Health Mandate: Not a Slippery Slope

Scott Lemieux, American Prospect
If we needed any more proof that there's a conservative consensus that the individual mandate -- the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that levies a tax on anyone without health care -- is an unprecedented affront to both the Constitution and individual freedom, we got it at Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and other keynote speakers used it to go after not only Obama, but also at 2012 GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, who in 2006 signed a health-care law with a similar provision as its centerpiece in...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2011/02/14/health_mandate_not_a_slippery_slope_250513.html

R. EMMETT TYRRELL LIZ CHENEY JON HUNTSMAN JR CHARLIE CRIST

Debt Is the New "Red Menace"

Gov. Mitch Daniels, CPAC
Speech delivered Friday, February 11 at the Conservative Political Action Conference Ronald Reagan Centennial Dinner.David Keene, George Will, good friends, thank you for the enormous privilege of this podium. Even a casual observer of American public life knows how many great ideas have been born here, how many important debates joined here, how many giants of our democracy appeared on this platform. When David broached the invitation, my first reaction was one I often have: "Who cancelled?" But first choice or fifteenth, the honor, and the responsibility to do the occasion...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/12/debt_is_the_new_red_menace_108875.html

Julián Castro Nathan Daschle Jennifer O\'Malley Dillon Sean Duffy

Love Doesn't Have To Hurt

A controversial Super Bowl ad featuring a black woman attacking her male companion continues to stir debate. In her weekly commentary, host Michel Martin asks why acts of domestic violence, as seen in the ad, are considered funny ? and wonders what children take away from such commercials.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133750467/Domestic-Violence-Is-Never-Funny?ft=1&f=1057

Olympia Snowe Paul Gigot Joe Scarborough Victor Davis Hanson

Cracking The Cool Science Of Ice

With winter storms continuing across the country, much of the nation may not currently have warm feelings toward the solid form of water. Physicist and water researcher Eugene Stanley and Mariana Gosnell, author of Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance, discuss the cool, slippery science of ice.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133686012/Cracking-The-Cool-Science-Of-Ice?ft=1&f=1007

Devin Nunes Tom Perriello Hannah Pingree Jared Polis

The Nation: The Cyber World Brought Down Mubarak

Many are split on the impact of social media such as Twitter and Facebook on the revolution in Egypt. But Sam Graham-Felsen of The Nation argues that it was a pivotal tool in rallying thousands of Egyptians who weren't used to having their voices heard under a repressive regime.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133743332/the-nation-the-cyber-world-brought-down-mubarak?ft=1&f=1057

Tucker Carlson Dick Armey Michael Barone Olympia Snowe

My Neutrophils Can Kick Your White Blood Cells' Butt

An artist uses white blood cells from different people to stage a battle for immune system supremacy. In the process, she hopes to help people understand biology and some of the mythology surrounding blood.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/02/11/133655669/my-neutrophils-can-kick-your-white-blood-cells-butt?ft=1&f=1007

Ellie Boldman Hill Sarah Huckabee Ben Jealous Bobby Jindal

Republicans Sharpen Knives For Obama's Budget

Republicans are gearing up for a fight over how to cut what they consider unnecessary federal spending in President Obama's 2012 budget proposal. Guest host Audie Cornish talks with David Stockman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, about Obama's 2012 federal budget proposal.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/13/133729664/Republicans-Sharpen-Knives-For-Obamas-Budget?ft=1&f=1014

Jeb Bush James Dobson Ann Coulter Judd Gregg

Isolated Opulence: Glimpsing Mubarak's Motorcade

Egypt's President Mubarak left office today after weeks of protests, strikes and calls for his resignation. Commentator Hosam Aboul-Ela once caught a glimpse of the now-former president ? or, at least, of his motorcade. It reinforced the distance between the leader and his people.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133688449/catching-a-glimpse-of-mubaraks-exit?ft=1&f=1057

Jake Sullivan MARK SANFORD Jay Webber TOM DELAY

The Donald Trumps the Pols at CPAC

Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Republicans may not yet have the ideal candidate to take on President Obama in 2012. But at least they have an apprentice program."This is the largest crowd we have ever had in eager anticipation of our next speaker!" Lisa De Pasquale, director of the Conservative Political Action Conference, told the annual gathering last week. "We have overflow rooms filled! This ballroom filled!"

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2011/02/13/the_donald_trumps_the_pols_at_cpac_250450.html

LIZ CHENEY JON HUNTSMAN JR CHARLIE CRIST CLIFFORD MAY