memeorandum: Don't listen to Obama's Ukraine critics: he's not ‘losing’ - and it's not his fight (Michael Cohen/Guardian)

2:52 AM ET, March 4, 2014

Top Items:

Michael Cohen / Guardian:

Don't listen to Obama's Ukraine critics: he's not ‘losing’ - and it's not his fight — The ‘do something’ pundits rear their heads. Just like they did on Iraq, Afghanistan and every other crisis of US ‘credibility’ — The armchair class is certain that Putin is winning and Obama is losing.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Liberal Values, The Monkey Cage, Financial Times, Bloomberg View, The Dish, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice, Business Insider, Washington Post, Hot Air, American Thinker and Right Turn

Simon Shuster / TIME:

4 Reasons Putin Is Already Losing in Ukraine — As Russia's Ukraine power play reaches boiling point in Crimea, there are clear signs a Russian invasion may be a disaster for its architect, President Vladimir Putin — Even a week ago, the idea of a Russian military intervention in Ukraine seemed farfetched if not totally alarmist.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, News Desk, The Federalist, Forbes, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, The Dish, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal and kyivpost.com, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Congressman Thinks Putin Is Being “Demonized” In The U.S. — California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said he doesn't support Russia taking military action in Ukraine, but “that doesn't mean Putin and pro-Russia forces in Ukraine are in the wrong.” — Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher …

Sky News:
Russia And China ‘In Agreement’ Over Ukraine

Discussion: Hot Air, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Daily Caller

USA Today: Putin's power grab gets lame response: Our view

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
McConnell Vows a Senate in Working Order, if He Is Given Control

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Kos and National Review

Louis Charbonneau / Reuters:
Russia: Yanukovich asks Putin for Russian military in Ukraine

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and kyivpost.com

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Inside Obama's Plans to Squeeze Russia

Discussion: The New Republic, National Review, The Week, Hot Air, Guardian, Forbes, Yahoo! News and Jammie Wearing Fools

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Obama warns Russia of political, economic ‘isolation’

Discussion: Politico

Michael Hirsh / National Journal:
In Ukraine, Obama's Biggest Test

Discussion: Politico, The New Republic, Mediaite and Washington Post

Washington Post:
President Obama's foreign policy is based on fantasy

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:

Candidate Stockman Threatens Jail To Anyone Who Publishes His Mugshot — Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) says he's been vindicated. — The Texas conservative's underdog Senate campaign on Monday published a defiant statement, claiming that Stockman has “grounds to file criminal complaints” …

Discussion: stockman2014.com and The Daily Banter

Miranda Blue / Right Wing Watch:

Steve King: Being Gay Is ‘Self-Professed Behavior’ That Can't Be ‘Independently Verified’ — Rep. Steve King of Iowa joined Des Moines' WHO TV yesterday to discuss Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's veto of a bill that would have strengthened the ability of businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Discussion: Gawker, Mediaite and Towleroad News #gay

WHOTV:
THE INSIDERS: Iowa Congressman Steve King

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and The Raw Story

Brian Beutler / Salon:

GOP finally goes too far on Obamacare: Why the 50th repeal vote is not the charm — This week you're likely to read stories and headlines suggesting that House Republicans will be voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act again, or are approaching their 50th Obamacare repeal vote or some variation thereof.

Karl Bode / Techdirt:

Keurig Will Use DRM In New Coffee Maker To Lock Out Refill Market — The single coffee cup craze has been rolling now for several years in both the United States and Canada, with Keurig, Tassimo, and Nespresso all battling it out to lock down the market. In order to protect their dominant market share …

Discussion: The Verge and KDVR.com

Baton Rouge news, sports and entertainment …:

Police: Dad encouraged encounter — The pastor of a Baton Rouge Baptist church was arrested Saturday on accusations he raped a 20-year-old mentally disabled woman who had sex with the pastor at her father's request, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.

Discussion: Americans Against the …, Liberaland and The Raw Story

Paul Liberatore / Marin Independent Journal:

Lib at Large: Novato contractor supplies century-old log cabins for new Twitter headquarters — WHAT'S NEW IS old at Twitter's new San Francisco headquarters. — The high-tech firm has a new look for its old logo, a new office in an old building and, in a few weeks, new dining rooms in some very old log cabins.

Discussion: The Verge, Mashable, Gawker, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo and TechCrunch

Glenn Kessler / The Fact Checker:

Rep. Darrell Issa disputes his Four-Pinocchio ratings — CHRIS WALLACE: That brings up my final question for you, because you have come under fire both in the IRS and Benghazi and other investigations of your committee for political witch hunts. They point specifically to a speech you gave …

Discussion: Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Liberaland and The Raw Story

RealClearPolitics Video Log:

Krauthammer: Obama Admin Calls Climate Change Greatest Threat, Shocked Russians Are Interested In Territory — CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: It wasn't the weakness of Europe that precipitated all of this. And it wasn't Obama's flinching on Syria. When Putin had to make a calculation whether to go into Ukraine …

Discussion: Hot Air

Rebecca Leber / ThinkProgress:

Kentucky Churches Giving Away Guns To Help People Discover Jesus — The Kentucky Baptist Convention wants to “point people to Christ” by giving away guns at Second Amendment Celebrations hosted across the state. — In the words of spokesman Chuck McAlister the strategy is “outreach to rednecks …

Discussion: USA Today and No More Mister Nice Blog

Nicholas Kulish / New York Times:

South African Athlete Pleads Not Guilty to Murder Charge — PRETORIA, South Africa — As Oscar Pistorius went on trial on murder charges Monday, a neighbor of the South African double amputee track star described hearing “bloodcurdling screams” shortly before Mr. Pistorius's girlfriend was shot and killed.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Bloomberg View

CNN:
Pistorius neighbor: ‘Bloodcurdling screams’ the night of the killing

Discussion: Mediaite, The Raw Story and Scared Monkeys

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Iran Executes Two for ‘Perversion’ — Iran executed two gay men on Sunday for the crime of “perversion” and has sentenced a third individual to death for “insulting the prophet,” according to human rights activists tracking the situation. — The head of Iran's judiciary department …

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Catherine Shoard / Guardian:

Oscars 2014: 10 things we learned — The 86th Academy Awards are over. Here's our top takeaways from the night, from Meryl's moves to Matthew's megalomania — It turns out Hollywood knows about selfies … Remember that president guy? Barack somethingorother?

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Mashable, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Bangor Daily News, The Huffington Post, TheBlaze.com, Gawker, TechCrunch, Politico, The Verge, The Daily Banter, Taylor Marsh, Wall Street Journal and Re/code, more at Mediagazer »

Elliott Abrams / Weekly Standard:

If He Believes It, It Must Be So — On the eve of the Netanyahu visit to Washington, President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Jeffrey Goldberg that shows a chief executive who has learned next to nothing about the world in his five years in office. — First, kudos to Goldberg …