Top Items:
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
What I learned about Hugo Chávez's mental health when I visited Venezuela with Sean Penn. — Less than a day after Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's communication minister appeared on television to announce that the socialist leader was in failing health, Chávez has died.
Discussion:
blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Toronto Star, Hot Air and News Desk, more at Mediagazer »
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Rory Carroll / New York Times:
In the End, an Awful Manager — IN Caracas, Venezuela, you could tell a summit meeting mattered to Hugo Chávez when government workers touched up the city's rubble. Before dignitaries arrived, teams with buckets and brushes would paint bright yellow lines along the route from the airport …
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Spectator and National Review
Rebecca Ford / Hollywood Reporter:
Sean Penn on Hugo Chavez's Death: ‘I Lost a Friend’ — “I mourn a great hero,” said Oliver Stone of the Venezuelan president who died on Tuesday after a long bout with cancer. — Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday after a long bout with cancer. He was 58.
Discussion:
Guardian, Politico, Babalú Blog, Red Alert Politics, Questions and Observations, Reuters, Twitchy, Mediaite, onenewsnow.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Los Angeles Times, The Spectacle Blog, Business Insider, CNN, Hit & Run, Blazing Cat Fur, Michelle Malkin, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze.com and Jammie Wearing Fools
Zack Beauchamp / ThinkProgress:
Why Democrats Shouldn't Eulogize Hugo Chavez — Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-NY) released a statement today praising former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, despite the latter's record of harsh crackdowns on his political opponents and state-sanctioned persecution against Venezuela's Jewish population.
Discussion:
National Review, U.S. Congressman …, Fox News, CANNONFIRE, ABCNEWS, NBCNews.com, Jammie Wearing Fools, Mediaite, Twitchy, BuzzFeed, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and The Mahablog
The Carter Center:
Statement From Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on the Death of Hugo Chavez — Rosalynn and I extend our condolences to the family of Hugo Chávez Frías. We met Hugo Chávez when he was campaigning for president in 1998 and The Carter Center was invited to observe elections for the first time in Venezuela.
William Neuman / New York Times:
Chávez Dies, Leaving a Bitterly Divided Venezuela
Chávez Dies, Leaving a Bitterly Divided Venezuela
Discussion:
CNN, The Dish, IHT Rendezvous, The Week, The Reaction, Guardian, BBC, NBC Latino, Telegraph, The BLT, Taylor Marsh and Politicker
Politico:
Now Dems worry: Did Obama cry wolf? — President Barack Obama hopes to spark a pitchfork revolt against Republicans over sequester-induced budget cuts — but many Democrats fret that he's undermined that effort with an early strategy marred by hype, poor planning and muddled messaging.
Discussion:
CNN, Hot Air, Business Insider, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and The National Memo
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New York Times:
Trying to Revive Talks, Obama Goes Around G.O.P. Leaders — WASHINGTON — With Republican leaders in Congress forswearing budget negotiations over new revenues, President Obama has begun reaching around them to Republican lawmakers with a history of willingness to cut bipartisan deals.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Maddow Blog, The Plum Line, Wonkblog, Washington Post, First Read, NBCNews.com, Smartypants, msnbc.com and susiemadrak.com
Reuters:
Election bump over, Obama approval drops to 43 percent: Reuters/IPSOS poll — Reuters/Reuters - President Barack Obama departs the Oval Office of the White House in Washington before departing to visit wounded military personnel at the Walter Reed National Military Center in Bethesda, ...more
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, Jammie Wearing Fools, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and National Review
Zev Chafets / Vanity Fair:
Exclusive Excerpt: Roger Ailes Off Camera — Roger Ailes is one of the most powerful—and controversial—characters in television media, pilloried by critics and many in the mainstream media and lionized by conservative viewers who can't get enough of his posse of charismatic hosts.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Media Decoder, Weasel Zippers, PREZ16, TVNewser, The Raw Story, Politico, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, msnbc.com and Post Politics, more at Mediagazer »
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Katie Dvorak / The Hill:
Sequester won't interrupt collection of taxes from ‘ObamaCare’ — Implementation of the taxes and fees from President Obama's healthcare law is on track despite the cutbacks at the IRS from sequestration. — The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010 and derided by Republicans as …
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Sam Baker / The Hill:
GOP lawmakers say spending bill should target contraception mandate
GOP lawmakers say spending bill should target contraception mandate
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo and Smartypants
Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:
WATCH: Bill O'Reilly Harasses Gay Colorado Speaker Over Child Molester Laws — As expected, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is continuing his smear campaign against Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino (D), who is openly gay, because of his opposition to instituting “Jessica's Law,” …
Discussion:
Advocate, NewsHounds blog and Towleroad News #gay
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
GOP smackdown: Wonks vs. pols — The latest front in the battle for the future of the Republican Party: the wonks versus the pols. — Conservative thinkers are increasingly agitated that, four months after a second straight presidential drubbing, GOP officeholders are not taking bold steps …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Willon / L.A. NOW:
L.A. mayor's race: Garcetti and Greuel top the field — City Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel remained ahead of the pack in the race for mayor of Los Angeles early Wednesday morning with all city precincts reporting. — The top-two finishers in Tuesday's election …
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Wire, Hot Air, New York Times, First Read, Towleroad News #gay, Los Angeles Times, The Fix, KTLA 5, Diane Ravitch's blog and Post Politics
CNN:
Holder does not rule out drone strike scenario in U.S. — A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator UAV assigned to the California Air National Guard's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California, on January 7, 2012.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and AL.com
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Empire News:
Sam Mendes Won't Direct Bond 24 — Exclusive on ‘a very difficult decision’ — Bond may be back, but Empire can exclusively reveal that Sam Mendes won't be joining him. At the BAFTAs recently, basking in the glow of Skyfall's triumph for Outstanding British Film, it seemed that Mendes …
Discussion:
The Week, FirstShowing.net, Telegraph, BBC and Deadline.com
Carl Campanile / New York Post:
Mayor Bloomberg's new health crusade: too-loud earbuds — Now listen up, if you can. — Mayor Bloomberg — who has already cracked down on smoking, junk food, trans fats, salt and super-sized drinks — is embarking on a new crusade: preventing New Yorkers from going deaf.
Discussion:
Gothamist, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller and Jammie Wearing Fools
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Capitol janitors making ‘ends meet’ with overtime? Nope — “You know, those Capitol janitors will not get as much overtime. I'm sure they think less pay, that they're taking home, does hurt.” — Gene Sperling, director of the White House economic council, on ABC News' “This Week,” March 3, 2013
Discussion:
Fox News, Patterico's Pontifications, The Answer Sheet, Heritage Action for America and The Hill
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Congress Ready to Start Work on Budget — WASHINGTON - After two years of chaotic fiscal clashes, Congress on Wednesday will begin a more orderly process to get the nation's finances in order - or at least to keep the government open. — The so-called regular order on the federal budget …
Discussion:
The Reaction
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Financial Times:
Notes from the EU … Welcome. If you have yet to register on FT.com you will be asked to do so before you begin to read FT blogs. However, our posts remain free. — This blog covers everything from the European Union's foreign and economic policies to the fortunes of its political leaders …
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, The Irish Economy and Brad DeLong
Rob Wile / Business Insider:
Niall Ferguson: Paul Krugman's Style Of Debate Suggests He May Have Been Traumatized As A Child — Paul Krugman has been charging hard of late at people he believes espouse particularly dangerous economic recipes. — It's elicited some equal and opposite responses.
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
McConnell campaign shakes it up with Harlem Shake — (CNN) - The dance craze that's been sweeping the nation has made it to the campaign trail. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election team Wednesday put out a web video of a person wearing a mask of the Republican senator from Kentucky dancing to the Harlem Shake.
Discussion:
Ballot Box and The Raw Story
Baird Helgeson / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Minnesota Poll: A majority doesn't want gay marriage — Months after an amendment to ban the unions was rejected, 53 percent opposes legalizing them. — A majority of Minnesotans oppose legalizing same-sex marriage, the Star Tribune Minnesota Poll has found.
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay