memeorandum: Malaysia Airlines plane vanishes over South China Sea; Vietnamese reportedly spot oil slicks (Simon Denyer/Washington Post)

4:35 AM ET, March 9, 2014

Top Items:

Malaysia Airlines plane vanishes over South China Sea; Vietnamese reportedly spot oil slicks — BEIJING — Vietnamese air force planes have spotted two large oil slicks that officials believe are from a Malaysia Airlines flight that suddenly vanished from air traffic control screens …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Booman Tribune and Red Alert Politics

Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times:

Terrorism not ruled out in disappearance of Malaysia Airlines jet — BEIJING — Malaysian officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane Saturday said they were not ruling out terrorism — or any other causes — as reports emerged that two Europeans listed …

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, Bloomberg, JustOneMinute, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

Malaysia Airlines:

MH370 Flight Incident — The families of all passengers on board MH370 are being informed. The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew - comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants) and 12 crew members. — An international search and rescue mission was mobilized this morning.

Discussion: New York Times, BBC, Associated Press, Guardian, Hinterland Gazette, The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, KTLA 5 and The Gateway Pundit

James Hohmann / Politico:

A Rand Paul rout in CPAC straw poll — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Rand Paul handily won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday, one gauge of the Republican base's mood less than two years before the 2016 primary season kicks off.

Discussion: Fox News, Hit & Run, Taylor Marsh and Scared Monkeys

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Paul: Bill Clinton a ‘throwback to a sort of troglodyte time’

Discussion: CNN, Taylor Marsh, PoliticusUSA and Daily Kos

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Paul electrifies conservative base

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Joseph Gerth / Courier-Journal:

McConnell waves musket, falls flat at CPAC — The normally sharp-shooting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may have misfired on Thursday when he took to the stage at the Conservatives Political Action Conference brandishing a gun. — The gun was actually an award from the National Rifle Association …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Talking Points Memo

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Is Ben Carson 2016's sleeper candidate? — Neurologist Ben Carson could be 2016's sleeper presidential contender. — You won't find him in early polls, and he doesn't make headlines for huddling with top advisers in primary states. — Carson is lauded for his plainspoken yet forceful ability …

Discussion: Politico, NationalJournal.com and No More Mister Nice Blog

George F. Will / Washington Post:

The IRS's behavior taxes credulity — What's been said of confession — that it is good for one's soul but bad for one's reputation — can also be true of testifying to Congress, so Lois Lerner has chosen to stay silent. Hers, however, is an eloquent silence.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Democratic Daily, Power Line, his vorpal sword and Cafe Hayek

David Martosko / Daily Mail:
IRS caves on Lois Lerner documents, will provide Congress with ALL of her emails since tea party targeting scheme began

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and The Heritage Foundation

Justin Sink / The Hill:

WH defends Obama's Key Largo vacation — White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended President Obama's weekend vacation in Key Largo, despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, arguing Obama would be able to monitor events from Florida. — “What the president will be doing this weekend …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Fox News:
Obama, Biden stick to vacation schedules despite Ukraine crisis

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:

Why the Cold War isn't back — German Chancellor Angela Merkel's private analysis that Vladimir Putin is living “in another world” struck a chord because Russia's military incursion into Crimea does feel like a blast from the Cold War past of twilight struggle, eyeball-to-eyeball brinkmanship …

Discussion: Liberal Values

USA Today:

Hard drugs demand solid understanding: Column — Know heroin, combat Hoffman-like abuse. — Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death has prompted a lot of discussion about heroin in recent weeks. Heroin statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) have fueled the debate, but they may be leading us astray.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and The Reality-Based Community

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Bachmann: ‘Our Movement At Its Core Is An Intellectual Movement’ — Warning that the government is trying to appropriate the roles of the family and the church, Michele Bachmann told CPAC attendees today that the conservative movement must fight back because it is “at its core is an intellectual movement” …

Discussion: Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, Liberaland and The Raw Story

Condoleezza Rice / Washington Post:

Will America heed the wake-up call of Ukraine? — Condoleezza Rice was secretary of state from 2005 to 2009. — “Meet Viktor Yanukovych, who is running for the presidency of Ukraine.” Vladimir Putin and I were standing in his office at the presidential dacha in late 2004 …

Discussion: CNN, NO QUARTER USA NET, Hot Air, The Agonist, Business Insider and Foreign Policy