Top Items:
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
White House Gears Up to Sell Plan for Troop Increase in Iraq — The White House is planning an aggressive effort to sell Congress and the American public on President Bush's new strategy for Iraq, beginning with a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday night, followed Thursday …
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Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:
Public Opposes Troop Surge by 61% to 36% Margin — Support primarily among Republican base — PRINCETON, NJ — President Bush will address the nation Wednesday night, and according to most reports, he will announce plans for a "surge" or escalation in the number of American troops in Iraq.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, The Next Hurrah, DownWithTyranny!, Gun Toting Liberal ™, The Swamp and Don Surber
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Democrats Split Over Iraq Approach — The new Democratic majority in Congress is divided over how to assert its power in opposing President Bush's plan to send more troops to Baghdad, as leaders explore ways to block financing for a military expansion without being accused of abandoning American forces already in Iraq.
USA Today:
Most say no to Iraq buildup — WASHINGTON — President Bush will outline his "new way forward" in Iraq on Wednesday to a nation that overwhelmingly opposes sending more U.S. troops and is increasingly skeptical that the war can be won. — A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday shows …
Daily Mail:
Blair refuses to match US troop 'surge' in Iraq — Tony Blair will make clear this week that Britain is not going to send more troops to Iraq even if the US pushes ahead with a "surge" of 20,000 extra soldiers. — The Prime Minister will insist that the UK will stick to its own strategy …
Michael Abramowitz / Washington Post:
Bush Works To Rally Support for Iraq 'Surge' — President Bush yesterday began promoting his plan to send more troops to Iraq, bringing more than 30 Republican senators to the White House as part of a major campaign to rally the American people behind another effort to stabilize the country.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, Think Progress, Reason Magazine, BobGeiger.com, New York Times, The Heretik, CBS News, the talking dog, AMERICAblog and State of the Day
Washington Post:
Schwarzenegger Proposes Universal Health Coverage — California Plan Could Cost State $12 Billion — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday proposed a system of universal health insurance for Californians that would make the nation's most populous state the third to guarantee medical coverage for all its residents.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
U.S. Strike in Somalia Targets Al-Qaeda Figure — A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship attacked suspected al-Qaeda members in southern Somalia on Sunday, and U.S. sources said the operation may have hit a senior terrorist figure. — The strike took place near the Kenyan border, according to a senior officer at the Pentagon.
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CBS News:
The AC-130 gunship is capable of firing thousands of rounds per second. — (CBS/AP) A U.S. Air Force gunship has conducted a strike against suspected members of al Qaeda in Somalia, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively. — The targets included …
Discussion:
New York Times, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, CNN, Taylor Marsh, Michelle Malkin, Austin Bay Blog, Mercury News, Flopping Aces, The Strata-Sphere, Riehl World View, A Blog For All, Atlas Shrugs, Pajamas Media, Mark My Words, Wizbang, Neptunus Lex, jules crittenden, Ace of Spades HQ, Blue Crab Boulevard, Blogs for Bush, Dr. Sanity, The Jawa Report, Joe's Dartblog, SevenStripes.com, Macsmind, Daimnation!, Bill's Bites and Secular Blasphemy
Jim Davenport / Associated Press:
DeMint endorses Romney for president — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Jim DeMint has endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential race, according to a letter the South Carolina senator is sending to state Republicans. — The endorsement letter …
Discussion:
Townhall.com Blog's …
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Scott Helman / Boston Globe:
Romney event nets more than $6.5m — Former governor Mitt Romney put on an unusual public fund-raising display for his presidential campaign yesterday, raising more than $6.5 million in an effort observers say was designed to intimidate rivals looking to challenge him for the conservative vote.
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:
Tenet memoir under scrutiny — The CIA has submitted portions of a book manuscript by George J. Tenet to the White House for review amid speculation the former CIA director's memoirs will be critical of President Bush. — The book, "At the Center of the Storm," is still being analyzed by the CIA's Publications Review Board.
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Swampland:
Now that I have your attention — I love it! First day of Swampitude and the left-wing blogosphere—which is overpopulated by illiberal leftists and reactionary progressives—is already attacking me: 24 mostly mingy comments about my Left Behind post, many of which seem to be steaming off …
Discussion:
QandO, First Draft, This Modern World, Sister Toldjah, Matthew Yglesias, Eschaton, The Impolitic and Suburban Guerrilla
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A.M. Mora y Leon / Publius Pundit:
RED STAR OVER VENEZUELA — Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has signalled his true intentions with more clarity than ever today, announcing that he would expropriate: — 1. All the phone lines — 2. All the electricity — As this happened, a provincial governor from Bolivar state …
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Michelle Goldberg / Salon:
The holy blitz rolls on — The Christian right is a "deeply anti-democratic movement" that gains force by exploiting Americans' fears, argues Chris Hedges. Salon talks with the former New York Times reporter about his fearless new book, "American Fascists." — Pastor Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church
Karen Lee Ziner / Providence Journal:
ACLU sues state police — PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the state police, alleging racial profiling and violation of the constitutional rights of 14 Guatemalan nationals during a July traffic stop …
Jeffrey Goldberg / New Yorker:
THE STARTING GATE — Evan Bayh was uncharacteristically dispirited when I met him in the Russell Senate Office Building on a quiet Wednesday before Christmas. For Bayh, who is fifty-one and was first elected to the Senate from Indiana in 1998, December will be recalled as a low moment in an otherwise high-achieving life.
Heidi / Euphoric Reality:
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Gunmen Involved in Arizona Border Incident Actually Uniformed Mexican Force — The incursion into U.S. territory last week by "Mexican gunmen" was not a chance confrontation between the Arizona National Guard and untrained illegal immigrants, but a deliberate …
Guardian:
After five years of torture, Bisher is slowly slipping into madness — False allegations from MI5 put my clients in Guantánamo Bay and the British government has failed them abysmally — G Brent Mickum — The day after tomorrow marks the confluence of two ignominious anniversaries.
New York Post:
ROSIE BLOWS UP AT 'LIAR' BABS — THE tension between "The View" creator Barbara Walters and co-host Rosie O'Donnell, sparked by O'Donnell's feud with Donald Trump, boiled over yesterday morning when the portly comic called Walters "a [bleeping] liar." — The fight started around 8:30 a.m …
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
Zombie Covers San Francisco's "Beach Impeach" Protest — No mainstream media outlet does a better job of covering protests than Zombie from Zombietime and since he's is based out of San Francisco, he has plenty of them to cover. His latest photospread was on the "Beach Impeach" event which in occurred in San Fran on January 6, 2007.
Orlando Sentinel:
Geraldo wants to whoop up on Olbermann — So here's one I missed over the holidays — Geraldo Rivera coming to town and threatening to beat up on Keith Olbermann. — Apparently Geraldo was visiting with 104.1 FM's Monsters just before Christmas, when they asked him about the time he made …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org
Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:
Michelle Malkin's credibility, R.I.P. — It's time for warbloggers to find a new conspiracy theory to promote because their most recent one, which involved accusing the Associated Press of manufacturing a source in Iraq and colluding with the insurgents, blew up in their faces.
Discussion:
The Agonist, NewsHog, Patterico's Pontifications, The Huffington Post, The Gadflyer and Michelle Malkin
Tom Curry / MSNBC:
Does a McCain-Lieberman ticket make sense? — Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000 praises Arizona Republican — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., greets Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the independent Democrat from Connecticut, as they prepare to discuss a troop surge in Iraq last Friday.