Top Items:
Washington Wire:
The Real Story Behind the Rushed Blagojevich Bust: How the Feds Are Frustrated by Losing (Maybe) Half of Their Case — Cam Simpson reports on the Rod Blagojevich case in Chicago. — Conventional wisdom holds that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ordered the FBI to arrest Rod Blagojevich …
Discussion:
The Corner, Gawker, Stop The ACLU, Patterico's Pontifications, Flopping Aces, Betsy's Page, Althouse and RADAMISTO
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Monica Davey / New York Times:
Two Sides of a Troubled Governor, Sinking Deeper — CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich is a polished speaker who can win over elderly women at luncheons in southern Illinois with his earnest attention and eloquently recite historical anecdotes from the lives of the leaders he says he most admires …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Political Machine, PoliBlog, TIME.com, marbury, The Raw Story and The Capitol Fax Blog
Chicago Tribune:
Illinois lawmakers to sort out Gov. Rod Blagojevich scandal — Get the latest on the ; Blagojevich case — SPRINGFIELD— Illinois lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday with plans to disarm and dislodge Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose arrest in an alleged attempt …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Caucus, Hot Air, TPM Election Central, TIME.com, National Review, Tennessee Guerilla Women and Political Punch
Susan Saulny / New York Times:
Resignation Is Rumored; Response Is a Firm ‘No’ — CHICAGO — Talk about mixed messages. — Not long after the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, told a national television audience that Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was thinking of possibly resigning here on Monday, the governor's spokesman broke some news of his own.
Associated Press:
Across Mideast, Arabs hail shoe-hurling journalist — BAGHDAD — Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Monday to demand the release of a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, as Arabs across many parts of the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised …
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Amit R. Paley / Washington Post:
Limits on Executive Pay May Prove Toothless — Loophole in Bailout Provision Leaves Enforcement in Doubt — Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism …
Wall Street Journal:
Google Wants Its Own Fast Track on the Web — The celebrated openness of the Internet — network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic — is quietly losing powerful defenders. — Google Inc. has approached major cable and phone companies that carry Internet traffic …
RELATED:
Richard Whitt / Google Public Policy Blog:Net neutrality and the benefits of caching
Discussion:
The Seminal
Charles Duhigg / New York Times:
Fannie Mae Renters to Stay Despite Foreclosures — In a move that provides relief to thousands of renters who face eviction but draws the federal government even deeper into the housing market, the loan giant Fannie Mae said Sunday that it would sign new leases with renters living in foreclosed properties owned by the company.
RELATED:
CNN:
McCain unsure if he'll support Palin for president — (CNN) — Sen. John McCain said Sunday he would not necessarily support his former running mate if she chose to run for president. — Speaking to ABC's “This Week,” McCain was asked whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could count on his support.
RELATED:
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Hoekstra to announce retirement — Less than a week after being reappointed as the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) will announce that he will not seek a tenth term in 2010, according to a source with knowledge of the decision.
Michael J. Totten:
On the Hunt in Baghdad — BAGHDAD — “If your men conduct any raids,” I said to Captain Todd Looney at Combat Outpost Ford on the outskirts of Sadr City, Baghdad, “I want to go.” — “We might have something come up,” he said. “If so, I'll get you out there.”
New York Times:
Taxes and Fees to Rise $4 Billion in New York Budget — ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson will propose a $4 billion package of taxes and fees on a range of items, from sugary soft drinks made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi to luxury items like furs and boats, when he unveils his plan to close a deficit …
RELATED:
Agence France Presse:
Russian warships bound for Cuba in new show of strength … A group of Russian warships will from December 19-23 visit the Communist island of Cuba, a long-time adversary of the United States and Moscow's ally in the Cold War, the Russian navy said on Monday.
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog
City Journal:
The (Really) Moderate Muslims of Kosovo — On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, becoming the newest country in the world—and one of the most unusual. Most of its citizens are Muslim, an oddity in Europe; further, unlike most Muslim-majority nations …
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
States' Funds for Jobless Are Drying Up — With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, states are running out of money to pay benefits, and some are turning to the federal government for loans or increasing taxes on businesses to make the payments.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
European Crass Warfare — So here's the situation: the economy is facing its worst slump in decades. The usual response to an economic downturn, cutting interest rates, isn't working. Large-scale government aid looks like the only way to end the economic nosedive.
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