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.
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Ethan Bronner / New York Times:
With Strikes, Israel Reminds Foes It Has Teeth — JERUSALEM — Israel's military operation in Gaza is aimed primarily at forcing Hamas to end its rocket barrages and military buildup. But it has another goal as well: to expunge the ghost of its flawed 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and re-establish Israeli deterrence.
Discussion:
Slate, Los Angeles Times, Haaretz, Israel Matzav, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Stop The ACLU, Tikun Olam, Soccer Dad, QandO, The Other McCain and Commentary
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:
Townhall.com, Associated Press, Telegraph, BBC, Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, danieldrezner.com and ATTACKERMAN
Michael B. Oren / The New Republic:
A Crisis And An Opportunity — The fighting in Gaza finally provides Israel with a chance to embark on a lucid and realizable policy there. — CNN International's coverage of yesterday's fighting in Gaza concluded at midnight with a rush of images: mangled civilians writhing in the rubble …
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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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 …
The Hill:
Rivals slam Saltsman over controversial Obama song — Sensing an opening in the race for the RNC chairmanship, rivals of Chip Saltsman are criticizing the candidate for sending out a CD to members with a song called “Barack the Magic Negro.” — “The 2008 election was a wakeup call …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Pam's House Blend, Jezebel, Outside The Beltway, Macsmind, Brilliant at Breakfast and AMERICAblog News
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 …
Dave McKinney / Chicago Sun Times:
Blagojevich's lawyer to submit internal report to impeachment panel — SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Blagojevich's lawyer Monday intends to submit President-elect Barack Obama's internal report to a House impeachment panel as evidence the governor wasn't trying to enrich himself while deciding who to appoint to Illinois' vacant U.S. Senate seat.
Discussion:
TPM Election Central
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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.
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.
Argghhh!:
Dueling Information Operations — Yesterday, in the “Flies in Amber” post, I put up the story about the suicide bombing in Khowst, and chose to make it a discussion of viewpoint, outlook, and will. The fact that CJTF-101 PAO put the story out so quickly was clearly intended to get out in front …
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.
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker
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.
Clifford Winston / Wall Street Journal:
‘Stimulus’ Doesn't Have to Mean Pork — How Obama can reform government while boosting the economy. — President-elect Barack Obama says he will create or protect some three million jobs by spending a massive amount of federal dollars to build roads and other “shovel ready” government projects across the country.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
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
The Black Rod:
Anti-Zionist 911 truther = ‘expert advisor’ to Gail Asper's Human Rights Museum — One of Canada's most active 911 Truthers is advising Gail Asper on “guiding principles” for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. — Yup. You read that right. — Anthony Hall has been sitting on the museum's advisory committee since 2007.
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