Top Items:
Talking Points Memo:
Obama Administration Responds To Rand Paul On Drones — The U.S. government cannot target an American citizen who is not engaged in combat on American soil, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday during his daily press briefing. — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) …
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Grace Wyler / Business Insider:
IT'S WAR: John McCain And Lindsey Graham Just Ripped Into Rand Paul On The Senate Floor — U.S. Sen. John McCain blasted fellow Republican Rand Paul on the Senate floor this morning for his 13-hour filibuster to block John Brennan's confirmation as CIA Director. — “Calm down, Senator,” McCain said, in an apostrophe to Paul.
Wall Street Journal:
Rand Paul's Drone Rant — Give Rand Paul credit for theatrical timing. As a snow storm descended on Washington, the Kentucky Republican's old-fashioned filibuster Wednesday filled the attention void on Twitter and cable TV. If only his reasoning matched the showmanship.
Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
White House, Holder respond to Rand Paul: ‘The answer is no’ … Attorney General Eric Holder wrote Sen. Rand Paul,R-Ky., to confirm that President Obama does not have the authority to kill an American on U.S. soil in a non-combat situation, Obama's spokesman announced today.
David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:
McCain, Graham Slam Rand Paul's ‘Ridiculous’ Filibuster — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Thursday went after Sen. Rand Paul's talking filibuster of CIA director nominee John Brennan, calling the Kentucky Republican's claim that the U.S. could have hypothetically conducted a drone strike on Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War “ridiculous.”
Discussion:
The Reliable Source, Washington Post, American Spectator and Shakesville
Sarah Wheaton / New York Times:
Senate Confirms Brennan as C.I.A. Chief — The Senate on Thursday afternoon approved John O. Brennan's nomination to lead the Central Intelligence Agency by a vote of 63 to 34. — The vote followed a filibuster by Senator Rand Paul, who spent nearly 13 hours on the Senate floor in pursuit …
Discussion:
Politico, The Caucus, The Maddow Blog, Lowering the Bar, his vorpal sword, Guardian, The Political Carnival and Outside the Beltway
Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
McCain, Graham lambast ‘ridiculous’ drone filibuster by Paul — Two veteran GOP senators say Sen. Rand Paul “cheapened” the debate over drone policy with “ridiculous” arguments in his filibuster on Wednesday. — A day after the Paul filibuster made headlines, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) …
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Harry Reid Winks At Revisiting Filibuster Reform — Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) nearly 13-hour long talking filibuster in protest of the Obama administration's drone policy instantly made him a folk hero with the right. But the spectacle also provided a healthy dose of oxygen to reignite the cause of filibuster reform.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Monkey Cage, A plain blog about politics, The Maddow Blog, Hullabaloo and Mother Jones
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Holder's Letter to Rand Paul: ‘No,’ the U.S. Can't Use Drone to Kill Citizen Not Engaged in Combat on U.S. Soil
Holder's Letter to Rand Paul: ‘No,’ the U.S. Can't Use Drone to Kill Citizen Not Engaged in Combat on U.S. Soil
Discussion:
Washington's Blog, The Jawa Report, Washington Times and Hot Air
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
John Brennan confirmed as CIA director following White House drone statement
John Brennan confirmed as CIA director following White House drone statement
Discussion:
The Dish, New York Times, News Desk, Pew Research Center, The Fix, The Plum Line, p m carpenter's commentary, Post Politics, Daily Kos and Shakesville
Z. Byron Wolf / Yahoo! News:
Rand Paul Claims Victory as Senate Confirms John Brennan as CIA Director
Rand Paul Claims Victory as Senate Confirms John Brennan as CIA Director
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch
Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Obama Has No Authority For Drone Strikes Against Americans On U.S. Soil, White House Says
Obama Has No Authority For Drone Strikes Against Americans On U.S. Soil, White House Says
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Business Insider and Shakesville
David Weigel / Slate:
Everybody Loves Filibusters
Everybody Loves Filibusters
Discussion:
New York Times, msnbc.com, The Atlantic Online, The Week and Associated Press
Jack Kim / Reuters:
North Korea warns U.S. of preemptive nuclear strike — SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a preemptive nuclear strike, raising the level of rhetoric while the U.N. Security Council considers new sanctions against the reclusive country.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
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Harry Hawkins / The Sun:
north korea says it will launch nuclear attack on america
north korea says it will launch nuclear attack on america
Discussion:
Weekly Standard and Vodkapundit
ThinkProgress:
Paul Ryan Balances New Budget By Embracing Obama Policies — But next week, just four months after losing the November election, Ryan plans to unveil a budget that incorporates many of the policies he campaigned against, since the very changes he opposed as a vice presidential candidate …
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Glenn Thrush / Politico:
Obama invites Paul Ryan to lunch
Obama invites Paul Ryan to lunch
Discussion:
The Caucus, National Review, Hot Air, CNN, The Hinterland Gazette, The Week, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice and Wall Street Journal
CNN:
Breaking: Sen. Levin won't seek re-election in 2014 — Washington (CNN) - Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan announced Thursday that he will not run for a seventh term in 2014. — Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called it an “extremely difficult” …
Discussion:
The Hill, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Political Carnival
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Todd Spangler / Detroit Free Press:
Sen. Carl Levin, 78, respected voice for Michigan, won't run for re-election
Sen. Carl Levin, 78, respected voice for Michigan, won't run for re-election
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Moe Lane
Dan Friedman / NY Daily News:
New York National Rifle Association official barred from carrying a gun — An order of protection stemming from a domestic disturbance at his Long Island home in 2010 prevents Richard D'Alauro, the NRA's field representative for the city and its suburbs, from carrying the weapons.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story, Gothamist, Daily Kos and The Immoral Minority
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Al Gore Sued Over Current TV Sale to Al Jazeera (Exclusive) — A $5 million lawsuit claims Gore was “adamant” about not selling his network to oil-rich Qataris but had a “change of heart,” then stiffed the man who came up with the idea for the deal. — Current TV's $500 million sale …
Donovan Slack / Politico:
Source: Preparations underway for Obama vacation on Martha's Vineyard — President Obama and his family are likely headed to Martha's Vineyard for a summer sojourn again this year. — A source tells POLITICO that the Secret Service has started booking accommodations on the toney island off the Massachusetts coast.
Discussion:
Boston Herald, National Review, Hot Air, NBCNews.com, Weasel Zippers and New York Times
Thomas B. Edsall / Opinionator:
The War On Entitlements — The debate over reform of Social Security and Medicare is taking place in a vacuum, without adequate consideration of fundamental facts. — These facts include the following: Two-thirds of Americans who are over the age of 65 depend on an average annual Social Security benefit …
Discussion:
CEPR, Hullabaloo, The Hill, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic and USA Today
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The GOP's easy route to victory in fiscal fight — It's this: Republicans are not going to get the serious entitlement cuts they say they want unless they agree to new revenues. — To put this in another way, there is no imaginable scenario in the next three years, and probably beyond, under which Republicans win a total victory.
Discussion:
PostPartisan and New Republic
Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times:
L.A.'s walking dead — Most Angelenos couldn't summon the energy to cast a ballot. That doesn't have to continue. — Olga Korn, 86, votes in Encino on Tuesday. She was among just 16% of L.A. residents who did. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / March 5, 2013) — Mark the date, remember the day.
Discussion:
L.A. NOW
Senator Ted Cruz:
Press Release of Senator Cruz … WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) today introduced legislation to prohibit drone killings of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they do not represent an imminent threat. — “Our Constitution restrains government power,” Cruz said.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch, Weasel Zippers and National Review
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
A Devastating 26-Word Challenge to President Obama's Leadership — A single sentence from Senator Ron Wyden sums up the radicalism of the administration's national-security policies. — Reuters — When Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, stopped by the Senate floor Wednesday to help …
Devin Leonard / Businessweek:
How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—and Its Plans for ‘Star Wars’ — One weekend last October, Robert Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney (DIS), sat through all six Star Wars films. He'd seen them before, of course. This time, he took notes. Disney was in secret negotiations to acquire Lucasfilm …
Discussion:
FirstShowing.net, Outside the Beltway and Deadline.com
Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:
The Good, Racist People — Last month the actor Forest Whitaker was stopped in a Manhattan delicatessen by an employee. Whitaker is one of the pre-eminent actors of his generation, with a diverse and celebrated catalog ranging from “The Great Debaters” to “The Crying Game” to “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly