Top Items:
Ben Protess— Propublica / The Politico:
Burris sought death for innocent man — Former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, is no stranger to controversy. — Public fury over the governor's alleged misconduct has masked the once lively debate …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics, The Gun Toting Liberal, Liberty Street, Daily Kos, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL and Don Surber
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Ian Welsh / Firedoglake:
Harry Reid's Doing the Right Thing — digg it — I've had my problems with Reid over the years, but he's not in the wrong on Blagojevich and Burris. This is not a racial issue. Long before Burris, a black man, was appointed by a corrupt governor, Reid said he wouldn't allow anyone, anyone, appointed by Blagojevich, to be seated.
Slate:
How the Senate Can Stop Blagojevich — It easily has the power to block the governor's appointment of Roland Burris. — Does the Constitution allow the Senate to refuse to seat Roland Burris, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's surprise appointee? In a word, yes. Here's why.
Discussion:
Althouse, FiveThirtyEight.com, Balkinization, TalkLeft, Daily Kos, Concurring Opinions, The Volokh Conspiracy and Majikthise
Oliver Kay / Times of London:
Gaza rockets put Israel's nuclear plant in battle zone — Growing concern over Hamas's new arsenal — There were growing fears in Israel last night that Hamas missiles could threaten its top-secret nuclear facility at Dimona. — Rocket attacks from Gaza have forced Israelis to flee …
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Haaretz:
IAF bombs Gaza mosque used as terror hub — Israel Air Force aircraft struck a mosque in Jabaliya late Thursday night used as a terror-hub by the Hamas terror organization. — The mosque was used as a storehouse for a large amount of Grad missiles, Qassam rockets and additional weaponry.
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
AN OCCUPIED NATION AND A THREATENED ONE. — This blog is on a light schedule today and tomorrow due to various New Years related program activities, but it's worth quickly responding to Jonathan Chait's post on Israel and Palestine. Chait makes a common claim, which is that all analysis …
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The Politico:
Obama's paparazzi presidency — ABC's Jake Tapper predicted this week that Barack Obama will be “the Britney Spears of 2009.” — Considering that Obama was deemed by some to be the Britney Spears of 2008, it wasn't much of a leap. — But a funny thing happened on the way to the cover of Us Weekly.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Bigger Than Bush — As the new Democratic majority prepares to take power, Republicans have become, as Phil Gramm might put it, a party of whiners. — Some of the whining almost defies belief. Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, “I consider myself a casualty …
Discussion:
driftglass
New York Times:
A Focus on Violence by G.I.'s Back From War — FORT CARSON, Colo. — For the past several years, as this Army installation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains became a busy way station for soldiers cycling in and out of Iraq, the number of servicemen implicated in violent crimes has raised alarm.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
James Randerson / Guardian:
Nasa's James Hansen warns Barack Obama on climate change — Current approaches to deal with climate change are ineffectual, one of the world's top climate scientists said today in a personal new year appeal to Barack Obama and his wife Michelle on the urgent need to tackle global warming.
Patrick Healy / MSNBC:
Calif. Taxpayers Due Refunds May Get IOUs — If you expect you'll be getting a refund from California when you file your 2008 state income tax return, be prepared: you may instead receive a “registered warrant.” Translation: an IOU. — California is rapidly running out of money.
Kenneth Chang / New York Times:
New Evidence of Meteor Bombardment — At least once in Earth's history, global warming ended quickly, and scientists have long wondered why. — Now researchers are reporting that the abrupt cooling — which took place about 12,900 years ago, just as the planet was emerging from an ice age …
Phil Nourie / PR Newswire:
Poll: 77% of Americans Blame Media for Making Economic Crisis Worse — New Poll Conducted by Opinion Research Corporation - — Seventy-seven percent of Americans believe that the U.S. media is making the economic situation worse by projecting fear into people's minds.
Gurcharan Das / New York Times:
The Next World Order — CHINA and India are in a struggle for a top rung on the ladder of world power, but their approaches to the state and to power could not be more different. — Two days after last month's terrorist attack on Mumbai, I met with a Chinese friend who was visiting India on business.