Top Items:
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product, 1st quarter 2012 (advance estimate) — Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Hot Air, New York Times, Guardian, Economix, The Maddow Blog and Business Insider
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CNBC:
US Economy Grows at Tepid 2.2% Pace; Misses Estimates — U.S. economic growth cooled in the first quarter as businesses cut back on investment and restocked shelves at a moderate pace, but stronger demand for automobiles softened the blow. — Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Calculated Risk and Business Insider
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Why Jeb Bush doesn't want veep — He's the GOP vice presidential pick that Democrats fear most — a brassy choice who would likely deliver his crucial home state, boost the ticket with Hispanics and Catholics and appeal to both conservatives and independents. — The problem: Jeb Bush apparently doesn't want the job.
Discussion:
GOP 12
Robert Pear / New York Times:
House Defies Veto Threat on Hacking Bill — WASHINGTON — Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Thursday passed a bill that encourages intelligence agencies and businesses to share information about threats to computer systems, including attacks on American Web sites by hackers in China and other countries.
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE, Mashable!, The Page and Washington Post
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Brendan Sasso / The Hill:
White House rejects Boehner's claim Obama wants to control the Internet
White House rejects Boehner's claim Obama wants to control the Internet
Discussion:
Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Mahablog, Sky Dancing, Taylor Marsh, Politico and TechCrunch
John Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
Pelosi Says GOP Plan on Student Loan Rate 'Assault on Women's Health'
Pelosi Says GOP Plan on Student Loan Rate 'Assault on Women's Health'
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, The Demos Blog, Daily Kos, Pirate's Cove and Weasel Zippers
BuzzFeed:
'80s Band Contemplating Legal Action Against Rove Group — An Obama-bashing commercial by Karl Rove's Super PAC appears to sample from an '80s electronica hit — but Yello did not approve this message. — Swiss band Yello — Source: s3-ak.buzzfed.com — Swiss electronica band …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Death of a Fairy Tale — This was the month the confidence fairy died. — For the past two years most policy makers in Europe and many politicians and pundits in America have been in thrall to a destructive economic doctrine. According to this doctrine, governments should respond …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Paul Krugman, The Bonddad Blog, Eschaton and Daily Kos
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Obama Web ad says Romney wouldn't have ordered bin Laden raid — President Obama's campaign is using Bill Clinton to argue Mitt Romney would not have launched the raid to capture Osama bin Laden last year. — The argument is being made to coincide with the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death.
Discussion:
CNN, Weasel Zippers and The Raw Story
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Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Romney Foreign Policy Adviser Attacks Obama's ‘Czechoslovakia’ Policy
Romney Foreign Policy Adviser Attacks Obama's ‘Czechoslovakia’ Policy
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Associated Press, Capital New York, Wonkette and 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com
Rachel Leven / The Hill:
Obama administration scraps child labor restrictions for farms — The Labor Department withdrew a proposed rule Thursday that would have limited the work that children can perform on farms. — The proposal drew heavy criticism from rural-state lawmakers and agricultural leaders …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and The Immoral Minority
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E.J. Schultz / AdAge:
Anheuser-Busch Warns UFC About Fighters' Sexist, Homophobic Comments — Major Sponsor Threatens Action ‘If Incidents Continue’ — Anheuser-Busch, a major sponsor of Ultimate Fighting Championship, has reprimanded the mixed-martial arts organization for remarks made by some fighters.
Discussion:
Washington Blade and PinkNews.co.uk
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Nebraska battle complicates GOP effort to retake Senate — The Senate Republican primary in Nebraska has turned into a proxy war between conservatives and establishment Republicans that could complicate efforts to wrest control of the Senate from Democrats.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Booman Tribune
Jay Cost / Weekly Standard:
Morning Jay: Obama's Standing With Swing Voters Is Weak — On Wednesday I argued that only a tiny swath of the actual electorate - maybe 10 percent - will be up for grabs in November. Today, I want to answer the obvious follow-up question: what are these voters thinking?
Discussion:
GOP 12
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Sean Hackbarth / FreeEnterprise.com:
EPA Official Has History of Unfair Attacks on Oil and Gas — Last night, Region 6 EPA Administrator Al Armendariz released an apology for comparing his agency regulating oil and gas companies to Roman centurions crucifying villagers: — I apologize to those I have offended and regret my poor choice of words.
Discussion:
Power Line, The Heritage Foundation, The Daily Caller, Campaign 2012, Trail Blazers Blog, Hot Air and Conservative Commune
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Christopher Helman / Fuel:
EPA Official Not Only Touted ‘Crucifying’ Oil Companies, He Tried It
EPA Official Not Only Touted ‘Crucifying’ Oil Companies, He Tried It
Discussion:
Politico, Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, Hot Air and americanthinker.com
Wall Street Journal:
Strassel: The President Has a List — Barack Obama attempts to intimidate contributors to Mitt Romney's campaign. — Try this thought experiment: You decide to donate money to Mitt Romney. You want change in the Oval Office, so you engage in your democratic right to send a check.
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Weasel Zippers and Betsy's Page
Nigel Davies / Reuters:
Spanish economy in “huge crisis” after credit downgrade — (Reuters) - Spain's sickly economy faces a “crisis of huge proportions”, a minister said on Friday, as unemployment hit its highest level in two decades and Standard and Poor's weighed in with a two-notch downgrade of the government's debt.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com
Leigh Beadon / Techdirt:
Insanity: CISPA Just Got Way Worse, And Then Passed On Rushed Vote — Up until this afternoon, the final vote on CISPA was supposed to be tomorrow. Then, abruptly, it was moved up today—and the House voted in favor of its passage with a vote of 248-168. But that's not even the worst part.
Discussion:
Wired, Boing Boing, democrats.com, The Agonist and The Moderate Voice
Julianna Goldman / Bloomberg:
Clinton Backers Wait for Obama's to Cut Checks for Super-PAC — Bill and Hillary Clinton's network of political donors has a message for President Barack Obama's longtime backers when it comes to multi-million dollar contributions — you first. — Through March, only 12 of Obama's 532 top fundraisers …
Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
Scott Brown releases tax returns; Dems cry foul on his ‘everyman’ image — Six years of tax returns released Friday by Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) showed that his income has grown significantly since becoming a senator in 2010, prompting Democrats to cry foul on the “everyman” image Brown has promoted.
Discussion:
CNN
Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:
ALEC Has Special Exemption In South Carolina's Lobbying Law … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Video, ALEC Stand Your Ground, Alec, Alec Common Cause, Alec Lobbying, Alec Lobbyists, Alec South Carolina, Alec Voter Id, American Legislative Exchange Council, Common Cause, Politics News
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, southernstudies.org and Suburban Guerrilla
Bill Plante / CBS News:
Secret Service probing foreign hard-partying allegations going back to 2000 — (CBS News) WASHINGTON - The Secret Service sex scandal is getting wider. — The dispute over payment to a prostitute in Cartagena, Colombia, by a Secret Service agent has triggered new charges of hard partying and impropriety by agents around the globe.
Discussion:
Politico, New York Magazine and KIRO-TV