memeorandum: Six in 10 Criticize War in Afghanistan; Most Favor Abandoning Training Mission (Gary Langer/ABCNEWS)

12:10 AM ET, March 12, 2012

Top Items:

U.S. Sergeant Kills 16 Afghan Civilians, 9 of Them Children — PANJWAI, Afghanistan — Stalking from home to home, a United States Army sergeant methodically killed at least 16 civilians, 9 of them children, in a rural stretch of southern Afghanistan early on Sunday, igniting fears of a new wave …

Discussion: Firedoglake, RedState, Boing Boing, Guardian, CNN, DownWithTyranny!, Towleroad News #gay, The Daily Dish, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, Theo Spark, The Last Tradition, Gothamist and Gretawire

BBC:

US soldier kills Afghan civilians in Kandahar — Tensions were already high in Afghanistan after the burning of Korans at a US base — A US soldier in Afghanistan has killed at least 16 civilians and wounded five after entering their homes in Kandahar province, senior local officials say.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Last Tradition, The Hayride, The Jawa Report, The Long War Journal, The Mahablog, msnbc.com, Sister Toldjah, Vox Popoli, The Raw Story, Scared Monkeys and americanthinker.com

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

Six in 10 Criticize War in Afghanistan; Most Favor Abandoning Training Mission — Sixty percent of Americans say the war in Afghanistan has not been not worth fighting and just 30 percent believe the Afghan public supports the U.S. mission there — marking the sour state of attitudes on the war …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Ahmad Nadem / Reuters:

Western forces kill 15 civilians in Afghanistan: Kabul government — (Reuters) - Coalition forces killed 15 civilians in a shooting spree in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Sunday, the defense ministry said, in an incident likely to deepen the growing divide between Washington and Kabul.

Discussion: Gawker

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Obama: Shooting of Afghan civilians ‘tragic and shocking’

Discussion: The Last Tradition and Politico

Ahmad Nadem / Trust.org:
Western forces kill 16 civilians in Afghanistan - Kabul govt

Discussion: Washington Post and Crooks and Liars

Washington Post:
U.S. soldier detained after opening fire on Afghans; at least 16 killed

Discussion: American Power, emptywheel and Hot Air

Carl Cameron / Fox News:

EXCLUSIVE: Gingrich-Perry Pre-Convention Ticket in the Works — Sources close to the Gingrich campaign say preliminary “what-if” conversations are underway that could lead to a Gingrich-Perry ticket being announced prior to the Republican National Convention at the end of August.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Taegan Goddard's …

ABCNEWS:

‘World News’ Political Insights: Mitt Romney's Math Beating Rivals' Momentum — Mitt Romney's path to the Republican presidential nomination is being powered by victories very large — think Ohio, Michigan, and Florida — and very, very small. — If and when Romney locks down the GOP nod …

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Gibbs: Romney loss in Kansas shows he's not ‘inevitable’ nominee

Discussion: Politico, CNN, americanthinker.com, Ballot Box and GOP 12

Ben Terris / NationalJournal.com:
Santorum: 'I'd Like Everybody to Get Out' — Rick Santorum needs …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Crooks and Liars and American Power

Sam Baker / The Hill:
Santorum: Romney doesn't ‘tell the truth’ to voters on healthcare

Discussion: CNN

Rick Pearson / Chicago Tribune: Poll: Romney slightly ahead of Santorum in Illinois

Washington Post:
Santorum wins Kansas caucuses, Romney wins Wyoming

Discussion: Esquire, Don Surber and Crooks and Liars

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Ohio Bill Would Require Men Submit Affidavit From Sex Partner Confirming Impotence Before Receiving Viagra — An Ohio State Senator is turning the tables on men seeking to regulate women's access to reproductive health. Sen. Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) has introduced legislation regulating men's access to erectile dysfunction drugs.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jackie Borchardt / Dayton Daily News:
Bill introduced to regulate men's reproductive health

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Addicting Info and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Tom Bonnette / The Hayride:

NOW's War On Rush—Exclusive Hayride Video — Keeping in mind that fools rush in where angels fear to tread, I attended a meeting of the National Organization of Women (NOW) on Saturday that was held in conjunction with the Independent Women's Organization (IWO).

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Ann Althouse / Althouse: Bill Maher to Rush Limbaugh: “You know what, Rush, when you can stand up in front of an audience …

Ynetnews:

Israel to delay strike on Iran until after US elections? — White House tells Sunday Times Obama pressed Netanyahu to postpone Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities until after November, adding president ‘might visit Israel in summer’ — Ynet — Israel will only strike Iranian …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, The POH Diaries and Weasel Zippers

New York Post:
Iran does not ‘give a damn’ about your bombs, Ahmadinejad warns US

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Nicolle Wallace / ABCNEWS:

Nicolle Wallace On Sarah Palin ‘Game Change’ Movie — “Game Change” is not a movie about Sarah Palin. And it's definitely not about staffers like me. — It's a film about the vast, murky gray area in which the majority of politics takes place. I'm not talking about what you see on television …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, CNN and CANNONFIRE

Susan Saulny / New York Times:

Centrist Women Tell of Disenchantment With Republicans — As baby showers go, the party Mary Russell attended to celebrate her niece's first child was sweet, with about a dozen women offering congratulations over ice cream and cake. — But somewhere between the baby name game and the gifts …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Wonkette, Althouse and The West Ranch Beacon

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Union Leaders Plan a Door-to-Door Effort to Aid Obama — As the A.F.L.-C.I.O. prepares to endorse President Obama on Tuesday, labor leaders say they will mount their biggest campaign effort, with far more union members than ever before — at least 400,000, they say — knocking on voters' doors …

WESH-TV:

Grayson Involved In Crash With Lynx Bus — Campaign Event Held In Downtown Orlando — ORLANDO, Fla. — Former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson crashed into a Lynx bus in downtown Orlando about noon Saturday. — Grayson was traveling to an upscale fundraising event for his Congressional campaign.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, iOwnTheWorld.com, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite and Moe_Lane's blog