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New York Times:
Paterson Picks Gillibrand for Senate Seat — ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has selected Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, a 42-year-old congresswoman from upstate who is known for bold political moves and centrist policy positions, to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton …
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Fredric U. Dicker / New York Post:
DAVE PICKS GILLIBRAND AS LIBERAL DEMS HOWL — ALBANY - Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York's junior senator, it was learned last night.
Eve Fairbanks / The New Republic:
Ten Things You Didn't Know About Kirsten Gillibrand — New York guv David Paterson is set to name Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term congresswoman from upstate New York, to replace Hillary in the Senate. At first blush, Gillibrand seems merely a perfect Caroline Kennedy replacement: A woman with cash, but without all that baggage!
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Gillibrand — David Paterson's choice of Kristin Gillibrand is …
Gillibrand — David Paterson's choice of Kristin Gillibrand is …
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Salon
Forbes:
The 25 Most Influential Liberals In The U.S. Media — Edited by Tunku Varadarajan, Elisabeth Eaves and Hana R. Alberts, 01.22.09, 04:02 PM EST — Listen for their voices during the Obama era. — Barack Obama's inauguration was the formal point at which the reigning ideology in Washington changed from “conservative” to “liberal.”
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance — Obama to Reiterate Appeal for Bipartisanship — Just days after taking office vowing to end the political era of “petty grievances,” President Obama ran into mounting GOP opposition yesterday to an economic stimulus plan that he had hoped would receive broad bipartisan support.
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Associated Press:
Officials: Obama to reverse abortion policy — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - In a long-expected move, President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that perform abortions …
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Laura Meckler / Wall Street Journal:
Obama to Lift Family-Planning ‘Gag Rule’ — Move Would Restore Funds to International Groups Involved With Abortion; Timing Shows Sensitivity to Foes of Roe v. Wade — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will issue an order restoring U.S. funding for international family-planning groups involved with abortion.
Robert F. Worth / New York Times:
Freed by U.S., Saudi Becomes a Qaeda Chief — BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.
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Dana Priest / Washington Post:
Bush's ‘War’ On Terror Comes to a Sudden End
Bush's ‘War’ On Terror Comes to a Sudden End
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Ali Frick / Think Progress:
WSJ Insists Obama Is Leaving Door Open For A ‘Jack Bauer Exception’ To His Torture Ban — Yesterday, President Obama signed an executive order banning the use of torture in all military and CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists. The order specifically revoked the legal memos written …
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Andy Barr / The Politico:
McCain floats Kyl for president — Former GOP presidential nominee John McCain on Thursday named fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl as a potential 2012 presidential candidate. — Asked on CNN's “Larry King Live” if he plans to support Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the Republican presidential primaries …
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
White House Cheat Sheet: Obama's Best Friend in the Senate?
White House Cheat Sheet: Obama's Best Friend in the Senate?
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The Political Animal
Albany Times Union:
Bruno indicted — Grand jury issues 8-count indictment for mail and wire fraud — ALBANY — A federal grand jury today indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, accusing him of eight counts of public corruption. — Bruno is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate at 1:30 p.m. today.
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Wayne Barrett / Runnin' Scared:
Did Paterson Consider the Bruno Connection to Gillibrand's Dad?
Did Paterson Consider the Bruno Connection to Gillibrand's Dad?
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Ben Smith's Blogs
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Obama's Inaugural Surprise — Fascinating speech. It was so rhetorically flat, so lacking in rhythm and cadence, one almost has to believe he did it on purpose. Best not to dazzle on Opening Day. Otherwise, they'll expect magic all the time. — The most striking characteristic …
NewMajority.Com Scroll:
Palin's “Donated” Clothes Stashed in Trash Bags at RNC — Despite the Republican National Committee's promise to donate Sarah Palin's $180,000 campaign wardrobe to charity, word has it the Alaska governor's clothes remain stuffed in trash bags at RNC headquarters, NewMajority has learned.
Michael Tarm / Associated Press:
Ill. gov tells AP that strain is like Pearl Harbor — CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois' embattled but defiant governor turned to the history books to describe the emotional strain on him and his family, comparing his arrest last month to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Sarah Lyall / New York Times:
No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else — CRAPSTONE, England — When ordering things by telephone, Stewart Pearce tends to take a proactive approach to the inevitable question “What is your address?” — He lays it out straight, so there is no room for unpleasant confusion.
The Huffington Post:
ACLU Lays Off A Tenth Of Workforce — The American Civil Liberties Union, impacted by the unfolding economic crisis, laid off ten percent of its national workforce this week. Thirty-six staffers lost their jobs, including five in the Washington, D.C. legislative office, a source familiar with the firings told the Huffington Post.
Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Fair-Wage Bill Clears The Senate — High Court Decision Would Be Overturned — A wage-discrimination bill that narrowly failed less than a year ago moved closer to becoming law last night, when the Senate passed the legislation and sent it back to the House for final consideration.
Discussion:
ACSBlog
Daniel J. Wakin / New York Times:
The Frigid Fingers Were Live, but the Music Wasn't — It was not precisely lip-synching, but pretty close. — The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama's oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues.
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