Top Items:
New York Times:
Obama Defers to Bush, for Now, on Gaza Crisis — WASHINGTON — When President-elect Barack Obama went to Israel in July — to the very town, in fact, whose repeated shelling culminated in this weekend's new fighting in Gaza — he all but endorsed the punishing Israeli attacks now unfolding.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Time, Haaretz, The Huffington Post, Commentary, Jules Crittenden, TIME.com, CNN, The Politico, TalkLeft, Tikun Olam, Wake up America and The Huffington Post
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New York Times:
Israeli Aircraft Continue Raids on Gaza; Arab Anger Rises — The Israeli army said some areas around Gaza had been declared a “closed military zone,” a move which some analysts depicted as a potential precursor to a ground offensive. Above, tanks near the Gaza border. More Photos >
Discussion:
Guardian, Townhall.com, Associated Press, Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, PBD, danieldrezner.com and ATTACKERMAN
Ian Black / Guardian:
Six months of secret planning - then Israel moves against Hamas
Six months of secret planning - then Israel moves against Hamas
Discussion:
Washington Post, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, The Washington Note, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Israellycool, Harry's Place, normblog and The Other McCain
Yaakov Katz / Jerusalem Post:
IAF uses new US-supplied smart bomb
IAF uses new US-supplied smart bomb
Discussion:
Haaretz, Firedoglake, Israpundit, The Muqata, english.pnn.ps, Guardian, Mere Rhetoric and Commentary
Andrew Osborn / Wall Street Journal:
As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S. — In Moscow, Igor Panarin's Forecasts Are All the Rage; America ‘Disintegrates’ in 2010 — MOSCOW — For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010.
Discussion:
Slate, Washington Monthly, Outside The Beltway, Fraters Libertas, Philly.com, Patterico's Pontifications and Dohiyi Mir
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Brian Stelter / New York Times:
TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War — Quietly, as the United States presidential election and its aftermath have dominated the news, America's three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq. — “The war has gone on longer than a lot …
Discussion:
The Raw Story, D-Day, American Power, Michael Calderone's Blogs, Gawker, Think Progress, Hot Air and INSTAPUTZ
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Rob Stein / Washington Post:
Study: ‘Virginity pledges’ are ineffective — Youths who promise abstinence are also less likely to use protection — Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely …
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Reid Wilson / The Hill:
RNC members call unprecedented special meeting — For the first time in party history, members of the Republican National Committee have called their own unscheduled meeting without the aid of the Washington-based party apparatus. — Organized by North Dakota Republican Party chairman Gary Emineth …
Peter Yarrow / The Huffington Post:
My Response to the Mean-Spirited “Barack the Magic Negro” — The sending of a Christmas greeting by Chip Saltsman to the members of the Republican National Committee that includes a recording of the so-called parody, “Barack the Magic Negro” is not only offensive, it is shocking and saddening in the extreme.
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R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Under Bush, OSHA Mired in Inaction — In early 2001, an epidemiologist at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sought to publish a special bulletin warning dental technicians that they could be exposed to dangerous beryllium alloys while grinding fillings.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Fifty Herbert Hoovers — No modern American president would repeat the fiscal mistake of 1932, in which the federal government tried to balance its budget in the face of a severe recession. The Obama administration will put deficit concerns on hold while it fights the economic crisis.
Yigal Schleifer / Christian Science Monitor:
Shoes flung at Bush flying from shelves — An Istanbul cobbler capitalizes on the ‘shoe mania’ sparked by the tossing of his work. — ISTANBUL, TURKEY - — For the past 10 years, model 271 has been the bestseller of Ramazan Baydan's Ducati line of shoes.
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah
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Stephanie Clifford / New York Times:
An NPR Reporter Becomes the News — In September, Ketzel Levine, a senior correspondent for National Public Radio, came up with an idea for a series about how Americans were handling economic pressure. Called “American Moxie: How We Get By,” it began in early December.
William Kristol / New York Times:
George, Abe, Rick & Barack — I'm leaving the country the day of Barack Obama's inauguration. — It's nothing personal. Nor, I hasten to add — lest some people get too excited — is it anything permanent. It's just that I happen to have a speech to give in Canada.
New York Times:
Skaters Jump In as Foreclosures Drain the Pool — On a recent morning, a 27-year-old skateboarder who goes by the name Josh Peacock peered into a swimming pool in Fresno, Calif., emptied by his own hands — and the foreclosure crisis — and flashed a smile as wide as a half-pipe.
Discussion:
Political Machine
Wall Street Journal:
The Weekend That Wall Street Died — Ties That Long United Strongest Firms Unraveled as Lehman Sank Toward Failure — With his investment bank facing a near-certain failure, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s chief executive officer, Richard Fuld Jr., placed yet another phone call to the man he thought could save him.
Victor Davis Hanson / Real Clear Politics:
Life at New Animal Farm Won't Be All That Bad — By July, we will come to feel that 2009 will be one of the most upbeat years in our history, as what used to be the news media∗ begins to get behind America and report on all the mysteriously wonderful things that are suddenly taking place.
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm