx) opened his press release titled, “What you should know.”

Discussion: Good As You and Holy Bullies …

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Paul Ryan: 'We don't think the generals are giving us their true advice' on budget — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) expressed skepticism Thursday that U.S. military leaders were being honest in their budget requests to Congress. — “We don't think the generals …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Mother Jones

George H.W. Bush / CNN:

Time to fold 'em, Bush 41 says to Romney's rivals — Houston (CNN) - Spouting some home-grown Texas wisdom, President George H. W. Bush urged his party to coalesce behind GOP candidate Mitt Romney with a formal endorsement Thursday. — “'It's time when to hold 'em and time when to fold 'em …

Discussion: Politico

Associated Press:

Okla. court strikes down ultrasound abortion law — OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge on Wednesday struck down the state's law requiring women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound image placed in front of them and to listen to a detailed description of the fetus before the procedure.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress and Firedoglake

ABCNEWS:

Obama Faced Tougher Decisions Than FDR, Biden Says — Vice President Joe Biden today assured a group of campaign donors in Wisconsin that Republican criticism of President Obama's leadership style doesn't match up with what he's witnessed firsthand. — “I've watched him make decisions …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and HotAirPundit

Mark Perry / Foreign Policy:

Israel's Secret Staging Ground — U.S. officials believe that the Israelis have gained access to airbases in Azerbaijan. Does this bring them one step closer to a war with Iran? — In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable …

Discussion: World Now, National Review, Mother Jones, Israel Matzav, Outside the Beltway and Guardian