memeorandum: Big-Money Donors Demand Larger Say in Campaign Strategy (Nicholas Confessore/New York Times)

5:55 PM ET, March 2, 2014

Top Items:

Ben Judah / Politico:

Why Russia No Longer Fears the West — The West is blinking in disbelief - Vladimir Putin just invaded Ukraine. German diplomats, French Eurocrats and American pundits are all stunned. Why has Russia chosen to gamble its trillion-dollar ties with the West?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, The Week, The Lonely Conservative and Fox News

Elizabeth Piper / Reuters:

Putin takes on West over Ukraine: who blinks first? — (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a gamble on Ukraine and is betting that U.S. President Barack Obama will blink first. — Wounded by a personal political defeat in a battle for influence over Russia's Slavic neighbor …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and The Moderate Voice

David Remnick / News Desk:

Putin Goes to War — Vladimir Putin, the Russian President and autocrat, had a plan for the winter of 2014: to reassert his country's power a generation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He thought that he would achieve this by building an Olympic wonderland on the Black Sea for fifty …

Discussion: Power Line, Guardian, New York Times, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog News, Liberal Values, kyivpost.com, Talking Points Memo, RT and BuzzFeed

The Hill:

Kerry: Putin now acting out of ‘weakness’ and ‘desperation’ — Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin's “stunning, willful” choice to invade Ukrainian territory and warned of possible sanctions. — “You just don't in the 21st century behave …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, peacefare.net, The Moderate Voice and The PJ Tatler

ThinkProgress:

Why The Crisis In Ukraine Isn't The Start Of Another Cold War — A Ukrainian man stands in protest in front of gunmen in unmarked uniforms as they stand guard in Balaklava, on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2014. An emblem on one of the vehicles and their number plates identify …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, The Week, Bloomberg and Guardian

Yahoo! News:
Ukraine mobilizes after Putin's ‘declaration of war’

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Washington Post:
Spell out the consequences for Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Discussion: WorldViews, Hinterland Gazette, Gawker, Right Turn, Post Politics, kyivpost.com, Outside the Beltway and Power Line

CBC News:
Ukraine crisis: Harper recalls ambassador, tells Putin to withdraw

Discussion: Slate, American Spectator and The Agonist

Dana Davidsen / CNN:
Lawmakers call for suspension of Russia from G8, swift action against Putin

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

The White House:
Readout of President Obama's Call with President Putin

Discussion: Power Line, Weekly Standard and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Ukraine Finds Its Forces Are Ill Equipped to Take Crimea Back From Russia

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press, CNN, Hinterland Gazette, The PJ Tatler, Talking Points Memo and National Review

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Making Russia Pay? It's Not So Simple

Discussion: Politico

Greg Clary / CNN:

Rep. Issa says IRS's Lois Lerner will testify — (CNN) - Lois Lerner, former director of tax exempt organizations for the IRS, will testify this week on Capitol Hill, Rep. Darrell Issa said Sunday. — Issa said he received word from Lerner's attorney that she will provide testimony …

Discussion: Politico and The PJ Tatler

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

Lerner's attorney says she won't testify, Issa wrong — Rep. Darrell Issa doesn't know what he's talking about, the attorney for former IRS official Lois Lerner said Sunday. — Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee, told “Fox News Sunday” …

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

Fox News:
Issa, House GOP investigative committee say Lerner will testify in IRS scandal hearing

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Lonely Conservative and Jammie Wearing Fools

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Terms of Our Surrender — IT now seems certain that before too many years elapse, the Supreme Court will be forced to acknowledge the logic of its own jurisprudence on same-sex marriage and redefine marriage to include gay couples in all 50 states. — Once this happens …

Discussion: Equality Matters, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

Big-Money Donors Demand Larger Say in Campaign Strategy — The Republican donors who have financed the party's vast outside-spending machine are turning against the consultants and political strategists they once lavished with hundreds of millions of dollars.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, DownWithTyranny!, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice and Prairie Weather

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Gov. Brown Not Ready To Legalize Weed, Worried About ‘Potheads’ (VIDEO) — California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Sunday said that he is not ready to legalize marijuana use in the state. — “Well, we have medical marijuana, which gets very close to what they have in Colorado and Washington.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

New York Times:

My Life as a Writer — “Sabbath's Theater” is now being translated into Swedish, almost 20 years after its original release. How would you describe this book to readers who have not yet read it or heard of it, and how would you describe the main character, the unforgettable Mickey Sabbath?

Discussion: The Week and Althouse

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

De Blasio's anti-rich policies are driving wealthy people out of NYC — Money — it's the root of all evil. Behind every great fortune lies a great crime. Or at least an unfair advantage. — That's the gist of the liberals' creed and justification for their war on wealth.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative