Top Items:
Media Matters for America:
Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research — typo and all … During the February 10 edition of Fox News' Happening Now, co-host Jon Scott claimed that “the Senate is expected to pass the $838 billion stimulus plan — its version of it, anyway. We thought we'd take a look back at the bill …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, Comments from Left Field, The Reaction, The BRAD BLOG and AMERICAblog News
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Tom Junod / Esquire:
Because They Hate Shepard Smith and Want Him to Fail — Shep Smith leads the happy warriors of Fox News into a new political age. — Shepard Smith has a face made for television, a face seemingly created not just for the cameras but by them, a brand-name face that could be made into a mask and worn on Halloween.
Discussion:
Don Surber
Haaretz:
Exit polls: Livni's Kadima leads in 2009 elections — Exit polls by Israel's three main television stations on Tuesday night showed Kadima as the leader in the 2009 general elections, with Likud coming a narrow second. — Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10 polling of voters as they left …
Discussion:
TPMCafe, Matthew Yglesias, Wonk Room, Israellycool, MyDD, Israel Matzav, rubber hose, Truthdig, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, D-Day and Ben Smith's Blogs
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Tess Scheflan / Haaretz:
Netanyahu: Right wing, led by Likud, won a clear victory — By Haaretz Service and News Agencies — Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory in Tuesday's parliamentary election as he addressed supporters in a speech early Wednesday, despite exit polls that predicted …
Discussion:
Blogs and Stories, Israel Matzav, Firedoglake, Ynetnews, AmSpecBlog, American Power and Matthew Yglesias
Jerusalem Post:
Livni may not be able to form gov't due to large right-wing bloc — With voting stations officially closed, exit polls at 10 p.m. suggested that Kadima would win Tuesday's general elections. — However, due to the dramatic rise in support of the Likud and Israel Beiteinu compared …
Martin Wolf / Financial Times:
Why Obama's new Tarp will fail to rescue the banks — Has Barack Obama's presidency already failed? In normal times, this would be a ludicrous question. But these are not normal times. They are times of great danger. Today, the new US administration can disown responsibility for its inheritance; tomorrow, it will own it.
Discussion:
naked capitalism, Power Line, MyDD, Clive Crook, RBO, Matthew Yglesias, The Huffington Post, Spin Cycle, Flopping Aces and Talking Points Memo
The Huffington Post:
Administration Officials Met With Laughter At Bailout Briefing — Administration officials were greeted with sarcasm and laughter Monday night when they briefed lawmakers and congressional staff on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's new financial-sector bailout project, according to people who were in the room.
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Dick Morris / The Hill:
Hillary's incredible, shrinking role — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is finding that her job description is dissolving under her feet, leaving her with only a vestige of the power she must have thought she acquired when she signed on to be President Obama's chief Cabinet officer.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Michael Grabell / ProPublica:
The Stimulus Bills: House vs. Senate — If all goes as expected today, the Senate will pass an $838 billion economic stimulus plan that follows a compromise reached over the weekend. But before the package can go to President Obama's desk, the Senate will have to resolve differences with the House and its $819 billion version.
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Paul Krugman:
The Rorschach plan (wonkish, or at least hard to read) — An old joke from my younger days: What do you get when you cross a Godfather with a deconstructionist? Someone who makes you an offer you can't understand. — I found myself remembering that joke when trying to make sense of the Geithner financial rescue plan.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Mr. Franken Comes to Washington — Entertainer Al Franken (D-Minn.) will spend the next two days in Washington readying himself to serve in the Senate, a move that comes even as the contested Minnesota Senate election plods on. — Franken arrives in town tonight and will be here through Thursday …
Discussion:
TIME.com
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Kevin Duchschereand Pat Doyle / Minneapolis Star …:
Senate recount trial: Rejected absentee ballots of 23 voters can be counted
Senate recount trial: Rejected absentee ballots of 23 voters can be counted
Discussion:
The Caucus
Jack Kuenzie / WIS-TV:
Eight arrested in Michael Phelps case — Updated: — COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - New details have emerged about a party where Olympic champion Michael Phelps was spotted. — On Feb. 2, a British tabloid published a picture of the 14-time Olympic gold medalist using a water pipe to smoke marijuana.
Clark / Show Me Progress:
“War of Northern Aggression”? — According to Republican State Rep. Bryan Stevenson, the proposed pro-choice “Freedom of Choice Act” is the biggest federal power grab since the “War of Northern Aggression.” — And I thought Scott Rupp was overly dramatic.
Discussion:
Political Fix
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Paul Krugman:
What happened to Clive Crook? — Clive used to be a reasonable guy; in his mind he probably still is a reasonable guy. But he has misunderstood what it means to be reasonable. He now apparently believes that it means declaring, in all circumstances, that Democrats and Republicans are equally …
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution
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Irving N. Jones / The Brussels Journal:
Will Geert Wilders Be Arrested at Heathrow? — This morning Lord Malcolm Pearson, a member of the British House of Lords, announced that he has invited Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament, to show the movie Fitna (see it here) in a committee room of the House of Lords next Thursday (12 February).
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama allies attack GOP leadership — The labor-backed, pro-stimulus group Americans United for Change and the public workers' union AFSCME are going up with a national cable spot, also airing in Washington D.C., with the sharpest attack yet on Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
granma.cu:
Rahm Emanuel — WHAT a strange surname! It appears Spanish, easy to pronounce, but it's not. Never in my life have I heard or read about any student or compatriot with that name, among tens of thousands. — Where does it come from? I wondered. Over and over, the name came to mind …
Washington Whispers:
Busy Sarah Palin Backs Out of CPAC; Rush Limbaugh Is Still Speaking — The opening-day headliner for the annual CPAC conservative convention February 26-28, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has pulled out, citing state business in Juneau. “We're obviously disappointed,” said a CPAC official.
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Huckabee: Stimulus is ‘anti-religious’ — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee warned supporters Tuesday that the $828 billion stimulus package is “anti-religious.” — In an e-mail that was also posted on his blog ahead of the Senate's passage, Huckabee wrote: “The dust is settling …
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PR Newswire:
Public Rejects Obama Stimulus Bill According to New ATI-News/Zogby Poll — 90 Percent of Republicans and 60 Percent of Independents Oppose Obama Economic Recovery Plan — Amidst all the rhetoric surrounding President Barack Obama's first signature piece of legislation, a massive $800 billion economic …
New York Times:
Sirius XM Prepares for Possible Bankruptcy — Last summer, Mel Karmazin was rattling off his trademark one-liners to talk up the future of Sirius XM Radio, the combined company he ran that had just been blessed by regulators. — He was planning to cut costs and expand a business …
The Politico:
GOP won't derail Solis on hubby — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — Republicans aren't going to derail Labor Secretary-nominee Hilda Solis' nomination over her husband's tax problems, but they still have serious reservations about her ties to labor unions.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Plum Line, MyDD, TIME.com, The Huffington Post and Political Machine
Stephen M. Walt:
What do we do if the “two-state” solution collapses? — Lots of smart people have been focusing on the Israeli elections and trying to make sense of their immediate implications for the peace process. I can't improve on the analyses provided by Glenn Greenwald, Yossi Alpher, Bernard Avishai …
The Campaign Spot:
Key Party Switch in Virginia? (UPDATE: Report: Switch Averted) — A well-connected source in Virginia tells me that at least one Democratic state senator is leaving the party's caucus . . . “Not sure yet if he's going Republican or Independent.” This is significant because the Democrats currently …
Steve Huntley / Chicago Sun Times:
Obama must do more to get GOP on board — President Obama is on track to score a huge victory by winning congressional passage of an $800-billion-plus stimulus package, but it will come at the high cost of failing to achieve his goal of bringing a new spirit of bipartisanship to Washington.
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Lobbyist Inquiry Appears to Be Widening — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are looking into the possibility that a prominent lobbyist may have funneled bogus campaign contributions to his mentor, Representative John P. Murtha, as well as other lawmakers, two people familiar with the investigator's questions said Tuesday.
Catherine Philp / Times of London:
Iranian mob attacks moderate ex-president Mohammed Khatami on anniversary — Iran's former president was set upon by an angry stick-wielding mob today amid celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on the streets of Tehran. — The attack on Mohammed Khatami came …
Sara Robinson / Orcinus:
“Know This If Nothing Else: This Was A Hate Crime” — Photo by J. Miles Cary of the Knoxville News — Progressives around the country can breathe a little easier today: James Adkisson has been sentenced to life behind bars for the deaths of Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger …