Top Items:
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Big States' Plan for Earlier Primaries Scrambles Race — As many as four big states — California, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey — are likely to move up their 2008 presidential primaries to early next February, further upending an already unsettled nominating process and forcing candidates …
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Ezra Klein:
California's Dreaming — As a native, I feel almost disloyal saying this, but California should keep its primary precisely where it is. This is a 35,000,000 person, 158,000 square mile state. There's no way, within the context of the early-primary rush, for Democrats to seriously …
Daniel Henninger / Real Clear Politics:
Talking Ourselves Into Defeat — The United States is talking itself into defeat in Iraq. Its political culture is now in a downward spiral of pessimism. In the halls of Congress, across endless newspaper columns, amid the punditocracy and on Sunday morning talk shows—all emit a Stygian gloom about America.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
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Opinion Journal:
Senators-in-Chief — Congress has no Constitutional power to micromanage a war. — To understand why the Founders put war powers in the hands of the Presidency, look no further than the current spectacle in Congress on Iraq. What we are witnessing is a Federalist Papers illustration …
Discussion:
Redstate, Washington Post, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Right Wing Nut House, The Heretik and The Mahablog
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Two Vets Passing in the Night — Jim Webb and John Kerry, two Vietnam war heroes, passed each other on the up and down escalators in the past 24 hours—and there is a link between Webb's rise and Kerry's fall, and it has everything to do with social class. One of the reason's …
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Thomas Ferraro / Reuters:
Senate Republicans block minimum wage hike — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the Democrats from fulfilling a campaign promise to increase the federal minimum wage, demanding that the pay hike include tax relief for small business. — On a vote of 54-43, Democrats fell six short …
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Tyler Cowen / New York Times:
Incomes and Inequality: What the Numbers Don't Tell Us — The growing inequality in wealth and income has led many people to question whether the contemporary American economy is rigged in favor of the rich. While there is little doubt that the gap between the wealthy and everybody else …
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution, Angry Bear, Ezra Klein, Cafe Hayek, Economist's View and Catallarchy
glaad.org:
GLAAD Criticizes CNN Host Glenn Beck's On-Air Use Of Anti-Gay Slur — media center > press releases > GLAAD Criticizes CNN Host Glenn Beck's On-Air Use Of Anti-Gay Slur — Contact: Marc McCarthy, Senior Director of Communications — Phone: (323) 634-2051 Email: mccarthy@glaad.org
Eric / Classical Values:
THE YEAR THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME? — In China, it's the Year Of The P-P-P-Pig! — Yay! Right? — Not in China. According to this detailed WSJ report, the Chinese government is systematically censoring all mentions of pig and pig images — putting Western advertisers in a mad editing scramble:
William Beutler / Blog P.I.:
Hillary in Blogistan: On Blogads, The Netroots and Peter Daou — Hillary Clinton did not wait long after her weekend presidential campaign announcement to step foot in the blogosphere: By Monday her technically fledgling but long-assumed campaign had a major step toward engaging web users …
Discussion:
Wonkette
Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:
Rumsfeld's transition raises questions — Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has left the Pentagon, but not the Defense Department. — On Jan. 4, Mr. Rumsfeld opened a government-provided transition office in Arlington and has seven Pentagon-paid staffers working for him, a Pentagon official said.
City Journal:
Yes, Rudy Giuliani Is a Conservative — And an electable one, at that. — Not since Teddy Roosevelt took on Tammany Hall a century ago has a New York politician closely linked to urban reform looked like presidential timber. But today ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sits at or near …
M.R. Kropko / Associated Press:
2 election workers convicted of rigging '04 presidential recount — CLEVELAND (AP) — Two election workers in the state's most populous county were convicted Wednesday of illegally rigging the 2004 presidential election recount so they could avoid a more thorough review of the votes.
The Politico:
Senate Shows Its Age; Health Problems Pose Challenge For Governing — The average age of members of the U.S. Senate is older than it has ever been, according to Senate Historian Richard Baker. For many senators, advanced age is starting to show, raising questions about their ability to govern.
StrategyPage:
The Secret War Against Iran — Bringing democracy to Iraq has forced the Islamic world to confront the terrorism monster they have created. Before Saddam was taken down, the Gulf Arabs depended on Saddam, as loathsome as he was, to keep Iran busy. Since 1979, Shia radicals have been running Iran, and supporting Islamic terrorism.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
The Democrats' Rude Rebuff — When President Bush called for a bipartisan "special advisory council" of congressional leaders on the war against terrorism in his State of the Union address, he had in his pocket a rude rejection from Democratic leaders. Thank you very much …
Marcus Baram / ABCNEWS:
Hillary's Hollywood Friends Switch Sides — Steven Spielberg and David Geffen Invite Hundreds of Stars to Their Big Barack Obama Fundraiser — Is Hollywood abandoning Hillary? — On Wednesday morning, hundreds of Hollywood's movers and shakers received an invitation that they may find hard to refuse.
Discussion:
Roger L. Simon, Captain's Quarters, Blue Crab Boulevard, Right Voices and NewsBusters.org
John Schwartz / New York Times:
Of Gay Sheep, Modern Science and the Perils of Bad Publicity — Charles Roselli set out to discover what makes some sheep gay. Then the news media and the blogosphere got hold of the story. — Dr. Roselli, a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science University, has searched …