Top Items:
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Why was Michelle Obama at the Oscars? — It was the average too-long, unfunny, over-produced Academy Awards TV show and then, after suffering through the 10-hour (well, it seemed like it) show, there was the first lady. In a ball gown. With military service personnel in dress uniform behind her.
Discussion:
The Week, Booman Tribune, Post Politics, Hit & Run, TheBlaze.com, No More Mister Nice Blog and TMZ.com
RELATED:
Gregg Kilday / Hollywood Reporter:
Harvey Weinstein Arranged Michelle Obama's Best Picture Oscars Surprise — The mogul and his daughter connected the Academy and the show's producers, who flew in secret to Washington, D.C., two weeks ago. — Michelle Obama presenting best picture from the White House? It was Harvey Weinstein's daughter's idea.
Discussion:
Mediaite, National Review, CNN, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze.com
Dominic Patten / Deadline.com:
OSCARS: How Michelle Obama's Surprise Appearance Came Together - Video — UPDATED: The Golden Globes got Bill Clinton but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences got First Lady Michelle Obama tonight at the Oscars - in part thanks to Harvey Weinstein.
Discussion:
Althouse, TheBlaze.com, Towleroad News #gay, Roger L. Simon, Twitchy and New York Times
BuzzFeed:
Iranian News Agency Alters Image Of Michelle Obama — The apparent goal: modesty. — Iran's semi-official Fars news agency altered an image of Michelle Obama at the Academy Awards to cover her shoulders and chest, an apparent attempt to render the First Lady modest enough for public consumption …
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Associated Press and National Review
Nikki Finke / Deadline.com:
Nikki Finke's Oscar Live-Snark: Four Hours Of Unfunny Seth MacFarlane; Unnecessary Michelle Obama …
Nikki Finke's Oscar Live-Snark: Four Hours Of Unfunny Seth MacFarlane; Unnecessary Michelle Obama …
Discussion:
Wonkette, Hit & Run, Taylor Marsh, Ed Driscoll, National Review, New York Times and Althouse
Jason Rezaian / Washington Post:
Iranian media criticize Oscar win for ‘Argo’
Iranian media criticize Oscar win for ‘Argo’
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and Weasel Zippers
Washington Post:
White House releases state-by-state breakdown of sequester's effects — The White House on Sunday detailed how deep spending cuts set to begin this week would affect programs in every state and the District, as President Obama launched a last-ditch effort to pressure congressional Republicans …
RELATED:
Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Sen. Warner: Public does not realize how ‘stupid’ sequester cuts are
Sen. Warner: Public does not realize how ‘stupid’ sequester cuts are
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Politico
David Nather / Politico:
GOP govs to Hill: Get back to bargaining table
GOP govs to Hill: Get back to bargaining table
Discussion:
The National Memo, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and First Read
New York Times:
Democrats and Republicans Miscalculate on Automatic Cuts — WASHINGTON — With Congress unlikely to stop deep automatic spending cuts that will strike hard at the military, the fiscal stalemate is highlighting a significant shift in the Republican Party: lawmakers most keenly dedicated …
Discussion:
Guardian, Real Clear Politics, Right Turn, Via Meadia, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Dish, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, AEIdeas, National Review and The Caucus
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Dan Mitchell / International Liberty:
Earth to New York Times: Please Show Us these “Deep Spending Cuts” You Keep Writing About
Earth to New York Times: Please Show Us these “Deep Spending Cuts” You Keep Writing About
Discussion:
Althouse
Julian Zelizer / CNN:
If spending is cut, GOP will get the blame
If spending is cut, GOP will get the blame
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Impolitic, The Agonist and The Reaction
Dean Baker / American Prospect:
Fix the Economy, Not the Deficit
Facebook:
The Onion · 2,265,644 like this — On behalf of The Onion, I offer my personal apology to Quvenzhané Wallis and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the tweet that was circulated last night during the Oscars. It was crude and offensive—not to mention inconsistent …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Washington Post, Towleroad News #gay, Gawker, ComPost, Mediaite and Guardian
Jonathan Earle / Telegraph:
John Kerry invents country of Kyrzakhstan — John Kerry has suffered his first gaffe as the new US secretary of state, inventing the nation of ‘Kyrzakhstan’ — In an embarrassing slip of the tongue, Mr Kerry last week praised US diplomats working to secure “democratic institutions” in the Central Asian country, which does not exist.
Discussion:
The Week, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and American Thinker
Mike Riggs / Hit & Run:
White House Report Claims Sequestration Will Affect Federal Department That No Longer Exists — If you want a thorough agency-by-agency rundown of the budget cuts sequestration would deliver, the Office of Management and Budget has you covered. In compliance with The Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and National Review
Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Judd Makes Steps Toward Senate Bid — The beautiful movie star tries to take on Washington by defeating a powerful Republican leader. It's not a plot line, it's reality: The actress Ashley Judd is making moves to take on GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Associated Press and Post Politics
The New York Times Company:
The New York Times Company Announces Plan to Rebrand the International Herald Tribune as the International New York Times — Company to Increase Investment in Editorial Resources for Multiplatform International Edition — The New York Times Company announced today that it plans to rebrand …
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Christine Haughney / New York Times:
Herald Tribune to Be Renamed The International New York Times
Herald Tribune to Be Renamed The International New York Times
Discussion:
Capital New York and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Dems 2016: Will Hillary Clinton clear the field? — The ranks of Democratic governors are filled with ambitious politicians boasting records that would probably play well with primary voters in 2016. — But even as they eye a move from the statehouse to the White House …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Other McCain and Shakesville
Bill Mears / CNN:
Sotomayor slams controversial remarks by prosecutor — Washington (CNN) - Two members of the Supreme Court took the unusual step of speaking out over racially insensitive remarks by a federal prosecutor in a drug case, when rejecting review of the defendant's appeal.
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog and The Raw Story
Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:
THE HOUSE OF PAIN … - DOUBLE TAKE - PHOTO BOOTH - DAILY SHOUTS - PAGE-TURNER - DAILY COMMENT - AMY DAVIDSON - JOHN CASSIDY - BOROWITZ - RICHARD BRODY
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's …, The Fix and Washington Examiner
Hunter Walker / Politicker:
Dov Hikind Parties Down for Purim in ‘Black Basketball Player’ Costume — Dov Hikind and his family in their Purim costumes. (Photo: Facebook) — Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind hosted a massive Purim party at his home yesterday that featured over fourteen hours of food and drink and …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, NBCNews.com, Capital New York, The Raw Story and Gothamist
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Austerity, Italian Style — Two months ago, when Mario Monti stepped down as Italy's prime minister, The Economist opined that “The coming election campaign will be, above all, a test of the maturity and realism of Italian voters.” The mature, realistic action, presumably …
Discussion:
Business Insider and Paul Krugman
Gary Heinlein / detroitnews.com:
Mich. GOP pushes on with electoral vote plan; Schostak re-elected — Lansing — Republicans handed Bobby Schostak another two-year term as state chairman Saturday and overwhelmingly endorsed a plan to change Michigan presidential electoral vote rules in a way opponents charge is intended …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Addicting Info, The Maddow Blog, msnbc.com and The National Memo
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker: Obama using fake Twitter messages in fight over gun control — A Texas Republican on Monday said President Obama's gun control campaign is a fraud based on fake messages over Twitter. — Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) accused Obama of trying to make support for his position look stronger …
Discussion:
National Review
Rebecca Leber / ThinkProgress:
North Carolina Proposes Second-Class Driver Licenses For DREAMers — On March 25, North Carolina will begin issuing driver's licenses to thousands of undocumented immigrants who qualify for the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — but there is a catch.
Discussion:
The Raw Story