memeorandum: GOP Senate Candidate Reminds Washington She Castrated Hogs, Will Make Them ‘Squeal’ (Daniel Strauss/Talking Points Memo)

12:55 PM ET, March 25, 2014

Top Items:

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Obama to Call for End to N.S.A.'s Bulk Data Collection — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is preparing to unveil a legislative proposal for a far-reaching overhaul of the National Security Agency's once-secret bulk phone records program in a way that — if approved by Congress …

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:
Obama to set out proposal to end NSA's mass collection of phone data

Discussion: Politico, ACS Blog, emptywheel, Business Insider and The Week

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
White House plan would end NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone data

Discussion: Post Politics, Marginal REVOLUTION and Hot Air

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters:
Obama to propose curbing NSA bulk collection of phone records: report

Discussion: Guardian and Liberaland

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

GOP finds unwinding Obamacare vexing now that it's taken root — Republicans are still determined to repeal Obamacare, even though they have famously failed to unite behind an alternative. Now, it is dawning on some in the GOP that even if they succeed in repealing the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Fact Checker and The Other McCain

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Study: States refusing Medicaid expansion would benefit the most

Discussion: Washington Post and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Brian Beutler / Salon:
Republicans losing it over new Obamacare data: Why their position is collapsing

Discussion: Daily Kos

Beth Reinhard / Wall Street Journal: AFP Airs New Anti-Obamacare Ad in Michigan

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Four years later, Democrats wait for ObamaCare popularity bounce

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Weasel Zippers, The Moderate Voice and The Lonely Conservative

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Donald Rumsfeld: ‘It does not take a genius’ — Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is blasting the Obama administration's handling of Afghanistan, saying a “trained ape” could have done a better job in diplomatic relations with the country. — “We have status of forces agreements probably …

Discussion: The Dish, Daily Kos and The Raw Story

Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Rumsfeld bashes Obama on Afghanistan, says ‘a trained ape’ could do better

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Rocco Parascandola / NY Daily News:

Helmet camera shows skydiver's remarkable jump from World Trade Center — WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE IN VIDEO: The three daredevils, along with their lookout, pulled off a breathtaking jump from the Freedom Tower. But the price they paid was surrendering to cops Monday to face charges such as burglary.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, The Week and National Review

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

WATCH: Thrillseekers Catch Base Jump From World Trade Center On Helmet Cam — The world never got to see any of the photos a New Jersey 16-year-old took when he spent two hours at the top of 1 World Trade Center before getting caught last week, but this insane video makes up for it.

John Hudson / Foreign Policy:

House Democrats Criticize White House for Slowing Down Ukraine Rescue Package

Discussion: Post Politics, Business Insider and Speaker.gov

Tal Kopan / Politico:

John Boehner aide: Harry Reid ‘unhinged’ — House Speaker John Boehner's office fired back at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, saying comments he made blaming Republicans for the situation in Ukraine make him sound “completely unhinged.” — “The Senate Majority Leader sounds completely unhinged …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

David Brock reflects on his Clinton evolution — David Brock's long journey trailing Bill and Hillary Clinton — first as a nemesis and now as an ally — is leading him to the couple's former home state of Arkansas. — It's there, in a highly anticipated speech Tuesday …

Discussion: New York Times and The Week

Alex Seitz-Wald / NationalJournal.com:
The Presidential Election Does Start Earlier Every Four Years (but Don't Blame the Media)

Discussion: American Prospect and Taegan Goddard's …

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
McCaskill says relationship with Hillary Clinton is ‘fine’

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Politico

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Rand Paul on what Obama should tell Pope Francis — With President Barack Obama set to meet Pope Francis this week, Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday the president has some explaining to do. — “He ought to explain to the Pope why he is telling businesses in America they can't remain true …

Discussion: The Week and Hot Air

Matt Higgins / CBS St. Louis:
Vatican Chief Justice: Obama's Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’

Discussion: Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, Moonbattery and National Review

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Risen: Obama administration is this generation's ‘greatest enemy of press freedom’ — “It won't take me long to alienate everyone in the room,” Jeffrey Toobin told an audience in New York Friday. “For better or worse, it has been clear there is no journalistic privilege under the First Amendment.”

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Fox News, Fox News Insider, Betsy's Page, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Independent Journal Review, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Billionaire mogul Sheldon Adelson looks for mainstream Republican who can win in 2016 — Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who along with his wife plowed more than $92 million into efforts to help mostly losing candidates in the 2012 elections, is undertaking a new strategy for 2016 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week, OpenSecrets.org and The Times of Israel

Zach Baron / GQ Magazine Online:

Pharrell Williams on Advanced Style Moves and That Oscar Snub: My Song Will “Be Here For 10 Years” — For GQ's April cover, the G I R L artist and producer talks to Zach Baron about politics (he's calling 2016 for Hillary), the Tea Party, the hat-collection clamoring, and losing the Best Song Oscar

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, The Week and The Daily Caller

CBS News:

Poll: Most say U.S. doesn't have a responsibility in Ukraine — Shares - — Most Americans don't think the U.S. is obliged to intervene in the recent annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. A majority of 61 percent of Americans do not think the U.S. has a responsibility …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Mediaite, Liberaland, Eschaton and CBS San Francisco

nbcnewyork.com:

Alleged New Jersey Rape Victim Says Pleas for Help Were Ignored — The alleged victim says bystanders ignored her pleas for help when she escaped, and that authorities didn't take her report seriously for weeks — A woman with multiple sclerosis says she was knocked out by strangers …

Discussion: Liberaland and The Raw Story

Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal:

Live Blog: Contraception Cases at Supreme Court — On Tuesday, Hobby Lobby, a 600-store chain based in Oklahoma City, and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., an East Earl, Pa., cabinet maker, will argue for an exemption from federal regulations requiring health insurance policies …

Discussion: susiemadrak.com

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Justice Scalia's Past Comes Back To Haunt Him On Birth Control

Discussion: Althouse, Mediaite, USA Today, The New Republic, NewsBusters, National Review, The Federalist and New York Times

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:

Washington Redskins Owner Starts Foundation To Aid ‘Original Americans’ — The owner of the Washington Redskins, who adamantly refuses to change the team's controversial name that many believe to be a racial slur, announced Monday he was starting a new foundation to aid Native Americans called the …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Olga Khazan / The Atlantic Online:

Uninsured People Don't Like or Understand Obamacare — Most people (53 percent) now disapprove of Obamacare, compared with 41 percent who approve. Indeed, just a week before the deadline to buy health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges, opposition to the law is as high as the annual cap …

Discussion: The Dish, naked capitalism and Fox News