Top Items:
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blogs:
Obama meets with liberal columnists — Obama held a meeting with several columnists and liberal commentators this morning, following up on last night's dinner with conservative writers, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting. — The group included the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne …
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Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
Why Liberals Aren't Angry Over Obama's Dinner — I actually don't find it terribly surprising that liberals haven't shown any outrage over Barack Obama's dinner party with George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, and David Brooks. I'll get to my hypothesis why liberals aren't upset in a moment.
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Silence of the lamb chops — Call it a charm offensive or a high-level “Listening Tour,” but Barack Obama is already signaling that he intends to break with the current president in one obvious way: hearing from his critics. — Obama Tuesday night trekked to the Chevy Chase, Md. …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, The Confluence, Gawker, The Nation, Hot Air, TIME.com and Political Punch
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Sorry, No Details — Lots of emails from readers asking about the chat with the president-elect this morning. It was totally off the record and I'm a stickler for those rules. I can say, however, the following: it's hard to express the relief I feel that this man will be the president soon.
Paul / Power Line:
AN EVENING WELL SPENT — Barack Obama reportedly had dinner last night at George Will's house. Bill Kristol and David Brooks are said to have been there, as well. — Obama deserves credit for this “outreach,” which is consistent with reports about how he handled himself as head …
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blogs:
Obama breaks Times tradition
Obama breaks Times tradition
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:
Cheney Tells Jim Lehrer Tonight: No Torture, Few Mistakes, Economy Not Our Fault — NEW YORK In an exit interview with PBS's Jim Lehrer on the NewsHour airing tonight, Vice President Cheney repeats claims that Saddam Hussein worked with al-Qaeda. Asked if he made any mistakes in his eight years as V.P. …
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Cheney On Whether Iraq War Was Worth The 4,500 Americans Killed: ‘I Think So’ — Cheney On Whether Iraq War Was Worth The 4,500 Americans Killed: ‘I Think So’» — In an interview airing tonight on PBS's Newshour, host Jim Lehrer asks Vice President Cheney about the U.S. soldiers who have lost their lives in the war in Iraq.
Discussion:
TimesWatch.org
Jonathan Weisman / Wall Street Journal:
Geithner's Hearing Is Postponed — WASHINGTON — The Senate Finance Committee for a second time postponed a hearing for Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner following revelations about his failure to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund, among other tax infractions.
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Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Tim Geithner! Why Are Rich People So Cheap?
Tim Geithner! Why Are Rich People So Cheap?
Discussion:
The New Republic, Salon, New York Times, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Climate Progress, NY Daily News and The Politico
Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times:
U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible — President-elect Barack Obama listens as Mexico's President Felipe Calderon makes a statement to reporters in Washington, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. Mexico is one of two countries that “bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse …
Discussion:
QandO, Chronicle of Higher Education, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Fausta's Blog, Pat Dollard and Vox Popoli
Douglas B. Brill / lehighvalleylive.com:
WARREN COUNTY, N.J. NEWS — Real-time news for Belvidere, Phillipsburg and more — Boy named Adolf Hitler, his sisters removed from parents' home by New Jersey authorities … State authorities have removed Adolf Hilter Campbell and his two sisters from their parents' home in Holland Township …
Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:
The Surpassing Significance of Herring — By way of full disclosure, I was one of the defendant's lawyers in the Herring case, though my involvement in it was very limited. I am not an expert on the Fourth Amendment, but my preliminary reaction is that we will at some point soon regard …
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Quinnipiac University:
Kennedy Fades As New Yorkers Back Cuomo For Senate, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Voters Don't Think Kennedy Is Qualified — New York State voters have cooled on Caroline Kennedy and more voters now prefer State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo 31 - 24 percent for Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat …
Washington Times:
Inauguration declared ‘emergency’ — Unprecedented action helps D.C. cover costs — Dan Leaderman and Jon Ward THE WASHINGTON TIMES — President Bush on Tuesday declared the District a federal emergency area, clearing the way for the city to receive federal money to help cover …
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog
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Jeffrey Goldberg / New York Times:
Why Israel Can't Make Peace With Hamas — IN the summer of 2006, at a moment when Hezbollah rockets were falling virtually without pause on northern Israel, Nizar Rayyan, husband of four, father of 12, scholar of Islam and unblushing executioner, confessed to me one of his frustrations.
Discussion:
Daimnation!, The New Republic, neo-neocon, Elder of Ziyon, Hot Air, Israel Matzav, Commentary, Taylor Marsh, Mondoweiss and Daled Amos
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Bush Presidency Closes With 34% Approval, 61% Disapproval — Three-quarters of Republicans approve of Bush, up slightly from recent months — USA - Democrats - Government and Politics - Independents - Presidential Job Approval - Republicans - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America
Dexter Filkins / New York Times:
Afghan Schoolgirls Undeterred by Attack — KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — One morning two months ago, Shamsia Husseini and her sister were walking through the muddy streets to the local girls school when a man pulled alongside them on a motorcycle and posed what seemed like an ordinary question.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Coburn Sings ‘Rocket Man’ for Nelson — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) followed through on his bet with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) over college football's national title game by singing Elton John's “Rocket Man” at one of Nelson's constituent coffees on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Buzz
Daily Mail:
It's an injustice to NOT marry girls aged 10, says Saudi cleric … Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric has told followers it is permissible for ten-year-old girls to marry and anyone who think they are too young are doing the youngsters ‘an injustice’. — Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh …
Marc Ambinder:
The House Republicans Propose A Stimulus Alternative — There is no pride of authorship, President-elect Barack Obama said last week. His economic team is open to and all ideas, regardless of progenitor. — So — the Republican Study Committee in the House has come out with an all-tax, no spending variant.
Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
GOP could win 3 key Senate seats — Despite the shock of three recent Senate retirements in battleground states, Republicans find themselves unusually well-positioned to weather the loss and compete for those open seats in 2010 — a stark contrast from the dismal early recruiting environment in 2008.
Discussion:
Donklephant
Newsdesk / Clout St:
Senate takes oath as Blagojevich impeachment jurors — SPRINGFIELD—The Illinois Senate took an oath today to be sworn in as jurors in the historic impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, hours after he made his first Capitol appearance since his arrest last month on federal corruption charges.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Taegan Goddard's …, TIME.com, Pat Dollard, TPM Election Central and Chicago Breaking News
San Francisco Chronicle:
BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting — (01-14) 00:13 PST Oakland — The BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform and then refused to explain his actions to investigators was arrested Tuesday in Nevada on suspicion of murder, authorities said.
Discussion:
AlterNet.org, The Raw Story, Pajamas Media, Feministe, The Stranger, Hot Air, pandagon.net, Alas, a blog, On Deadline and Shakesville
JD Johannes / Outside the Wire:
Joe the Plumber—Out of His Depth — Previously in this space I remarked that PJTV's sending Joe The Plumber to Israel felt like a shark-jumping publicity stunt and it was a risk that could put PJTV's credibility at risk. — After watching a few reports , I felt Joe was fine, when he related things as the average Joe that he is.
Little Green Footballs:
Ringo's Pix: Bad Craziness in Los Angeles — LGF operative “Ringo the Gringo” was at the Anti-Israel Demonstration in West LA on Jan. 10, 2009, and has dozens of photos and video clips of this eruption of insanity. — This video shows protesters chanting “Allahu Akbar,” then attacking a car whose driver was flying an Israeli flag.
Geoff Boucher / Hero Complex:
Nick Fury no more? Samuel L. Jackson says 'Maybe I won't be Nick Fury' — EXCLUSIVE AND UPDATED — Samuel L. Jackson, clearly bristling, said today that negotiations to put him in the role of Nick Fury have broken down because “there seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world.”
Steven Aftergood / Secrecy News:
Current, Future Justice Officials Clash Over OLC Proposal — In a revealing conflict of views between outgoing and incoming Justice Department officials, Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently told Congress that a proposal that was conceived by Prof. Dawn Johnsen to require expanded reporting …