Top Items:
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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John O'Neil / New York Times:
Abbas and Hamas Leader Call for Continuation of Aid — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a leader of Hamas today both called for a continuation of foreign aid. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the European Union responded that Hamas must renounce violence and accept Israel's right …
Greg Myre / New York Times:Despite Victory by Hamas, Control of Palestinian Security Forces Remains Uncertain
Discussion:
Israel news and commentary …
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, Hyscience, Transterrestrial Musings and Prometheus 6
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 …
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rawstory.com:
Republican senator Lincoln Chafee says he will oppose Alito — RAW STORY — Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI) announced this morning in Providence that he will vote against the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court. — In a statement this morning …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, Suburban Guerrilla, The Carpetbagger Report and IntoxiNation-News …
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.
Associated Press:
Exxon Mobil Sees Record Profit for U.S. Co. — IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from high oil and gas prices and demand for refined products.
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere
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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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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, Amygdala, IntoxiNation-News …, Eschaton, Sirotablog and AMERICAblog
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?
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 …
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Corruption Scandals Cast Shadow on GOP Leadership Race — In eight concise paragraphs, two moderate and two conservative House Republicans put into writing last week what they say many of their colleagues quietly fear: the GOP's plunging poll numbers, rising public support for a Congress controlled …
Discussion:
New York Times, tapscottscopydesk.blogspot.com, The Next Hurrah, Hotline On Call, AMERICAblog and Hoffmania!
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
In Alito, G.O.P. Reaps Harvest Planted in '82 — Last February, as rumors swirled about the failing health of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, a team of conservative grass-roots organizers, public relations specialists and legal strategists met to prepare a battle plan to ensure any vacancies were filled by like-minded jurists.
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.
TalkLeft:
Ezra's Hot, Kaine's Not — I usually stay out of the fray between journalists and bloggers. But this one, picked by Nation Editor Katrina Vanden Heuval against the liberal blogosphere, and Ezra Klein in particular, I just can't pass up. I agree with Crooks and Liars and Jane.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, Shakespeare's Sister, firedoglake, Daily Kos, TBogg and Brainster's Blog
Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:
A Bomb Detonates, and an Anchorman Tells a Story of the War by Becoming the Story — Bob Woodruff was in Baghdad for ABC reporting the good news that the Bush administration complains is ignored by the news media, and he ended up as a glaring illustration of the bad news.
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 …
