Top Items:
The Politico:
Democrats remain stalled on Iraq debate — As the congressional session lurches toward a close, Democrats are confronting some demoralizing arithmetic on Iraq. — The numbers tell a story of political and substantive paralysis more starkly than most members are willing to acknowledge publicly, or perhaps even to themselves.
Associated Press:
La. Pol's 'Buckwheat' Remark Sparks Ire — HOUMA, La. (AP) — A white state lawmaker in a runoff election called a black civil-rights veteran who had helped her campaign "Buckwheat," prompting the NAACP to urge voters to kick her out of office. — Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez, a Democrat …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard, Jules Crittenden, On Deadline, Political Machine, Hot Air, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Redstate and BitsBlog
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Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
A Not-So-Perfect Picture of Party Unity — On both sides of the ticket, the presidential nominating contest is growing increasingly combative, as voters may well witness Thursday during a debate in Las Vegas among the Democratic candidates. — So how is John Edwards feeling …
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Peter Slevin / Washington Post:
For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles
For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles
Discussion:
New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun Times, USA Today, The Caucus, MSNBC, TIME, The Daily Politics and Quad City Times
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Court takes no action on gun case — The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced no action on a new case testing the meaning of the Second Amendment — an issue the Court has not considered in 68 years. The Orders List contained no mention of either the District of Columbia's appeal (07-290) …
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Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:
Case Touches a 2nd Amendment Nerve
Case Touches a 2nd Amendment Nerve
Discussion:
The Swamp, Outside The Beltway, Sentencing Law and Policy and The Van Der Galiën Gazette
Marty Kaplan / The Huffington Post:
Your FCC At Work — In the most bizarre example yet of GOP corporate welfare, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has taken to the op-ed page of the New York Times to propose that — in order to save the newspaper industry — big-city papers should now be permitted to purchase a television or radio station in their market.
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Kevin J. Martin / New York Times:
The Daily Show — IN many towns and cities, the newspaper is an endangered species. At least 300 daily papers have stopped publishing over the past 30 years. Those newspapers that have survived are struggling financially. Newspaper circulation has declined steadily for more than 10 years.
Discussion:
The Van Der Galiën Gazette
Donald Lambro / Townhall.com:
Dems Tie Up Fiscal 2008 Appropriations Bill in Pork — WASHINGTON — Despite the Democrats' pledge to get control of their addiction to wasteful spending, their mountain of pork-barrel provisions has prevented Congress from passing its appropriations bills for fiscal year 2008.
Discussion:
michellemalkin.com
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Josh White / Washington Post:
'Hidden Costs' Double Price Of Two Wars, Democrats Say — The economic costs to the United States of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so far total approximately $1.5 trillion, according to a new study by congressional Democrats that estimates the conflicts' "hidden costs"— including higher oil prices …
Roger Simon / The Politico:
Note to HRC staffers: Trust your candidate — Does Hillary Clinton really need to plant questions? — Does the Clinton campaign really need to twist a college kid's arm to ask Clinton a question about climate change at a climate change event? — After Clinton toured a biodiesel plant in Newton …
Discussion:
Hotline On Call
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Opinion Journal:
Movin' On Up — A Treasury study refutes populist hokum about "income inequality." — If you've been listening to Mike Huckabee or John Edwards on the Presidential trail, you may have heard that the U.S. is becoming a nation of rising inequality and shrinking opportunity.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
Marcus Baram / ABCNEWS:
Clinton vs. Giuliani, The Sequel? — Front-runners Were Rivals in 2000 Senate Race, but Who Do Their Supporters Prefer Now? — Even by the larger-than-life standards of New York politics, the campaign to retire Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's open seat in 2000 was a monumental battle.
Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush pushes budget fight with Democrats — NEW ALBANY, Ind. - President Bush, escalating his budget battle with Congress, on Tuesday vetoed a spending measure for health and education programs prized by congressional Democrats. — He also signed a big increase in the Pentagon's non-war budget although …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Stanley Kurtz / The Corner:
Dances With Wolves... is the real reason the Dems can't talk about, much less show their support for, the turnaround in Iraq. Happy Feet is how they're working on their kids. Rich points out that the press doesn't want to report improvement in Iraq. Ralph Peters makes the same point …
Alan Krueger / AMERICAN.COM:
What Makes a Terrorist — It's not poverty and lack of education, according to economic research by Princeton's ALAN KRUEGER. Look elsewhere. — In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, policymakers, scholars, and ordinary citizens asked a key question …
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
WHY THE STATES ARE STANDING BY THEIR OUTDATED, MESSY LETHAL-INJECTION PROTOCOLS. — It's unofficial: The country is in the throes of a de facto moratorium on the death penalty. In the wake of a Supreme Court decision in September to take a case testing the constitutionality …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
Dominic Kennedy / Times of London:
Gays should be hanged, says Iranian minister — Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learnt. — Mohsen Yahyavi is the highest-ranked politician to admit …