Top Items:
Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:
Spy Chief: We Should've Told You We Track Your Calls — The U.S. government long considered its collection of Americans' call records to be a state secret. Now the Director of National Intelligence admits it would have been better if Washington had acknowledged the surveillance in the first place.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Taylor Marsh, Hit & Run, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Mediaite, TIME, Little Green Footballs and emptywheel
Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks — After a tumultuous week of party infighting and leadership stumbles, congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks in the months ahead, mostly by touting proposals that have wide backing within …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ABC News, Power Line, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Shifting the focus back to Obama
Shifting the focus back to Obama
Discussion:
The Plum Line and New York Times
Tom Troy / Toledo Blade:
‘Joe the Plumber’ Wurzelbacher gets union job with Chrysler Group — Samuel Wurzelbacher he was recently hired at Chrysler. — Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher - a.k.a., “Joe the Plumber” - announced today on Facebook and earlier on his Web site that he has landed a union job with Chrysler Group LLC.
Discussion:
Joe For America and Liberaland
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Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
‘Joe The Plumber’ Describes His New Union Job, Contemplates The Meaning Of ‘Tea Bagger’ — Samuel Wurzelbacher's encounter with Barack Obama gave some material to Republicans who were eager to brand the Illinois senator a socialist. Today, the man better-known as “Joe The Plumber” has himself a union job.
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Lindsay Kalter / Politico:
Kathleen Sebelius: No job loss under Obamacare — Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says there is “absolutely no evidence” that the Affordable Care Act will drive down employment, despite a report from the Congressional Budget Office released Feb. 4 predicting fewer people would be working.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, National Review and YG Network
Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
Financier Plans Big Ad Campaign on Climate Change — A billionaire retired investor is forging plans to spend as much as $100 million during the 2014 election, seeking to pressure federal and state officials to enact climate change measures through a hard-edge campaign of attack ads against governors and lawmakers.
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, Real Clear Politics and Balloon Juice
Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:
Ex-congressman arrested in Zimbabwe — Former Rep. Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.) has been arrested in Zimbabwe by immigration officers, according to multiple reports. — News outlet AllAfrica reports Reynolds was arrested on Monday on charges of violating immigration laws by carrying expired travel documents …
Discussion:
allAfrica.com, Hot Air, CBS Chicago and Jammie Wearing Fools
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Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Republicans open investigations into ObamaCare's disaster sites — Republicans are launching investigations into three state-run ObamaCare exchanges that are failing disastrously. — Lawmakers are setting their sites on exchanges in Oregon, Maryland and Massachusetts where Democratic governors embraced …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and The Daily Caller
Bret Stephens / Wall Street Journal:
Stephens: Climate Prophets and Profiteers — The most cynical part of John Kerry's climate-change speech. — The weirdest thing about John Kerry's weekend speech on climate-change—other than the fact that this is the same guy who in 1997 voted to forbid the U.S. from signing the Kyoto Protocol …
RELATED:
Rebecca Riffkin / Gallup:
Unemployment Rises to Top Problem in the U.S. — Fewer Americans name the government as the most important problem in February — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans have a new No. 1 problem. Nearly one in four Americans mention jobs and unemployment as the most important problem facing the country, up from 16% in January.
Discussion:
Politico, Hot Air, OnPolitics, Right Turn and Talking Points Memo
Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:
‘Bible’ Producers Cut Satan Scenes From ‘Son of God’ Following Obama Controversy (Video) — Eager to avoid a controversy about the devil looking like the president, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett decided to leave the character out of their film, which is based on “The Bible” miniseries.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and Guardian
ThinkProgress:
Michael Dunn Compares Himself To Rape Victim In Newly Released Calls From Jail — CREDIT: AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack, Pool — In newly released audio of phone calls made by Michael Dunn while in jail, the man who shot 17-year-old Jordan Davis after a loud music dispute claiming self-defense …
Discussion:
CBS News and PoliticusUSA
Zeke J Miller / TIME:
Obama Plays Water Guzzling Desert Golf Courses Amid California Drought — After preaching shared sacrifice to assuage the California water shortage, Obama has played some of the country's thirstiest golf courses. — President Barack Obama traveled to California Friday to highlight …
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Betsy's Page, The Lonely Conservative and Jammie Wearing Fools
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Why Hillary Clinton's past is fair game in presidential race — HILLARY CLINTON BILL CLINTON 2016 ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNS KENNETH STARR WHITEWATER — There's a debate going on about Hillary Clinton's past. If she runs for president in 2016, should Republicans reach back to the scandals of her years as First Lady?
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, ABC News, Power Line, Hot Air, Mediaite, Althouse, Instapundit and WND
Politico:
Exclusive: Mega-donors plan GOP war council — A group of major GOP donors, led by New York billionaire Paul Singer, is quietly expanding its political footprint ahead of the midterm elections in an increasingly assertive effort to shape the direction of the Republican Party.
Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:
Secession movement in New York pushes for Big Apple to split from Upstate — When Frank Sinatra sang “New York, New York,” he may have been on to something. — A movement is afoot to split New York into two regions — upstate and downstate — to acknowledge the gaping philosophical differences and improve representation.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and Liberaland
James Freeman / Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Stimulus, Five Years Later — Not much growth, but a new costume for Bobber the Water Safety Dog. — THE STIMULUS ANNIVERSARY — Five years ago today, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. The $830 billion spending blowout was sold …
Discussion:
RedState
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Mitch McConnell / The Great Debate:
Despite stimulus, middle class still struggles
Despite stimulus, middle class still struggles
Discussion:
Post Politics
Jim Yardley / New York Times:
Spain, Land of 10 P.M. Dinners, Asks if It's Time to Reset Clock — MADRID — Dipping into a bucket filled with Mahou beers, Jorge Rodríguez and his friends hunkered down on a recent Wednesday night to watch soccer at Mesón Viña, a local bar.
Shaun Walker / Guardian:
Pussy Riot members among group of activists arrested in Sochi — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who were detained by police, deny claims they stole woman's handbag — Members of the punk group Pussy Riot have been detained by Russian police in Sochi, apparently on suspicion of stealing a woman's handbag.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The New Civil Rights Movement
Adam Aigner-Treworgy / CNN:
Obama to take next step in fuel efficiency for trucks — Washington (CNN) - The Obama administration will take the next step on Tuesday in its multi-year effort to cut emissions and reduce oil use by getting better fuel economy from trucks. — President Barack Obama is set to announce …
Discussion:
Politico