memeorandum: Spotted in the Senate: Rep. Phil Gingrey, ‘Just Measuring the Drapes’ (Sarah Mimms/NationalJournal.com)

9:30 AM ET, March 14, 2014

Top Items:

Ezra Klein's Queer New Hire — Brandon Ambrosino (Photo Courtesy of Media Matters) — On Tuesday, former Washington Post pundit (and Prospect alum) Ezra Klein sent a shock wave through the gay community by announcing he had hired gay anti-gay apologist Brandon Ambrosino to join him at Vox Media …

Discussion: The Dish, Towleroad News #gay, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Equality Matters, Booman Tribune, The Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

Vox's Unbelievably Terrible New Hire — On Wednesday, Ezra Klein's new media venture, Vox, announced that it had hired Brandon Ambrosino as a writing fellow, presumably to cover the LGBTQ beat. Vox likely thought that by hiring Ambrosino, the outlet would be introducing a brash, unconventional new voice to a broader audience.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Talking Points Memo

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
Hipster Homophobia: Ezra Klein's Vox hires Falwell-loving gay-bashing “gay”

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and Washington Monthly

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

John McCain cites Ronald Reagan, slams GOP on Ukraine aid — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ripped fellow Republicans on Thursday for objecting to a package of aid and sanctions to respond to the Ukrainian crisis, calling himself “embarrassed” and telling his GOP colleagues: “Don't call yourself Reagan Republicans.”

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Post and The PJ Tatler

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Jobless deal came down to wire

Discussion: National Review and Daily Kos

Susan Crabtree / Washington Examiner:

John Kerry: Russia has until Monday to reverse course in Ukraine — JOHN KERRY RUSSIA PENNAVE FOREIGN POLICY EUROPE UKRAINE EU CRIMEA — Secretary of State John Kerry warned of serious repercussions for Russia on Monday if last-ditch talks over the weekend to resolve the crisis in Ukraine failed …

Discussion: Yahoo! News and Guardian

New York Times:
Russia Massing Military Forces Near Border With Ukraine

Discussion: The Week, Scared Monkeys, president.gov.ua, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, VodkaPundit, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, Real Clear Politics and Reuters

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

In jam over Obamacare, Dems don't know which way to turn — OBAMACARE KATHLEEN SEBELIUS WALL STREET JOURNAL — When it comes to Obamacare, many Democrats take comfort in polls showing a small majority of voters, or at least a plurality, oppose repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Betsy's Page, National Review and The Daily Caller

Alec Macgillis / The New Republic:
Obamacare Is Hurting Democratic Candidates Because Republicans Are Hurting Obamacare

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Democratic Strategist, Los Angeles Times and National Review

Alicia Mundy / Wall Street Journal:

Sen. Landrieu Steps Up Pressure on Kerry to Clear Keystone XL Pipeline — Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana intensified the pressure on Secretary of State John Kerry, a former Senate colleague, to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline. — During a hearing on the State Department's 2015 budget …

Discussion: Hot Air

Lachlan Markay / Washington Free Beacon:
Mary Landrieu's Koch Problem

Discussion: The Fact Checker, OpenSecrets.org and The PJ Tatler

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Morning Plum: Why Dems are tying Republicans to the Koch brothers

Discussion: Liberal Values, No More Mister Nice Blog, BillMoyers.com, RedState, PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos and The Huffington Post

Businessweek:

Missed Alarms and 40 Million Stolen Credit Card Numbers: How Target Blew It — The biggest retail hack in U.S. history wasn't particularly inventive, nor did it appear destined for success. In the days prior to Thanksgiving 2013, someone installed malware in Target's (TGT) …

Discussion: susiemadrak.com, Shot in the Dark, The Daily Caller, The Verge and Mashable

Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:

A Carter Could Turn Georgia Blue — Dramatic population shifts put Georgia on the path to joining North Carolina and Virginia in the electoral toss-up column. Jason Carter, Jimmy's grandson, wants to lead the way. — As Wendy Davis's campaign for Texas governor flounders …

Discussion: Yahoo! News

Daily Mail:

Officials ‘convinced’ two communications systems on missing jet were deliberately shut off 14-minutes apart as it emerges aircraft DID keep ‘pinging’ for hours after vanishing at 35,000 ft — U.S. official said two separate communication systems were shut down ‘deliberately’ shortly after take-off

Discussion: ABC News, Reuters, Rush Limbaugh, The Gateway Pundit and Wall Street Journal

Ana Marie Cox / Guardian:

Paul Ryan's ‘inner city’ comment might mean he's racist, but he sure is classist — Does he think black people are lazy? He definitely thinks poor people are. And laws reinforce lawmakers with logic like that. — “We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular …

Discussion: theGrio, ThinkProgress, his vorpal sword, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo, The Reality-Based Community, The Daily Beast, Crew of 42 and BuzzFeed

David Weigel / Slate:
Paul Ryan Accused of Racism for Suggesting That There's Endemic Poverty in Inner Cities

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reaction, The Federalist, Weekly Standard, BillMoyers.com, ThinkProgress, Politico, Mediaite, The Week and The Huffington Post

Joe Biden / CNN:

Biden jokes presidential run would be bad for his golf game — (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden suggested Thursday night that running for President wouldn't leave much time to practice his golf game. — At an event in Washington, Taoiseach Enda Kenny offered for Biden to come to Ireland and unload his …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and Mediaite

Jamie Self / The State:

ELECTION 2014: Lindsey Graham challenger calls SC senator “ambiguously gay” — COLUMBIA, SC — Four of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's announced challengers in June's Republican primary pledged support for each other Thursday if any of them end up in a runoff with the Seneca incumbent.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Talking Points Memo

Jeane MacIntosh / New York Post:

Former NJ gov's son found dead in Mexico of apparent suicide — The son of former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine killed himself in a Mexico City hotel, sources told The Post on Thursday. — Jeffrey Corzine, 31, was the youngest of Corzine's three children with ex-wife and childhood sweetheart Joanne Corzine.

Discussion: Business Insider

Jeff Goodell / Rolling Stone:

Bill Gates: The Rolling Stone Interview — The richest man in the world explains how to save the planet — At 58, Bill Gates is not only the richest man in the world, with a fortune that now exceeds $76 billion, but he may also be the most optimistic. In his view, the world …

Discussion: The Switch, Little Green Footballs, Politico and The Daily Caller

Guardian:

Tony Benn, veteran Labour politician, dies aged 88 — Former cabinet minister dies at his home in west London surrounded by family members — Tony Benn - the lodestar for the Labour left for decades, orator, campaigner, diarist and grandfather - has died aged 88 after a long illness, his family has announced.

Discussion: The Agonist

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Obama, Citing a Concern for Families, Orders a Review of Deportations — WASHINGTON — President Obama said Thursday that deportations of illegal immigrants should be more humane, and to make that happen, he has ordered a review of his administration's enforcement efforts.

Discussion: The Plum Line and Post Politics