Top Items:
Vanity Fair:
Ghetto Blasters — In angry retaliation for the house arrest of Bernie Madoff, Israel has launched a hellacious air assault against Hamas in Gaza that errs so far on the side of disproportionality that its running up the fatality score may become self-defeating. Johann Hari in The Independent:
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Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
WOE IS ME ... PITY THOSE POOR DEAD ANNIHILATIONISTS — Hamas Charter (1988) The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) … The media is depraved. In reviewing the media coverage of Israel's counter defensive in Gaza it is impossible to digest …
David Grossman / Haaretz:
Is Israel too imprisoned in the familiar ceremony of war? — After its severe strike on Gaza, Israel would do well to stop, turn to Hamas' leaders and say: Until Saturday Israel held its fire in the face of thousands of Qassams from the Gaza Strip. Now you know how harsh its response can be.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Jeffrey Goldberg:
The Gaza War — If someone was sending rockets on my house where my daughters were sleeping at night, I would do everything to stop it, and I would expect Israelis to do the same thing. — These aren't my words — they're Barack Obama's. But I attach myself to this sentiment.
Jules Crittenden:
So, What Next? — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants “war to the bitter end.” Hamas is on the run, its terrorist infrastructure and personnel being blown to bits as we speak. All good, but at the end of the day, all that gets you is a pile of rubble and a bunch of dead terrorists …
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Bush Refuses To Interrupt His Final Vacation As Middle East Crisis Escalates — In an effort to “prevent Palestinians from attacking towns in southern Israel” with rockets, Israel today undertook its third day of offensive military airstrikes in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, raising the death toll to more than 300.
CNN:
World rallies around Palestinians amid Gaza offensive
World rallies around Palestinians amid Gaza offensive
Discussion:
Commentary, Buck Naked Politics, American Power, Wizbang, JammieWearingFool, NewsBusters.org and answer.pephost.org
David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:
No Free Vacation for Greenwald: Glenn Greenwald, I take it …
No Free Vacation for Greenwald: Glenn Greenwald, I take it …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, News Hounds, Hot Air, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Firedoglake and MSNBC
Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
View From a Palestinian Leader: Palestine's Guernica and the Myths …
View From a Palestinian Leader: Palestine's Guernica and the Myths …
Discussion:
presstv.ir, Haaretz, American Prospect, Mondoweiss, Prairie Weather, The Democratic Daily, Taylor Marsh, juancole.com and Guardian
Richard Boudreaux / Los Angeles Times:
Israel has learned from its failure in Lebanon
Israel has learned from its failure in Lebanon
Discussion:
War in Context, Building Peace, D-Day, Time, Haaretz, Kevin Drum, ATTACKERMAN, Guardian and Washington Post
Gershon Shafir / Informed Comment:
WAR WITHOUT END?
WAR WITHOUT END?
Discussion:
Haaretz, ABCNEWS, Global Voices Online, Change.org's Blog Network, ATTACKERMAN and Mirror.co.uk
Haaretz:
Barak to MKs: This is all-out war against Hamas and its kind
Barak to MKs: This is all-out war against Hamas and its kind
Discussion:
War in Context, MyDD, The Politico, The Independent, Washington Monthly, TIME.com and Commentary
Lorenzo Benet / People.com:
Bristol Palin Welcomes a Son — Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin — Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, gave birth on Sunday to a healthy 7 lb., 4 oz., baby boy in Palmer, Alaska. — “We think it's wonderful,” …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, NY Daily News, Political Machine, Gawker, Washington Wire, Hot Air, TigerHawk, The Other McCain and Dependable Renegade
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Anchorage Daily News:
Bristol Palin gives birth to healthy son — Gov.Sarah Palin is a grandmother. The baby's name is Tripp, and he was born early Sunday morning, People magazine is reporting. — Palin's daughter, Bristol, gave birth to the healthy 7-pound, 4-ounce baby in the Valley, the magazine reported on its Web site.
Esnead / The Dish Rag:
Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol has a son, Tripp Easton Mitchell — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol Palin and her boyfriend Levi Johnston are proud new parents of a baby boy, according to People. — His name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, says Colleen Jones, Bristol's grandmother's sister.
Vanity Fair:
Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House — The threat of 9/11 ignored. The threat of Iraq hyped and manipulated. Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib. Hurricane Katrina. The shredding of civil liberties. The rise of Iran. Global warming. Economic disaster.
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
McConnell Puts the Brakes on Stimulus Plan — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voiced skepticism today about the emerging economic stimulus plan, applying a brake to Democratic plans to quickly pass up to $850 billion in spending and tax cuts soon after President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration.
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Little Green Footballs:
‘Death to All Juice’ — A classic picture of numb-skulled hatred from the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Manhattan yesterday. (Larger image here.) — (Hat tips: NoSubmission and zombie.) — 237 — Cicero05 :: 4 seconds ago
Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Coleman, Franken differ on rejected ballots — The U.S. Senate recount stalled today as campaign lawyers publicly bickered over the disputed absentee ballots. — With a Minnesota Supreme Court-imposed deadline approaching and the sniping among lawyers increasing, the U.S. Senate recount stalled today …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight.com, TPM Election Central, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The RBC, Truthdig and AmSpecBlog
Huck PAC:
STATEMENT FROM MIKE HUCKABEE — Hello Team Huck PAC- — Chip should have been more careful in his selection of Christmas gifts, but no one who knows him would ever suggest that he in any way would purposely disparage other people. Chip knows how sensitive such issues are.
Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times:
Unrest caused by bad economy may require military action, report says — EL PASO — A U.S. Army War College report warns an economic crisis in the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to call on the military to restore order. — Retired Army Lt. Col. Nathan Freir wrote …