Top Items:
The Politico:
Gay activists furious with Obama — Barack Obama's choice of a prominent evangelical minister to perform the invocation at his inauguration is a conciliatory gesture toward social conservatives who opposed him in November, but it is drawing fierce challenges from a gay rights movement that …
Discussion:
Washington Blade, CNN, Don Surber, GayPatriot, The Caucus, American Power, Little Green Footballs and Instapundit
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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:
The Next Right, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Gun Toting Liberal, Firedoglake, site.pfaw.org, Riehl World View, Liberal Values, The Swamp, The Impolitic, Taylor Marsh, MoJoBlog, MyDD, Truthdig, Political Machine, The Sideshow, Feministing, Shakesville, Comments from Left Field, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Towleroad and The Daily Dish
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 …
Discussion:
Box Turtle Bulletin, Sister Toldjah, Brendan Calling, Hullabaloo, PageOneQ, pandagon.net, Jack & Jill Politics and Firedoglake
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:
Firedoglake, RedState, JammieWearingFool, Right Wing News, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and The New Republic
The Huffington Post:Rick Warren, Obama Invocation Choice, Causing First Real Rift With Progressives
Aretha Franklin / inaugural.senate.gov:JCCIC ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL PROGRAM
Discussion:
Chronicle of Higher Education
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:Top Liberal Group Hammers Decision For Rick Warren To Deliver …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, The Caucus, Box Turtle Bulletin, Firedoglake, Right Wing Watch, Philly.com, Washington Monthly, Calitics, Spin Cycle and Feministe
Aretha Franklin / CBN.com:Pro-Life Rick Warren to Give Invocation at Obama Inauguration
Discussion:
Political Machine, Salon, GayPatriot, Althouse, The Note, Don Surber, Weasel Zippers, The Huffington Post, Wonkette and AmSpecBlog
Wall Street Journal:
Madoff Misled SEC in '06, Got Off — Securities and Exchange Commission investigators discovered in 2006 that Bernard Madoff had misled the agency about how he managed customer money, according to documents, yet the SEC missed an opportunity to uncover an alleged Ponzi scheme.
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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 …
Discussion:
Liberal Values
Jennifer McLogan / WCBS-TV:
Nassau Cops: PTA Mom, Boy Found Half Naked In Car — Police Come Across Fogged Up SUV On Elementary School Grounds In Baldwin; Residents Shocked, Horrified — A prominent PTA official is facing some serious allegations involving a teenage boy. — Police arrested Joan Tuckruskye …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
The New Legitimacy — Solving social problems by redefining our terms. — Amid all the gloomy economic news, the New York Times brings us an encouraging report on social trends: … What accounts for the turnaround? The Times explains: … The problem of illegitimacy and broken families …
Discussion:
The Corner, New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Boyz, Greg Mankiw's Blog, The Reaction, Washington Monthly and Joanne Jacobs
Los Angeles Times:
California Democrats devise plan to hike taxes — By structuring them as fees, they would skirt GOP opponents and raise $9.3 billion. A court fight looms. — Reporting from Sacramento — California's Democratic leaders were planning a vote today on a brazen proposal to raise gas …
Discussion:
Kevin Drum
Robert S. Boyd / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Forget the economy: Killer asteroids could pose real danger — WASHINGTON — A blue-ribbon panel of scientists is trying to determine the best way to detect and ward off any wandering space rocks that might be on a collision course with Earth. — “We're looking for the killer asteroid,” …
Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:
Feds seek to freeze Blago campaign fund, sources say — Federal authorities plan to freeze Gov. Blagojevich's campaign fund, crippling the governor's ability to use the money for his legal bills. — In a letter this week, they put the Blagojevich camp on notice they intend to freeze the money, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Washington Wire:
Shaiken Emerges as Top Candidate for Labor Secretary — Jonathan Weisman reports on the transition. — Harley Shaiken, a prominent expert on unions, Detroit and the U.S.-Mexican border, has emerged as a top candidate for the post of secretary of labor, officials familiar with the vetting process say.
White House:
President Bush Discusses National Security, Homeland Security and the Freedom Agenda at U.S. Army War College — Fact Sheet: President Bush Has Kept America Safe — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please be seated. (Applause.) Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm sorry I'm late.
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Shawn Langlois / MarketWatch:
Chrysler to shut assembly lines for at least a month — Rival Ford takes similar steps, extending shutdown times at most plants — SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Chrysler LLC, struggling to keep afloat as it awaits word on a federal lifeline, said Wednesday it will idle all of its 30 plants …
Reuters:
Russia Plans to Test Obama, U.S. Diplomat Says — WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Russia has become more rigid in dealing with the United States on issues like the Bush administration's plans for a missile shield in Europe, and it looks ready to test the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, a senior American diplomat said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden
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:
Liberal Values, Political Machine, Real Clear Politics, MyDD, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and Right Wing Watch
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.
Jane Sutton / Reuters:
U.S. sends three Guantanamo men home to Bosnia — The United States sent three Algerian-born prisoners to their adopted homeland of Bosnia on Tuesday in the first release under court order from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. — The three were among five Algerians ordered released …
Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
Big News in Washington, but Far Fewer Cover It — WASHINGTON — A new president arrived from a new party. The balance of power shifted in Congress. Legions of fresh new faces showed up in the nation's capital with new ideas, eager to upend the way the country does business.
Kyle Hopkins / Anchorage Daily News:
Panel recommends officials get pay raises — COMPETITIVE: Panel says Palin should get a $25,000 a year increase. — A new state commission says the Alaska governor ought to get a $25,000 a year raise. — Asked to figure out how much Alaska should pay its top officials …
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