Top Items:
Associated Press:
Senate vote opens door to Alito confirmation — Monday vote ends debate on nominee; final vote Tuesday; approval assured — WASHINGTON - The Senate all but guaranteed Samuel Alito's confirmation as the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice Monday, shutting down a last-minute attempt …
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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 …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Loaded Mouth, TalkLeft, Democrat Taylor Marsh … and The American Mind
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.
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU
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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.
Discussion:
PoliticalSports
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 Security Agency's eavesdropping violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, we must not lose sight of the fact that the world we entered on 9/11 will require rewriting that statute and other laws.
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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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 …
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Michelle Malkin:
KENNEDY UNHINGED: LIVEBLOGGING THE MELTDOWN — 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 the Alito nomination as a step backwards toward mass discrimination:
Discussion:
In the Bullpen, Centerfield, The Democratic Daily Blog, Below The Beltway and Confirm Them
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Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard:
All Jihad All the Time — IN THE WAKE OF THE 9/11 ATTACKS, President Bush famously referred to Islam as a "religion of peace." To display solidarity with this notion, politicians of all rank in both America and Europe hurriedly made their way to the nearest mosque to show that …
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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:
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.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Unclaimed Territory, The Carpetbagger Report, Andrew Sullivan, Street Prophets and Simianbrain
Scott Shiloh / Arutz Sheva:
Mofaz: Hamas Acting Responsibly; Hamas: Israel Must Change Flag — Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the Israeli cabinet on Sunday that since the election Hamas was acting responsibly. Shortly afterwards, a senior Hamas official called on Israel to change its flag.
Discussion:
Mark in Mexico, The Debate Link, The American Thinker, Roger L. Simon and Sister Toldjah
Mark Mazzetti / Los Angeles Times:
Army's Rising Promotion Rate Called Ominous — Experts say the quality of the officer corps is threatened as the service fights to retain leaders during wartime and fill new command slots. — WASHINGTON — Struggling to retain enough officers to lead its forces, the Army has begun …
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, Crooks and Liars, firedoglake and Brainster's Blog
Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Census Bureau, Activists Debate How and Where to Count Inmates — Since the first U.S. census in 1790, there has been a rule for keeping track of the convicts sitting in prisons: They are counted in the state and region where they are serving their time, not necessarily the place …
Agence France Presse:
Clinton warns of rising anti-Islamic feeling — DOHA (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton warned of rising anti-Islamic prejudice, comparing it to historic anti-Semitism as he condemned the publishing of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. — "So now what are we going to do? ...
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.
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
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Budget to Hurt Poor People on Medicaid, Report Says — WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 — Millions of low-income people would have to pay more for health care under a bill worked out by Congress, and some of them would forgo care or drop out of Medicaid because of the higher co-payments and premiums …
Discussion:
Happy Furry Puppy Story …, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Daily Kos, Amygdala, IntoxiNation-News …, Sirotablog, Eschaton, Don Surber and AMERICAblog
Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
Russert Watch: Time for Russert to Do an Oprah — As faithful readers of Russert Watch know by now, I like to multitask while watching Meet the Press (you need to diversify your Sunday morning portfolio to lessen your risk of ruining your whole day). Sometimes I'm doing yoga, sometimes I'm talking with friends.
Jeff Zeleny / Mercury News:
Democrats didn't make their case on Alito, Obama says — WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said he would vote Monday to filibuster Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court, but he conceded the effort would be futile and criticized Democrats for failing to persuade Americans …
