Top Items:
Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Rand Paul launches talking filibuster against CIA nominee — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is staging a talking filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). — “I'm here to filibuster John Brennan's nomination to be director of CIA,” Paul said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
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Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Senate Democrats Threaten To Reignite Filibuster Reform — The Senate's leading champion of filibuster reform called for renewing the effort to weaken the minority's obstruction power, concluding that a modest rules change enacted in January has failed to discourage Republicans from grinding the chamber to a halt.
Discussion:
Wonkblog, The Maddow Blog and A plain blog about politics
Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Filibuster Overhaul Effort Should Be Revived, Durbin Says
Filibuster Overhaul Effort Should Be Revived, Durbin Says
Discussion:
The Political Carnival, Daily Kos and PostPartisan
Michael A. Memoli / Los Angeles Times:
Rand Paul vows to speak ‘as long as it takes’ to block Brennan
Rand Paul vows to speak ‘as long as it takes’ to block Brennan
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Vox Popoli
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Rubio, NRSC heads join Rand Paul's filibuster — and could get political boost
Rubio, NRSC heads join Rand Paul's filibuster — and could get political boost
Discussion:
Politico
Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
Rand Paul Leads Filibuster of Brennan Nomination
Rand Paul Leads Filibuster of Brennan Nomination
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Corrente, Twitchy, Ricochet Conversations Feed, CNN, alicublog and New York Times
Josh Voorhees / Slate:
Rand Paul Has Started What Could Be an Epic Mr. Smith-Style Filibuster on the Senate Floor
Rand Paul Has Started What Could Be an Epic Mr. Smith-Style Filibuster on the Senate Floor
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
Rand Paul filibustering over drones: I will not let Obama ‘shred the Constitution’
Rand Paul filibustering over drones: I will not let Obama ‘shred the Constitution’
Discussion:
Power Line, Weasel Zippers and NetRight Daily
Fox News:
Leaked email adds fuel to claims White House playing politics over impact of cuts — A leaked email from an Agriculture Department field officer adds fuel to claims President Obama's political strategy is to make the billions in recent federal budget cuts as painful as possible to win the public opinion battle against Republicans.
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Congressman Tim Griffin, Patterico's Pontifications and Reuters
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Donovan Slack / Politico:
6 Obama administration sequester claims shot down by fact checkers
6 Obama administration sequester claims shot down by fact checkers
Discussion:
The Fix, News Desk, The Caucus, White House Dossier, Hot Air, CNN and The PJ Tatler
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Capitol janitors making ‘ends meet’ with overtime? Nope
Capitol janitors making ‘ends meet’ with overtime? Nope
Discussion:
Hot Air, NewsBusters, Weekly Standard and Heritage Action for America
Jake Novak / CNBC:
Boehner Wants Budget Deals ‘Out in the Open’ — Supervising Producer for “The Kudlow Report” — House Speaker John Boehner told CNBC's Larry Kudlow on Wednesday that a long-term deal on entitlements is possible, and there's no good reason for the Obama team to have shut down the White House tour.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, First Read, PoliticusUSA, Post Politics, Politico and The Reaction
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David Nather / Politico:
Paul Ryan on budget: Your move, Obama
Paul Ryan on budget: Your move, Obama
Discussion:
CNN, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh and Heritage Action for America
Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:
Cops: Perp Had Loaded Revolver In Her Vagina — Handgun was found inside Oklahoman during strip search — An Oklahoma woman arrested Monday on drug charges had a loaded handgun hidden in her vagina, according to police. — The weapon was discovered during a search of Christie Dawn Harris …
Discussion:
Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Hinterland Gazette and Balloon Juice
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Joleen Chaney / KFOR-TV:
GRAPHIC: Woman packing heat, drugs in private parts — WARNING: Content could be considered graphic to some audiences. — ADA, Okla. - An unusual and graphic case in Pontotoc County leads police to a bizarre find inside a female suspect. — It began at Dairy Lou Drive Inn in Ada.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Chief White House Calligrapher Gets Paid $96,725 Per Year — With the White House closing its doors to public tour groups in order to save money for the sequester, it's worth remembering some of the other costs the White House incurs annually. — Like the “Chief Calligrapher,” …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Hot Air, The Shark Tank, Mediaite, TheBlaze.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Impolitic and The Daily Caller
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James Joyner / Outside the Beltway:
Calligraphy-Gate — The Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper …
Calligraphy-Gate — The Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The Shark Tank, The Daily Caller and Weekly Standard
Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Ted Cruz Goads Eric Holder Into Admitting That Killing Americans With Drones On U.S. Soil Is Unconstitutional — On Tuesday, the Department of Justice sent shockwaves through the nation when Attorney General Eric Holder informed Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in writing that the White House …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Shark Tank, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Doug Ross, The PJ Tatler and Mother Jones
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Jon Swaine / Telegraph:
Barack Obama ‘has authority to use drone strikes to kill Americans on US soil’
Barack Obama ‘has authority to use drone strikes to kill Americans on US soil’
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Ops & Blogs
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Killing Americans on U.S. Soil: Eric Holder's Evasive, Manipulative Letter
Killing Americans on U.S. Soil: Eric Holder's Evasive, Manipulative Letter
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Business Insider, msnbc.com, Hit & Run and emptywheel
Joel B. Pollak / BREITBART.COM:
RAND PAUL, IN DRONE FILIBUSTER, TELLS OBAMA TO REVISIT LOCHNER CASE — During his old-fashioned, “talking filibuster” of John Brennan's nomination as CIA Director, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called for President Barack Obama “to re-think the Lochner case” en route to strengthening protections …
Discussion:
Hot Air and The Volokh Conspiracy
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Linda Greenhouse / Opinionator:
‘A Big New Power’ — Years from now, when the Supreme Court has come to its senses, justices then sitting will look back on the spring of 2013 in bewilderment. On what basis, they will wonder, did five conservative justices, professed believers in judicial restraint, reach out to grab …
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:
The Moderate Voice, Crooks and Liars, CNN, The Political Carnival, Politico, The Raw Story, Deadline.com, PREZ16, Gawker, NBCNews.com, Mediaite, msnbc.com, Media Decoder, Weasel Zippers, TVNewser, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Ed Driscoll, Small Dead Animals and Post Politics, more at Mediagazer »
William J. Dobson / Slate:
How his economically disastrous, politically effective ideology will haunt the country he ruined. — Even before Hugo Chávez died, he had become a ghost. A strange, unfamiliar quiet had fallen on Venezuela for weeks as people waited to hear the voice of the president who had been part of their daily lives for nearly 14 years.
Discussion:
The Lede, The Daily Beast, NewsBusters, The Dish and IHT Rendezvous, more at Mediagazer »
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Greg Grandin / The Nation:
On the Legacy of Hugo Chávez
On the Legacy of Hugo Chávez
Discussion:
PJ Media, Twitchy, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Babalú Blog, Belmont Club, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, The Carter Center and Hollywood Reporter
Samuel Tadros / Weekly Standard:
Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite and 9/11 Fan — On Friday March 8, Michelle Obama will join John Kerry at a special ceremony at the State Department to present ten women the Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award. The award, says the press release …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, U.S. Department of State, Ordered Liberty, Atlas Shrugs and Washington Free Beacon
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Lindsey Graham: Hurricane Victims Need Assault Weapons To Shoot ‘Roaming Gangs’ — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pushed back against efforts to limit the availability of assault weapons during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday by echoing the paranoia of the National Rifle Association …
Discussion:
Video Cafe blogs and The Raw Story
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Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Graham on Obama invite: ‘How do you say no to the president?’
Graham on Obama invite: ‘How do you say no to the president?’
Discussion:
Politico
Erik Eckholm / New York Times:
Arkansas Adopts Strictest Abortion Law in the U.S. — In the sharpest challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, Arkansas adopted Wednesday what is by far the country's most restrictive ban on abortion, at 12 weeks of pregnancy, around the time that a fetal heartbeat can be detected by abdominal ultrasound.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival, Liberal Values and Shakesville
Spencer Ackerman / Wired:
Over $8B of the Money You Spent Rebuilding Iraq Was Wasted Outright — The never-completed Khan Bani Sa'ad Prison in Diyala, Iraq. Ultimately, the U.S. spent $40 million on the aborted project. Photo courtesy of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
Discussion:
The Dish
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John Bachman / WSB-TV:
City looks to make gun ownership mandatory — Every homeowner in a local town could soon have to own a gun or break the law. It's a controversial new plan for the city of Nelson. — NELSON, Ga. — Every homeowner in a local town could soon have to own a gun or break the law.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Week, Red Alert Politics, Mediaite, BuzzFeed, The PJ Tatler, UrbanGrounds, The Raw Story and Shakesville
Jon Cohen / The Fix:
Cut government spending? Sure....in theory. — Americans broadly support an across-the-board cut in spending for a government often seen as wasteful, but there is wide opposition to blanket cuts to the military, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CNN, Politico, Washington Post and Hot Air
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Vince Cable / New Statesman:
When the facts change, should I change my mind? — The long economic stagnation of post-crisis Britain. — The British economy is still operating at levels around or below those before the 2008 financial crisis and roughly 15 per cent below an albeit unsustainable pre-crisis trend.
Sam Baker / The Hill:
Cruz: Spending bill must defund Obama healthcare law — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Wednesday that he will object to a government spending bill if it does not cut off funds for President Obama's signature healthcare law. — Cruz, a staunchly conservative freshman, said he will offer …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Daily Kos
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Report: Mitt Romney takes job at son Tagg's investment firm — Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be returning to work, joining his son Tagg's investment firm. — Romney will serve as chairman of the executive committee for Solamere Capital, where he'll work for one week …