Top Items:
Associated Press:
Sen. Biden Suggests Scrapping Hearings — WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominees are so mum about the major legal issues at their Senate confirmation hearings that the hearings serve little purpose and should probably be abandoned, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden said Thursday.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Democratic Daily Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, True Blue Liberal and WTF Is It Now??
RELATED ITEMS:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Loose Lips Sink . . . Biden's Leadership Is Lost in All His Talk — The only thing standing between Joe Biden and the presidency is his mouth. That, though, is no small matter. It is a Himalayan barrier, a Sahara of a handicap, a summer's day in Death Valley, a winter's night at the pole …
Sam Alito / TalkLeft:
Sparks Fly at Alito Hearing — We were waiting for some fireworks at Judge Sam Alito's confirmation hearing. Tuesday was definitely dullsville. We wanted sparks to fly. We wanted to hear — Bell's going to ring — Hear the alarms — Better tell the fire chief — To quit playing cards
New York Times:
Democrats Take Aggressive Tack; Alito Is Unfazed — WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 - Democrats tried with increasing frustration on Wednesday to elicit more specific views from Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. about abortion and other topics and sought to build a case against his nomination to the Supreme Court …
Joan Vennochi / Boston Globe:
Senate's swirling winds — IN THE BEGINNING, ineffective windiness whipped around Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. — On Wednesday, Democrats tried upgrading to Katrina-force gusts. They barely ruffled Alito's comb-over. — Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts led the charge …
Michelle Malkin:
ALITO WATCH: THE DEAD HORSE DEMOCRATS — We're an hour and a half into the hearings and I need to hear no more. It's all about the Dems beating dead horses. Over and over again. Unitary executive. CAP. Vanguard. Vanguard. Vanguard. — John Podhoretz marvels …
Mike Allen / Time:
GOP Confident as Alito Hearings Wrap — Despite frustrating Democrats with his answers, the nominee has made no major slip-ups … Republicans, already sensing that this week's hearings have defanged any real threat to Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation for the Supreme Court …
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Alito's Wife Cries at Confirmation Hearing — WASHINGTON — Martha-Ann Bomgardner left her husband's confirmation hearings in tears, returning not long after. The episode elicited sympathy for her from senators of both parties _ and instant finger-pointing.
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:The Kos Kidz Go After Alito's Wife
Discussion:
thepoliticalteen.net, PoliPundit.com, Ace of Spades HQ, Patterico's Pontifications and Confirm Them
Dean Barnett / dbsoxblog.blogspot.com:TEARS TO YOUR EYES — Joe Biden chortles while Alito's wife weeps
Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:An Intense Experience for Family Members, Too
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, WTF Is It Now??, Donklephant, Shakespeare's Sister, the talking dog and No More Mister Nice Blog
Adam Liptak / New York Times:O'Connor Casts a Long Shadow on the Nominee
Discussion:
The American Princess
Reuters:
Some 'Pieces' buyers offered refund — NEW YORK (Reuters) — Random House is offering refunds to readers who bought James Frey's drug and alcohol memoir "A Million Little Pieces" directly from the publisher, following accusations the author exaggerated his story.
RELATED ITEMS:
John / AMERICAblog:
AMERICAblog just bought General Wesley Clark's cell phone records for $89.95 — UPDATE: We tried to get the cell phone records of other high-profile Washingtonians like ABC's George Stephanopoulos, the Washington Post's Dana Milbank, and the New York Time's Adam Nagourney …
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
CNN:
Hajj stampede kills hundreds — MINA, Saudi Arabia (CNN) — At least 345 people have been killed in a stampede during a symbolic stoning ritual at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, according to the country's health ministry. — Health Minister Hamad al-Maneh told Saudi TV …
Josh White / Washington Post:
General Asserts Right On Self-Incrimination In Iraq Abuse Cases — Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, a central figure in the U.S. detainee-abuse scandal, this week invoked his right not to incriminate himself in court-martial proceedings against two soldiers accused of using dogs to intimidate captives …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The Heretik, TAPPED, Middle Earth Journal, Opinio Juris, War and Piece, The Stakeholder, The Washington Monthly and The Sideshow
New York Times:
Local Insurgents Tell of Clashes With Al Qaeda's Forces in Iraq — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 11 - The story told by the two Iraqi guerrillas cut to the heart of the war that Iraqi and American officials now believe is raging inside the Iraqi insurgency. — In October, the two insurgents said in interviews …
Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
AP Newsbreak: GOP group to give up $500,000 in Abramoff-related donations donations — BOSTON —Days after calling on his party to exhibit higher ethical standards, Gov. Mitt Romney said the Republican Governors Association would donate to charity $500,000 in contributions it received …
ctv.ca:
Ad wasn't an attack on military: Paul Martin — Paul Martin defended the series of controversial ads his Liberal Party unleashed this week and continued his attack on Stephen Harper, painting him as a leader who subscribes to a far right-wing ideology. — In an interview Thursday morning …
