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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Hardball airs tonight at 7 pm ET, 11 pm ET & 4 am ET or if you live in Portland
(Oregon not Maine) tune in at 4 pm PT, 8 pm PT & 1 am PT
First up...Jon Stewart was out last night again blasting Hardball over the Desmond
Tutu booking flap and having some fun at our expense...We'll roll the clip and Chris
renews our offer...You'll not want to miss it...
But first, we follow up on the tragic terror attack out of Spain and get the latest
from NBC's Norah O'Donnell on the north lawn and Robin Wright from the Post
newsroom...We'll talk about the President's response and his wreath laying ceremony at
the Spanish Ambassador's residence...
And the ad wars are heating up with the new release of a John Kerry spot responding to
Bush's "attack" ad yesterday...We're calling the segment "Ad wars part II"...They're
not all that tough by our Hardball standards but its a start at least...We've got Bush
spokesman Terry Holt going at it with Kerry advisor Mark Mellman on the set...It's
gonna get a little hot in studio N6 tonight...
Then we'll do a little something I'm calling "Iraq war stories"...Rick Atkinson (The
Washington Post), David Zucchino (L.A. Times) & NBC's own Chip Reid discuss the Iraq
war "embedded" experience. It's a really cool segment and that'll take us to 3/4 past
the hour...
The last couple of blocks we'll interview a good friend of Chris', Ron Owens...He's a
day time radio talk show host out of San Francisco (KGO-AM 810)...My grandma used to
listen to him until she went hard right and switched the dial to KSFO and Michael
Savage...Be that as it may, Ron has a new book out titled "Voice of Reason" about the
radical center in this country and why we must as Americans eschew the political
extremes...Maybe grandma needs to read it...We'll talk about the CA Supreme Court
order to immediately halt the same sex marriage licenses being issued in San Francisco
(what I'm calling "Banned in San Fran")...We'll also get Ron's take on the Bush-Kerry
match-up and he'll reveal who he voted for over the last 20 years for
president...Here's Ron's website http://www.ronn.com/
And in other news...
Our buddy Robert Cox is tangling with the big boys over at the gray lady...In Hardball
land Chris always likes to quote P.T. Barnum: "If you want a crowd, start a fight"...A
cyber-gadfly, hit with a copyright-infringement charge by The New York Times,
yesterday stripped his Web site of a Times parody and watched it pop up elsewhere
online. (NY Daily News)
http://www.nydailynews.com/03-12-2004/business/story/172603p-150473c.html
Where would our website be without the talent of Sam Go? She checks in the latest from
our favorite reality show "The Apprentice": Fired 'Apprentice' contestant says racial
slur used on the show...Accused contestant denies use of 'n' word
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4514795/
Our friend and queen of Washington snark, Ana Marie Cox, over at http://wonkette.com
does her Thursday with Tina routine, slicin and dicing the latest Tina Brown column
which we missed in yesterday's Briefing
http://www.wonkette.com/archives/thursdays_with_tina_mirror_mirror_on_the_wall_edition_013853.php
Have a great weekend...If the Lord is willing, the creek don't rise and Grand Jury
don't meet we'll see you on Monday, with another great lineup...
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC
Sen. John Kerry refuses to provide any information to support his assertion earlier
this week that he has met with foreign leaders who beseeched him to prevail over
President Bush in November's election. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040312-120719-7926r.htm
Court halts S.F. gay marriages...The California Supreme Court halted same-sex
marriages in San Francisco and said Thursday that it would hear a case in May or June
on the legality of such ceremonies. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4508782/
'04 slugfest may appeal to, not repel, voters...It isn't even spring. Most voters have
yet to see a daffodil. But it feels like October in the presidential campaign. (USA
Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-03-12-cover-election-season_x.htm
Fineman: The Bush vs. McCain rivalry...Truth be told, John McCain really can't stand
George W. Bush, even if he agrees with him on a lot of things, especially Iraq. It's
amusing for us political reporters to watch the senator from Arizona struggle with the
role fate handed him: riding shotgun on the Bush re-election stagecoach. Howard
Fineman reports. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4506988/
Senate OKs $2.36 trillion budget...Senate approval of a $2.36 trillion budget easing
President Bush's tax-cutting and spending plans shifts the spotlight to the House,
where a similar package has so far bounced along a rocky road.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4510796/
A week after his closest rival quit the race, Democratic presidential candidate John
Kerry plans to visit the Lehigh Valley Sunday in his effort to build support in
Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. (AP)
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/8168185.htm
President Bush wept with 9/11 families yesterday as he helped break ground on Long
Island for a memorial to honor those killed in the Twin Tower attacks. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/17068.htm
The Federal Election Commission voted yesterday to give the Rev. Al Sharpton's
presidential campaign $100,000 in taxpayer matching funds, but the FEC also will
investigate its questionable finances. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/17079.htm
Martin Savidge, one of CNN's well-known reporters, is leaving for NBC News. (Atlanta
Journal Constitution)
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/cnn/0304/10savidge.html
It'll be politics as (un)usual at the South by Southwest film festival, where the
focus in President Bush's home state will be on the very forces that elevated him from
the governor's mansion to the White House. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&ncid=529&e=7&u=/ap/20040311/ap_en_ot/film_south_by_southwest
A former congressional press secretary and distant cousin to the White House chief of
staff was arrested at her Takoma Park home yesterday on charges that she acted as an
agent of the Iraqi intelligence agency, collecting $10,000 and allegedly plotting to
help resistance groups loyal to Saddam Hussein. (The Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.md.spy12mar12,0,633839.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
'Moon' exposes juicy gossip of music biz...Former record-company president dishes dirt
in book (Hollywood Reporter) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4347403/
Opinion/Editorial
Mallaby: George Soros...Is the billionaire speculator the Democrats' most powerful
weapon? http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2096921
Carl: Stop terrorizing citizens under guise of Patriot Act
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2001876998_carl12.html
Ilana: Martha vs. the mob http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37549
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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