Top Items:
Michelle Malkin:
KENNEDY UNHINGED: LIVEBLOGGING THE MELTDOWN — ***updated with video link*** — I am watching Sen. Ted Kennedy on C-SPAN unraveling before my eyes. He is screaming. The face is fire-engine red. The fists are waving furiously. Here's my rough transcript of his ongoing diatribe smearing …
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CNN:
Anti-Alito filibuster soundly defeated — Final confirmation of Supreme Court nominee expected Tuesday — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A Democratic filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito — led by Massachusetts Democratic Sens. John Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy — was defeated 72-25 Monday …
Fred Barbash / Washington Post:
Senate Ends Alito Filibuster Attempt — 75-25 Vote Virtually Assures Nominee's Confirmation — By a 72-25 vote, the Senate cut off a symbolic filibuster attempt today on the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr., all but assuring that the federal appeals court judge will be confirmed Tuesday morning by the Senate.
Daily Kos:
Lieberman, Chafee To Hand Political Gifts To Their Opponents — Senators Joe Lieberman and Lincoln Chafee are poised to hand their political rivals great gifts today. They will be energizing the opposition to their continued presence in the Senate. — CNN's Ed Henry reports …
ReddHedd / firedoglake:
Down to the Wire — Armando is reporting at DKos that the Gang of 14 (according to Ed Henry at CNN) will be voting as a block to prevent a filibuster due to their decision that extraordinary circumstances do not exist on this nomination. More information in Armando's DKos diary here.
Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:
NARAL Drops the Ball — The announcement this morning that Lincoln Chaffee would vote "no" on Alito but "yes" on cloture was a hollow gesture to NARAL and the pro-choice community he pretends to cultivate. A vote for cloture is a vote for Alito. It's that simple.
Discussion:
Democrat Taylor Marsh …
Associated Press:
Zawahiri, in New Videotape, Says He Survived Airstrike — CAIRO, Egypt — Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a videotape aired Monday that President Bush was a "butcher" and a "failure" because of a deadly U.S. airstrike in Pakistan targeting the bin Laden deputy, and he threatened a new attack on the United States.
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CNN:
Al Qaeda's No. 2 taunts U.S. in new video — Tape seems to prove al-Zawahiri survived missile attack — (CNN) — Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appeared in a new video Monday, saying he is alive and well just weeks after a U.S. missile strike targeted him in Pakistan.
Debra Burlingame / Opinion Journal:
Our Right to Security — Al Qaeda, not the FBI, is the greater threat to America. — One of the most excruciating images of the September 11 attacks is the sight of a man who was trapped in one of the World Trade Center towers. Stripped of his suit jacket and tie and hanging on to what appears …
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Philip Bobbitt / New York Times:Why We Listen — IN the debate over whether the National …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, TigerHawk, The Heretik, The Right Coast, Austin Bay Blog, Prometheus 6, Hyscience and Transterrestrial Musings
Shankar Vedantam / Washington Post:
Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases — Put a group of people together at a party and observe how they behave. Differently than when they are alone? Differently than when they are with family? What if they're in a stadium instead of at a party? What if they're all men?
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MSNBC:
Cartoons bring Muslim wrath on Denmark — Government warns citizens not to visit Saudi Arabia amid protests — COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Denmark warned citizens on Monday not to go to Saudi Arabia and Gaza gunmen said any Danes or Norwegians who came there would face attack …
Drudge Report:
DEAN UNDER FIRE FROM PARTY DEMS; NEARLY ALL CASH SPENT — Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are privately bristling over Howard Dean's management of the Democratic National Committee and have made those sentiments clear after new fundraising numbers showed he has spent nearly all the committee's cash …
Wonkette:
Letter From the Editors: Politics Makes Strange Blogfellows — Quick! Guess which one used to be lawyer! (Photo © Nikola Tamindzic/AMBREL.net) — You know what we're sick of? Bylines. That's why as of today there won't be any more little gray words at the ends of posts on Wonkette.
Judd / Think Progress:
Matthews: Bush's Warrantless Domestic Surveillance Is "A Winner Politically" — Today on the Chris Matthews show, Matthews asserted that the President warrantless domestic spying program was "a winner politically": … Three of the most recent polls on the issue paint an completely different picture:
New York Times:
Lawmakers Urge Bush to Make Abramoff Information Public — WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 — Republican legislators urged President Bush today to make public photographs and information about contacts that he or his top aides had with the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to felony charges …
Rob Stein / Washington Post:
Health Workers' Choice Debated — More than a dozen states are considering new laws to protect health workers who do not want to provide care that conflicts with their personal beliefs, a surge of legislation that reflects the intensifying tension between asserting individual religious values and defending patients' rights.
BBC:
EU 'to keep funding Palestinians' — The European Union says it will continue funding the Palestinian Authority so long as its new government is committed to peace with Israel. — EU ministers renewed their call for Hamas to renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state following the militant group's election victory.
Ezra Klein:
Katrina Throws Down — Yeah, I guess I deserved that. You know what? Never mind. Katrina Vanden Huevel's slap at me for knocking Tim Kaine's appearance while not looking like Brad Pitt purposefully misses my point. In politics, looks matter. That's why the cover of Katrina's new book features her in a leather miniskirt.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Hullabaloo, Shakespeare's Sister, The Huffington Post, firedoglake, Crooks and Liars and Brainster's Blog
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Sign Here — Presidential signing statements are more than just executive branch lunacy. — There are two ways President Bush likes to wage war on your civil liberties: He either asks you to surrender your rights directly—as he does when he strengthens and broadens provisions of the Patriot Act.
Bruce Kesler / Democracy Project:
Potty-Mouth Politics II — John Kerry and Ted Kennedy's posts grace DailyKos, leading far-left blog and home to repeated slurs and vulgar language, John Dean fulminates like a drunken Blue redneck, Nancy Pelosi channels Haight-Ashbury, and their Hollywood contributors echo their onscreen filth.
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com
Michael Kinsley / Slate:
Kick Me, I'm a Democrat — The game politicians play. — It seems to be time once again to play Kick the Democrats. Everyone can play, including Democrats. The rules are simple. When Republicans lose elections, it is because they didn't get enough votes.
Chris Wallace / Fox News:
Transcript: Dem Chairman Howard Dean on 'FNS' — The following is a partial transcript of the Jan. 29, 2006 episode of "FOX News Sunday": — CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: With President Bush set to give his state of the union speech Tuesday, we begin with the chairman of the Democratic National Committee …
Discussion:
UNCoRRELATED, Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, The Strata-Sphere and Decision '08
Cam Edwards / On Tap:
ABC Radio VP Supports Alito Filibuster? — Friday afternoon I received one of those forwarded emails from a buddy of mine. The subject: asking people to sign on to John Kerry's petition to filibuster Sam Alito. — The email was started by a KaufNYC@aol.com, with the message "forward away, my liberal friends".
Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Rice Admits U.S. Underestimated Hamas Strength — LONDON, Jan. 29 — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Sunday that the United States had failed to understand the depth of hostility among Palestinians toward their longtime leaders. The hostility led to an election victory …
