Top Items:
Robert Tait / Guardian:
Iran issues stark warning on oil price — War of words over trade sanctions — Iran stepped up its defiance of international pressure over its nuclear programme yesterday by warning of soaring oil prices if it is subjected to economic sanctions. As diplomats from the US, Europe, Russia …
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Mary Anastasia O'Grady / Opinion Journal:
The Tehran-Caracas Axis — Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are more than just pen pals. — With Iranian nuclear aspirations gaining notice, it's worth directing attention to the growing relationship between Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez.
CNN:
Iran plans Holocaust conference — TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran, whose president has labeled the attempt by Nazi Germany to exterminate Jews during World War II a "myth" and called for the destruction of Israel, announced Sunday it will hold a conference on the Holocaust.
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
And Now Iran — An unrepentant rogue state with a history of sponsoring terrorists seeks to develop weapons of mass destruction. The United States tries to work with European allies to deal with the problem peacefully, depending on International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and United Nations sanctions.
Jonathan Alter / Newsweek:
A Power Outage on Capitol Hill — We are in danger of scrapping our checks and balances-not just for a few years (as was done during the Civil War), but for good. — Jan. 23, 2006 issue - What if we faced a constitutional crisis and hardly anyone noticed?
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
I, I, Sir: The Alito Hearings, Annotated — Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee observed with some pride last week that Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito answered more than 700 questions during his confirmation hearings. But what did he say? — To answer this question …
Discussion:
Althouse
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Alito Hearings Unsettle Some Prevailing Wisdom About the Politics of Abortion — WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 - Just a little over a year ago, senators of both parties said publicly that it would be almost impossible for a Supreme Court nominee who disagreed openly with the major abortion rights precedents to win confirmation.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Ney to Step Down as Chairman Of Panel Overseeing Lobbying — Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) announced yesterday he will temporarily relinquish his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee, which oversees lobbying, as the corruption investigation into former lobbyist Jack Abramoff moves deeper into the workings of Congress.
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David Bauder / Associated Press:
Cronkite: Time for U.S. to Leave Iraq — Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, whose 1968 conclusion that the Vietnam War was unwinnable keenly influenced public opinion then, said Sunday he'd say the same thing today about Iraq. — "It's my belief that we should get out now," Cronkite said in a meeting with reporters.
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Larry Rohter / New York Times:
What Is Missing in This Woman's Victory? Coattails — SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 15 - Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist, a doctor and a former political prisoner and exile, on Sunday became the first woman to be elected president of Chile, decisively defeating Sebastián Piñera, a conservative billionaire businessman.
Discussion:
Crooked Timber
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Larry Rohter / New York Times:A Leader Making Peace With Chile's Past
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Thomas B. Edsall / Washington Post:
In Ga., Abramoff Scandal Threatens a Political Ascendancy — DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase:
Discussion:
firedoglake, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Taegan Goddard's …, Hullabaloo, TalkLeft and The Next Hurrah
Robert Pear / New York Times:
President Tells Insurers to Aid Ailing Medicare Drug Plan — With tens of thousands of people unable to get medicines promised by Medicare, the Bush administration has told insurers that they must provide a 30-day supply of any drug that a beneficiary was previously taking …
talkingpointsmemo.com:
Summa Abramoffica. — For a lot of you this will cover old ground. But there have been a number of questions on this. So let me try to briefly sort out some of the main points and make a couple key distinctions. — Did Jack Abramoff give money pretty much equally to both parties?
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John Leland / New York Times:
Some Abortion Foes Forgo Politics for Quiet Talk — LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The eight women sat in a semicircle facing a wooden cross, reflecting on the abortions they said they had never gotten over. — Though they now opposed abortion, they criticized the demonstrators who protest outside clinics.
US News:
Vegging Out With the 'Soup Nazi' — He shocked former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle by beating him by just over 4,000 votes last year, repelled the administration's bid to shut down a key Air Force base back home in South Dakota, and is talked about as a possible 2008 vice presidential candidate for the GOP.
Discussion:
PSoTD
Stephanie Strom / New York Times:
Group Seeks I.R.S. Inquiry of Two Ohio Churches — A group of religious leaders has sent a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service requesting an investigation of two large churches in Ohio that they say are improperly campaigning on behalf of a conservative Republican running for governor.
Jeff Jacoby / Townhall.com:
Mass. exodus — For the second year in a row, the Census Bureau reports, the population of Massachusetts has shrunk. During the 12 months ending July 1, 2005, the Bay State experienced a net loss of more than 8,600 residents, or 0.1 percent of its population.
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
Jon Gertner / New York Times:
What Is a Living Wage? — If It Happened in Baltimore, Maybe It Can Happen Anywhere — For a few weeks in the summer of 1995, Jen Kern spent her days at a table in the Library of Congress in Washington, poring over the fine print of state constitutions from around the country.
