memeorandum: Gov. Brown Not Ready To Legalize Weed, Worried About ‘Potheads’ (VIDEO) (Caitlin MacNeal/Talking Points Memo)

4:50 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: Scared Monkeys, The Week and Fox News

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, ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, peacefare.net, The Moderate Voice and New York Times

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

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’ — KIEV/BALACLAVA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

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

Discussion: Slate, American Spectator and The Agonist

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

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

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

Discussion: Power Line, Weekly Standard and The Gateway Pundit

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

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

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

Discussion: Politico

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

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:
House Ukraine Caucus Chair: “Some Group Had To Step In To Mediate”

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

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

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

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

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, The PJ Tatler and Mediaite

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Brace Yourself for Hillary and Jeb — WASHINGTON — OY. By the time the Bushes and Clintons are finished, they are going to make the Tudors and the Plantagenets look like pikers. — Before these two families release their death grip on the American electoral system …

Discussion: Althouse and Vox Popoli

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 and Prairie Weather