Top Items:

Americans Favor “Buffett Rule” by 60% to 37% — Majorities of Democrats, independents in favor; Republicans opposed — PRINCETON, NJ — Six in 10 Americans favor Congress' passing the so-called “Buffett Rule,” which would mandate a minimum 30% tax rate for Americans with a household income of $1 million or more per year.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Business Insider, Firedoglake, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Donklephant, Politico, Blue Virginia and Campaign 2012
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Obama: Buffett Rule will boost ‘growth’ — President Obama used his weekly address to continue pressuring lawmakers to pass his “Buffett Rule” proposal, saying the measure would make the tax code more fair and help fund needed investments to grow the economy.
Discussion:
CNN


President Obama's Secretary Paid Higher Tax Rate Than He Did
Discussion:
Mediaite, Business Insider, White House Dossier and Weasel Zippers

Obama Releases Taxes, Does Not Qualify for Buffett Rule
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, PERRspectives, Business Insider and Washington Post

Did Obama Pay a Lower Rate Than His Secretary?
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Washington Free Beacon and protein wisdom

U.S. Secret Service agents recalled from Colombia — The U.S. Secret Service is investigating allegations of misconduct by agents who had been sent to Cartagena, Colombia, to provide security for President Obama's trip to a summit that began there Friday. — Edwin Donovan, an agency spokesman …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Guardian, msnbc.com, Mediaite, ABCNEWS and Campaign 2012

Hilary Rosen on ‘Meet the Press’? Seriously. — It is almost inexplicable to political insiders and likely infuriating to Democrats, but Hilary Rosen, who has done more to solidify the GOP base and chase the Democrats off the “war on women” hooey" than any single person, will be on “Meet the Press” this Sunday.
Discussion:
Hot Air
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Statement from Hilary Rosen
Discussion:
American Spectator, Mediaite, Lynn Sweet, Campaign 2012, The Hill and Politico

“I Despise These People” — Some of you may recall that two years ago Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah was unceremoniously dumped at a state GOP convention, not even qualifying for his party's primary. This was in many respects the high point of Tea Party Fever in 2010 …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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GOP-On-GOP Attacks Leave Orrin Hatch Fighting Mad
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and The Spectacle Blog

Romney no straight shooter on NRA — When it comes to gun rights, Mitt Romney is anything but a straight shooter. And when the presumptive Republican nominee speaks to the National Rifle Association's annual convention on Friday, he's going to have a tough time explaining …
Discussion:
The Loyal Opposition, Dogs Against Romney and Washington Post
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Trayvon Martin shooting: Shame on the NRA and its newest poster child, George Zimmerman — Another guy in America who should never have been allowed to carry a gun — George Zimmerman appears for a bond hearing on Thursday in Sanford, Fla. — Officially the National Rifle Association convention …
Discussion:
Daily Kos

Mitt Romney And The NRA: A ‘Diss’ Before Courtship
Discussion:
The Caucus, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly and GOP 12


If Health Insurance Mandates Are Unconstitutional, Why Did the Founding Fathers Back Them? — In making the legal case against Obamacare's individual mandate, challengers have argued that the framers of our Constitution would certainly have found such a measure to be unconstitutional.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy and Little Green Footballs
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HARVARD LAWPROF EINER ELHAUGE EMAILS A LINK TO HIS PIECE IN THE NEW REPUBLIC: If Health Insurance Mandates Are Unconstitutional, Why Did the Founding Fathers Back Them? But I don't find it as convincing has he does. He cites two “mandates” — the Militia Act of 1792 and a requirement that ship owners insure their seamen's health.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy

Where's the ‘Probable Cause’? — The charges brought against George Zimmerman sure look like prosecutorial misconduct. The case as put forward by the prosecutor in the “affidavit of probable cause” is startlingly weak. As a former chief economist at the U.S. Sentencing Commission …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Connecting.the.Dots, JustOneMinute and TalkLeft

Nazis Get Their Own Lobbyist — So Rep. Allen West thinks the Democratic Party is full of communists? Wait until he gets a load of the new Nazi lobbyist. No, seriously. — On Tuesday, the same day that West was fantasizing about 80 members of Congress being card-carrying members …
Discussion:
Politico, Business Insider, Mediaite and The Raw Story
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Nazi Party gets a Washington lobbyist
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Business Insider


Ann Romney's Birthday Party to Be Hosted by a Dude Arrested for Barbecuing a Dog [Mitt Romney] — Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who once strapped his dog to the roof of the family station wagon before embarking on a road trip, has again chosen to thumb his nose at the all-important dog vote …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, New York Magazine, Shakesville and Blue Virginia


GSA official to take the Fifth — The General Services Administration official tasked with organizing a now-infamous $822,000 Las Vegas conference plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights ahead of a scheduled Monday grilling on the Hill. — On Thursday, House Oversight …
Discussion:
Washington Post, House Committee … and Weasel Zippers

Fix income inequality with $10 million loans for everyone! — Are you concerned about growing income inequality in America? Are you resentful of all that wealth concentrated in the 1 percent? I've got the perfect solution, a modest proposal that involves just a small adjustment in the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy.
Discussion:
The Big Picture

A former North Carolina Democratic Party staffer was sexually harassed by a party official, made a financial settlement with the party and signed a non-disclosure agreement to keep the incident quiet, according to emails obtained by The Daily Caller. — “If this hits the media, the Democratic Party …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain and JustOneMinute


Tennessee Senate Approves Bill To Warn Students That Hand-Holding Is A ‘Gateway Sexual Activity’ — Like any state legislature dealing with 8 percent unemployment and thousands of its residents facing disenfranchisement, the Tennessee Senate is targeting the menace of underage hand-holding.
Discussion:
Juanita Jean's, Crooks and Liars, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Truth Wins Out, Feministing and Suburban Guerrilla


Shovel Ready in San Fran: $205,075 to ‘Translocate’ One Shrub from Path of Stimulus Project — (CNSNews.com) — The government spent at least $205,075 in 2010 to “translocate” a single bush in San Francisco that stood in the path of a $1.045-billion highway-renovation project that was partially funded …
Discussion:
GILL REPORT and Conservatives4Palin


Six Rules for Dining Out — How a frugal economist finds the perfect lunch — A BAD OR MEDIOCRE meal is more than just an unpleasant taste, it is an unnecessary negation of one of life's pleasures—a wasted chance to refine our palates, learn about the world, and share a rewarding experience.