memeorandum: Where's their nerve? Today's comics mock poop, not the powerful (Kyle Smith/New York Post)

3:00 AM ET, March 3, 2014

Top Items:

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: Politico, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, Liberal Values and The Moderate Voice

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: ABC, his vorpal sword, The Dish, Scared Monkeys, BuzzFeed, The Moderate Voice, The Week and Fox News

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

Putin's War — Obama had no good options to stop the invasion. In fact, the only mistake the president made was ever suggesting there would be “consequences.” — Is the West about to go to war with Russia over the fate of Ukraine? The question should answer itself.

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Guardian

Walter Russell Mead / The American Interest Podcast:

Putin Smashes Washington's Cocoon — A Politico report calls it “a crisis that no one anticipated.” The Daily Beast, reporting on Friday's US intelligence assessment that “Vladimir Putin's military would not invade Ukraine,” quotes a Senate aide claiming that “no one really saw this kind of thing coming.”

Discussion: NO QUARTER USA NET, The New Republic and Politico

ThinkProgress:
Why The Crisis In Ukraine Isn't The Start Of Another Cold War

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, The Monkey Cage, The Week, The Dish, Slate, Talking Points Memo and Bloomberg

Elizabeth Piper / Reuters:
Putin takes on West over Ukraine: who blinks first?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The PJ Tatler

Will Dunham / Reuters:
Kerry condemns Russia's ‘incredible act of aggression’ in Ukraine

Discussion: Guardian, Daily Kos and Washington Post

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

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

Discussion: American Spectator

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

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

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

Discussion: WorldViews, Right Turn, Gawker, Post Politics, Hinterland Gazette, kyivpost.com, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Power Line, The White House and The Gateway Pundit

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: Fox News, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite and Hot Air

Greg Clary / CNN:
Rep. Issa says IRS's Lois Lerner will testify

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Politico and The PJ Tatler

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Here's What Is Going To Happen With Ukraine — Following up on the previous post, if you do want to fret about Ukraine, I have just the thing for you. I'm going to tell you how this will all unfold: — Vladimir Putin will do something belligerent. (Already done.)

Discussion: Prairie Weather

ABC News:

Pipeline Protesters Arrested at White House — Police are arresting a couple hundred people who strapped themselves to the White House fence on Sunday to protest the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. — The protesters were mostly college students who participated in a peaceful march …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Kyle Smith / New York Post:

Where's their nerve? Today's comics mock poop, not the powerful — As Chevy Chase might have put it on “Saturday Night Live,” Harold Ramis is still dead. And with him has gone the finest era of comedy: The '70s kind. — Ramis was as close to the king of comedy as it gets, as a writer …

Discussion: Vox Popoli

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

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, Hullabaloo, DownWithTyranny!, Balloon Juice and Prairie Weather

CBS Baltimore:

2 Arrested For Armed Robbery Of Pregnant Woman In Labor — ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)—Annapolis Police arrest two people for an armed robbery of a pregnant woman in labor. — An eyewitness called police at around 4:30 a.m. after seeing a man and pregnant woman being held at gunpoint in the 1800-block of Copeland Street.

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story