FROM THE BLOGS:

The battle over "the right side of history"
Daniel Larison at The American Conservative writes on the trend of using the "right side of history" cliche as justification for misguided ideological positions.

Gun laws and the suicide epidemic
Stephanie Mencimer and Dana Liebelson of Mother Jones wonder why gun laws don't focus on the growing problem of hand gun suicides.

'Sin taxes' aren't the answer
Hot Air's Erika Johnsen says proposed "sin taxes" unfairly punish law-abiding gun citizens.

We tried austerity and it didn't work
Jamelle Bouie of American Prospect tells conservatives calling for smaller government and more cuts that we already tried it and it didn't work.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senate Democrats vow to run against Ryan budget in 2014 cycle
The Hill's Cameron Joseph reports that Democratic senators running for reelection will make Rep. Ryan's budget a focus of their campaigns.

Senator tweets about 'very uncomfortable' TSA screening
Sen. McCaskill told her follows about the "aggressive" pat-down she received in-route to her flight, The Hill's Keith Laing reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Senate race 2014
Right Turn's Jennifer Rubin sees an opportunity for Republican Senate candidates to claim the seats of retiring Senate Democrats.

Republicans plan 'historical, monumental' effort to defeat gun bills
Greg Campbell of The Daily Caller reviews Colorado's intense legislative debate over new gun laws.

Why we celebrate International Women's Day
Melinda Gates on CNN argues that this is a day to recognize the vital role of women in society and the economy around the world.

US drops the ball on women's rights
Elsewhere on CNN, Lisa Baldez writes that in order to remain a worldwide leader in women's rights, the U.S. must pass the U.N. treaty eliminating gender discrimination.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama sets end-of-July goal for bipartisan agreement on deficit
President Obama wants to complete a grand bargain to reduce the deficit by the end of July, an aggressive timeline coinciding with the expiration of the nation’s debt limit, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports.

Obama faces turning point on administration drone policy
The Hill's Jeremy Herb and Justin Sink report that President Obama is looking to be more transparent about his counter-terrorism policies.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Senate Dems unveil changes to House bill funding government
Senate Democrats plan to significantly alter legislation from the House to avoid a government shutdown by tacking on three appropriations bills, Erik Wasson of The Hill reports. Read more...

FROM THE BLOGS:

Coulter: Maybe Republicans should try being popular
Ann Coulter for Human Events suggest that Republicans should tighten up legislation on the mentally ill in an effort to beat Democrats at the gun control game.

Rand Paul's mixed civil liberties track record
In light of Wednesday's filibuster, Salon's Jillian Rayfield takes a look at his stances on issues other than drones.

Death of the Campaign Book
Slate's John Dickerson takes a look into the history of the campaign book, through Jeb Bush's latest release on immigration.

Shoplifters hiding behind plastic bag ban?
Alyssa Badolato of The Foundry wonders about the unintended effects of Seattle's plastic bag ban.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES

Sens. McCain, Graham lambast 'ridiculous' drone filibuster by Paul
The Hill's Ramsey Cox and Jeremy Herb report that the two senior GOP members felt Paul "cheapened" the drone discussion.

Carney: Obama heartened by talks with congressional GOP
The president extended an olive branch on Wednesday by meeting with a dozen Republican senators to discuss negotiations, The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

U.S. wasted billions rebuilding Iraq
Hayes Brown at Think Progress breaks down a report released by the Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction.

The administration's thin complaints about the sequester
The Daily Beast's Megan McArdle says that the Obama administration is exaggerating the consequences of the sequester.

The sins of Secretary Clinton are falling on John Kerry
Richard Grenell of Fox News claims the press corps was too soft on Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State.

Boehner says 'it's just sick' that the White House cancelled tours instead of laying off workers
Jed Lewison writes in the Daily Kos that Speaker of the House John Boehner is upset about the White House canceling tours because Members of Congress will receive backlash from constituents.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Lee joins Paul in talking filibuster against CIA nominee Brennan
The Hill's Ramsey Cox reports on the latest roadblock to John Brennan's Senate confirmation.

Graham on dining with Obama: 'How do you say no to the president'
The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports on the President's latest outreach to Senate Republicans.


 

FROM THE BLOGS:

A Washington Post report confuses one prostitute for another in Menendez scandal
The Washington Post mistook one prostitute for another Monday in a report that initially seemed to debunk a November 2012 Daily Caller exposé of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, argues David Martosko for The Daily Caller.

Congress goes bipartisan - against civil liberties
The Congress that barely averted the "fiscal cliff" swiftly passed extensions of warrantless wiretapping and indefinite detention, says W. James Antle III with The American Conservative.

GOP proposes drug tests before welfare
Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) introduced a bill in the House Friday that would require states that want to receive full funding for welfare assistance to submit to random drug testing, according to Andrea Peterson and Nicole Flatow of ThinkProgress.

Newt Gingrich faces reality
Howard Kurtz of The Daily Beast examines Gingrich's comments about the GOP "kidding themselves" to think that they would beat Obama.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Dems back down from opposing GOP spending bill
House Democratic leaders have decided against uniting their party's rank and file in opposition to a Republican spending bill that would fund the government, The Hill's Mike Lillis reports.

Senate Intelligence Committee approves Brenna nomination
The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday voted 12-3 to approve John Brennan's nomination to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, The Hill's Carlo Muñoz reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Coin-operated government
RedState.com's John Hayward ruminates on the deficit and why more Americans aren't questioning the nation's growth in spending.

Caltrans relents: memorial to include American flag, 'United States'
Jeffrey Anderson of The Weekly Standard sees the fight for a private memorial as indicative of larger, national problems.

The Republicans and Medicare
Mark Halperin of Time's The Page blog argues that Republicans continue to have an "inconsistent" message on Medicare.

The Powerless Presidency
The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza examines the scope of President Obama's power, and the inevitable truth that a productive Congress is one dominated by a single party.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

White House cancels tours due to sequester
The White House has canceled tours citing sequester cuts, according to The Hill's Amie Parnes.

Obama reaching out to Republican lawmakers on budget deal
The president has begun phoning a number of prominent Republican senators, The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

One study explains why it's tough to pass liberal laws
Wonkblog's Dylan Matthews elaborates on a new study that indicates there is a "systematic bias" against liberal legislation and policies, particularly on the state-level.

Sequester in a 'word cloud'
Dorian De Wind of The Moderate Voice examines the words most Americans are using to describe the budget cuts, and the results aren't looking good.

The bin Laden Raid and Obama's CIA nominee
The Weekly Standard's Thomas Joscelyn writes on John Brennan's role in the bin Laden raid.

Empathy for the devil
Political Animal's Ed Kilgore wonders if Mark Sanford really has learned anything from his post-gubernatorial time of introspection.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama to deliver US Naval Academy graduation speech
The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports that the president will give the keynote address at graduation this May.

White House mocks North Korean regime for hosting Dennis Rodman visit
Press secretary Jay Carney calls on the regime to focus less on basketball stars, more on the well-being of its people, The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Reviewing the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline: the more we learn, the worse it looks
At The Huffington Post, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz claims that the State Department's draft environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline underestimated the harmful impact of the pipeline's construction.

Fallout from 'Untouchables' documentary: another Wall Street whistleblower gets reamed
Matt Taibbi, in Rolling Stone, outlines two specific cases in which those responsible for the 2008 financial crisis were never brought to justice.

Brookings glosses over Amtrak's failings
Cato's Randal O'Toole questions the Brookings Institution's claims that Amtrak's passenger trains are "viable."

Vice President Joe Biden at AIPAC
The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin argues that Vice President Biden exaggerated the successes of the Obama administration's policies with respect to Israel.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama nominates McCarthy for EPA, Moniz for Energy chief
The Hill's Justin Sink reports on President Obama's most recent cabinet appointments.

House government funding bill seeks to soften sequester's blow
The Hills Erik Wasson reports on a bill that attempts to diffuse the harsh defense cuts that will be taking place as a result of the sequester.