Top Items:
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Rick Warren to give inaugural invocation — (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony will feature big names like minister Rick Warren and legendary singer Aretha Franklin, the Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies announced Wednesday.
Discussion:
MoJoBlog, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice, MyDD, The Impolitic, Shakesville, The Swamp, Political Machine, The Sideshow and Comments from Left Field
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Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:
Aretha Franklin to Participate in Inaugural Ceremony — Aretha Franklin and Dr. Rick Warren, an author and leader of the Saddleback Church, are among the select group of people who will participate in Barack Obama's inaugural swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, pandagon.net, Feministing, The RBC, Box Turtle Bulletin, Blogging Faith and Booman Tribune
Aretha Franklin / CBN.com:
Pro-Life Rick Warren to Give Invocation at Obama Inauguration — Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye to eye on many social justice issues.
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
Obama picks homophobe pro-'Prop 8' evangelical preacher to give the invocation at inaugural — 5:22PM UPDATE: Warren compared abortion to the “Jewish Holocaust,” and said that making abortion “rare” wasn't enough, he's for outlawing abortion, period. So that would make pro-choice people …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Ugh — Rick Warren will give the invocation at Obama's inauguration. Warren is a man who believes my marriage removes his freedom of speech and cannot say that authorizing torture is a moral failing. Shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality …
Discussion:
The New Republic
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WARREN TO GIVE INVOCATION.... Barack Obama is, for the time being …
WARREN TO GIVE INVOCATION.... Barack Obama is, for the time being …
Matt Duss / Think Progress: Anti-gay, anti-choice, pro-assassination pastor to give inaugural invocation.»
New York Times:
Kennedy Goes on Tour Upstate — ROCHESTER — She talked about her book, about the Bill of Rights. She talked about raising her family. And, echoing her friend President-elect Barack Obama, she said she could bring change to Washington. — Caroline Kennedy, on her first day touring upstate …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, The New Republic, Althouse, Donklephant and Fausta's Blog
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Syracuse Post-Standard:
CENTRAL NEW YORK NEWS
CENTRAL NEW YORK NEWS
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Daily Politics, NY Daily News, Ben Smith's Blogs, Salon, Spin Cycle and Weekly Standard
Mike Dorning / The Swamp:
LaHood to be Transportation Sec — Peoria Republican congressman Ray LaHood will be nominated Transportation Secretary for the Obama Administration, Republican and Democratic sources said today. — A spokesman for the Obama transition team declined to comment and LaHood's office did not immediately return phone calls.
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Susan Crabtree / The Hill:
LaHood considered for Cabinet post
LaHood considered for Cabinet post
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Ben Smith's Blogs, Matthew Yglesias and Chicago Breaking News
Time:
Person of the Year 2008: Barack Obama — For having the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour, and for showing the competence that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off, the President-elect is TIME's Person of the Year.
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Gateway Pundit:
IRAQI AMBASSADOR TELLS OFF CODE PINK WHACKOS (Video) — CODE PINK AMBUSHES IRAQI AMBASSADOR- AMBASSADOR FIRES BACK — “He's lucky he didn't try something like this under Saddam Hussein.” — Ambassador Samir Sumaida'ie: … The anti-American Marxist front group Code Pink ambushed Iraq Ambassador …
Discussion:
Moe_Lane's blog, This ain't Hell …, Hot Air, The Raw Story, Brave New Films blog and JammieWearingFool
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Wall Street Journal:
Blagojevich Won't Fill Senate Seat — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. Rod Blagojevich said through his attorney Wednesday that he will not appoint anyone to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. — The attorney, Ed Genson, was asked at a news conference …
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Associated Press:
Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied — EASTON, Pa. - The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance. Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah …
Mark Preston / CNN:
Second GOP senator to announce retirement — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Sam Brownback will announce Thursday he is retiring from the Senate when his term ends in 2010, allowing the Kansas Republican to explore a run for governor. — He will be the second GOP senator this year to publicly state …
Discussion:
Political Machine, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Senate Guru, Real Clear Politics and MyDD
Patrick / FishBowlDC:
WaPo: Only Positive Obama Ads, Please — Hoping to make a little cash off of Barack Obama's inauguration (that's certainly nothing new...), Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive and the Washington Post's classifieds departments have launched “Welcome to the White House”, a classfieds …
Chuck Goudie / WLS-TV:
Blagojevich was bookie, says federal informant — The ABC7 I-Team has learned that an attorney who went undercover for the FBI in the late 1980's says he told federal authorities years ago about wrongdoing by Blagojevich. — His name is Robert Cooley. — Cooley was a criminal defense lawyer …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Note, The Raw Story, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and Patterico's Pontifications
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Obama's Pressers: No Comment — and NoDoz — A month from now, the nation will say farewell to its sports-obsessed president who doesn't like tough questions. And it will replace him with, well, another sports-obsessed president who doesn't like tough questions.
Media Matters for America:
Sean Hannity: Media Matters ' 2008 Misinformer of the Year — As Media Matters for America has demonstrated time and again, Fox News' Sean Hannity has been a prolific and influential purveyor of conservative misinformation. But never has he so enthusiastically applied his talents …
Associated Press:
Justice Kennedy rejects 2 more challenges to Obama — Featured Topics: — AP - President-elect Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, where ... - Slideshow: President-elect Barack Obama — Play Video U.S. Courts Video: N.C. Supreme Court hears year-round school case WRAL Raleigh
Discussion:
Hot Air
Wall Street Journal:
Low-Interest Mortgages Are the Answer — Stop the decline in home prices, stop the crisis. — Recent news articles suggest that the Treasury Department is considering a plan to offer a 4.5% mortgage for home buyers for a period of time. Let's hope it does.