Top Items:


Obama, the puppet master — President Barack Obama is a master at limiting, shaping and manipulating media coverage of himself and his White House. — Not for the reason that conservatives suspect: namely, that a liberal press willingly and eagerly allows itself to get manipulated.
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White House Reporters versus the Obama Administration — At some point in every presidency, the White House press corps begins to complain about how they're being treated. Sometimes these complaints are legitimate and necessary, the Fourth Estate demanding that the public be adequately informed of what its government is up to.
Discussion:
Politico, Hullabaloo and Daily Mail

Ed Henry: 'This isn't about a golf game' — White House Correspondents Association president Ed Henry is standing by his complaints about the lack of press access to President Obama, pushing back against critics who say he and his fellow White House correspondents are just “whining” and don't respect the president's privacy.
Discussion:
TVNewser, The Week, Sky Dancing, p m carpenter's commentary, Mediaite, ABCNEWS, The Impolitic, Scared Monkeys and Weasel Zippers

Report: New Simpson-Bowles plan
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Slate and alan.com

A BIPARTISAN PATH FORWARD TO SECURING AMERICA'S FUTURE — Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson are co-chairs of the Moment of Truth project and formerly co-chaired the President's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. — The United States faces two big risks …
Discussion:
CRFB.org, Business Insider, msnbc.com and Wonkblog
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GOP lawmakers don't fear political impact of sequester taking effect
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Right Turn and The Plum Line

Obama says sequester would take ‘meat cleaver’ to government
Discussion:
Politico


Simpson and Bowles Offer Up Deficit Fix
Discussion:
CNNMoney.com and Business Insider

Obama presses Congress for stopgap sequester fix
Discussion:
The Fix, Forbes, Prairie Weather and Post Politics

Simpson, Bowles to offer new $2.4 trillion deficit-reduction plan
Discussion:
Politico

First Thoughts: Here comes the bully pulpit
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's … and The Maddow Blog

Obama to Turn Up Pressure for Deal on Budget Cuts
Discussion:
Daily Kos

Prof Strips, Shows 9/11 Footage, Impales Stuffed Animal (VIDEO) — A science professor at Columbia University on Monday began a quantum mechanics lecture by stripping into his boxers and eating a banana while rap music played in the background. — Then it got weird.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion


Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S. — On the outskirts of Shanghai, in a run-down neighborhood dominated by a 12-story white office tower, sits a People's Liberation Army base for China's growing corps of cyberwarriors. — The building off Datong Road …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, WorldViews, DealBook, ABCNEWS, News Desk, Crooks and Liars, TechCrunch, Hot Air, KTOO, Digital Dao, Telegraph, Mashable!, Business Insider, Lawfare, The Week, AllThingsD, Gothamist, Gawker, Global Public Square and The Reaction

Like a Swarm of Lethal Bugs: The Most Terrifying Drone Video Yet — An Air Force simulation says researchers are at work on killer robots so tiny that a group of them could blend into a cityscape. — Science writer John Horgan's feature on the many ways drones will be used in coming years …
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Drones May Be Watching You — Unmanned aircraft have proved …
Discussion:
ANIMAL, Mashable! and emptywheel


Bill asks teachers to question climate change in class — HB2306 calls climate change ‘scientific controversy’ — With the Kansas State Board of Education preparing to vote on new science standards this year, the House Education Committee has introduced a bill asking schools to include evidence …
Discussion:
alan.com
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Marco Rubio: The Electable Conservative? — Some commentators have expressed surprise upon learning about the very conservative voting record of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union address last week.
Discussion:
Stanford University Dept …, p m carpenter's commentary and TheBlaze.com


Colorado lawmaker Joe Salazar issues apology over rape remark — The video of a Democratic lawmaker talking about rape while debating a gun bill involving college campuses has gone viral, with Republicans and Second Amendment activists likening Rep. Joe Salazar to failed Senate candidate Todd Akin.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's …, Twitchy, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Guns Save Lives and nation.foxnews.com
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Supreme Court to hear RNC suit challenging campaign finance limits — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider whether certain limits on campaign contributions are too low — or altogether unconstitutional. — The court said it would hear a case, filed by the Republican National Committee …
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Supreme Court to hear case on campaign donation limits
Discussion:
NBCNews.com and Hot Air


Pistorius Denies Murdering Girlfriend — PRETORIA, South Africa — Facing a charge of premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star and one of the world's best-known athletes, denied on Tuesday that he intended to take her life when he opened fire …
Discussion:
Gawker, The Hinterland Gazette, NBCNews.com, Scared Monkeys, Towleroad News #gay, The Truth About Guns, Mediaite and Althouse


Four Dead After OC Shootings, Carjackings — At least four people are dead after a series of shootings and carjackings early Tuesday near the 5 and 55 freeways in the Tustin and Villa Park areas. — Map: Shooting Investigation Locations — The gunman was among the deceased, according to Orange County authorities.
Discussion:
NBCNews.com, BBC, The Hinterland Gazette and Gawker

Tea Party challenger to McConnell emerging — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could see a primary challenge from local businessman Matt Bevin, who sources say is reaching out to Tea Party groups in the state to gauge support for a 2014 Senate run.
Discussion:
Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, WHAS, CNN, Firedoglake, Prairie Weather and First Read


Why John McCain turned on Chuck Hagel — Tower, a Texas Republican, Navy veteran and powerhouse in the Senate Armed Services Committee, had befriended McCain as a young naval liaison to Congress and later helped him first run for the House in 1982. As a freshman senator …
Discussion:
The Dish