Top Items:
The Caucus:
Panetta to Be Named C.I.A. Director — President-elect Barack Obama has selected Leon E. Panetta, the former congressman and White House chief of staff, to take over the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization that Mr. Obama criticized during the campaign for using interrogation methods …
Discussion:
Commentary, MoJoBlog, Weekly Standard, The Washington Independent, The Corner, Hot Air, SpyTalk, FP Passport, Danger Room, Swampland, Michelle Malkin, Stephen C. Rose, MSNBC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Dish, Spin Cycle, BLACKFIVE, Firedoglake, New West Notes, Washington Monthly, MyDD, Macsmind, Pirate's Cove, TIME.com, TalkLeft, A Blog For All, Think Progress and Fausta's Blog
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Lauren Kornreich / CNN:
Feinstein slams Obama CIA head pick — (CNN) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Senate's incoming Intelligence committee chair, slammed President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Leon Panetta as director of the CIA Monday. — “I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Obama's impressive new OLC chief — The Office of Legal Counsel, inside the Justice Department, is probably the most consequential federal government office that remains relatively obscure. The legal opinions which it issues become, more or less automatically, the official legal position of the Executive Branch.
Marc Ambinder:
Panetta On Torture — Here's Central Intelligence Agency director-designate Leon E. Panetta, writing about torture, in the Washington Monthly. Actually, no — he's writing in the Washington Monthly about torture:
CNN:
Secretary of the Senate rejects Burris appointment — (CNN) — An aide to Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson tells CNN that this morning she rejected Roland Burris' certificate of appointment to the Senate. — Robert Baxter says Erickson rejected Burris' appointment because it does …
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Wall Street Journal:
Funny Business in Minnesota — In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken. — Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Minnesota elections board says Franken won — The Minnesota Board of Canvassers certified Democrat Al Franken as winner of the state's Senate race, but incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman's (R) attorneys have vowed to challenge the decision. — After two months of political and legal wrangling …
Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Senate recount: Franken's on top; Coleman to sue — The state Canvassing Board certified final results this afternoon in Minnesota's marathon U.S. Senate race, but that won't end the battle between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman, whose Senate term ended on Saturday.
Pat / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Court rejects Coleman bid to consider rejected absentee ballots — The ruling clears the way for election officials to certify results showing Democrat Al Franken in the lead. — The Minnesota Supreme Court today rejected a bid by Norm Coleman in the disputed U.S. Senate election …
Pat Doyle / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Recount results certified with Franken on top — The action concludes the recount, with Democrat Franken ahead by 225 votes, but the Coleman campaign has said it plans a legal challenge. In a brief appearance, Franken said he is “proud to stand before you as your next senator.”
Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:Burris' fight for Senate: Chances likely boosted if he pledges not to run for seat
Chris Steller / Minnesota Independent: Supreme Court denies Coleman's suit to stop certification of election
Drudge Report:
NBC BANS COULTER FOR LIFE; CUT FROM ‘TODAY’ SHOW OVER BOOK'S CLAIMS, NO MORE CABLE — The nation's top selling conservative author has been banned from appearing on NBC, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT. — Banned for life! — “We are just not going to have her on any more, it's over,” a top network source explains.
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Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blogs:
Coulter's ‘Today’ show interview canceled — Ann Coulter was scheduled to appear on the “Today” show Tuesday morning to promote her new book, “Guilty.” But it's now been canceled, according to her website. — Coulter wrote: “TODAY SHOW AND TODAY SHOW FOURTH HOUR: CANCELLED!”
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Wizbang, The Raw Story, Shakesville, No More Mister Nice Blog and NewsBusters.org
Connie Hair / Human Events:
Pelosi Erases Gingrich's Long-Standing Fairness Rules — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi's proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol …
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Washington Wire:
Ron Paul-Finally-Gets His Due — Susan Davis reports on politics. — For much of the 2008 campaign, Texas lawmaker and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and his supporters served as a thorn in the side—or a punching bag—for the mainstream GOP establishment.
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Satyam Khanna / Think Progress:RNC candidate Ken Blackwell compares Bush to Hoover.»
Discussion:
Political Machine
Judy Lin / Associated Press:
Ex eBay CEO prepares run for Calif. governor — Former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman has edged closer to a run for California governor, with a spokesman confirming on Monday that she has resigned from three corporate boards. — Whitman's spokesman, Henry Gomez …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Restore the Senate's Treaty Power — THE Constitution's Treaty Clause has long been seen, rightly, as a bulwark against presidential inclinations to lock the United States into unwise foreign commitments. The clause will likely be tested by Barack Obama's administration …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The RBC, Shadow Government, Firedoglake, TPMCafe, UN Dispatch, American Footprints, Opinio Juris, Reason and Kevin Drum
Bob Barr / Los Angeles Times:
No defending the Defense of Marriage Act — The author of the federal Defense of Marriage Act now thinks it's time for his law to get the boot — but for political reasons, not in support of gays. — In 1996, as a freshman member of the House of Representatives, I wrote the Defense of Marriage Act …
Ben McGrath / New Yorker:
CORRECTING CAROLINE — In 2001, shortly after being sworn into the Senate, Hillary Clinton gave a press conference to address questions related to her husband's Presidential pardons. The Times observed that she used the word “disappointed” ten times, in reference to her brother, Hugh Rodham …
Discussion:
Commentary
Change.gov:
President-elect Obama announces key Department of Justice posts — WASHINGTON—Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced that he intends to nominate the following individuals for key posts at the United States Department of Justice: David Ogden, Deputy Attorney General; Elena Kagan …
Joshua Keating / FP Passport:
The new ForeignPolicy.com — Yes, it looks different. — Starting today, the main site is transforming into a vibrant, daily online magazine of global politics, economics, and ideas. You'll be able to read the entire January/February issue — with contributions from Nouriel Roubini, Gen. David Petraeus, and others.
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Ross Douthat, Outside The Beltway, SWJ Blog, FishBowlDC and War and Piece
Jeff Poor / The Business & Media Institute:
EPA ‘Cow Tax’ Could Charge $175 per Dairy Cow to Curb Greenhouse Gases — Farm Bureau warns just this one rule may increase milk production costs up to 8 cents a gallon. — Business & Media Institute — Call this one of the newest and innovative ways your government has come up with to battle greenhouse gas emissions.
Discussion:
Don Surber
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