Top Items:
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Stimulus Plan Receives Final Approval in Congress — WASHINGTON — Congress on Friday approved a $787 billion economic stimulus measure, meeting the crushing mid-February deadline that Democrats had set for adopting the centerpiece of President Obama's early agenda but without quelling partisan divisions in Washington.
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The Politico:
Hardened Obama plans new fights — Emboldened by his victory on the stimulus package — but chastened by the pothole-pocked road that got him there —President Barack Obama and his aides are plunging ahead on a large and expensive agenda that virtually assures 2009 will be marked …
Jules Crittenden:
Friday The 13th — AP: “Major victory ... muscled to the brink of final passage.” Sure. He let his own party's Congress go wild with its own bill, and lost virtually every Republican by insulting them when he wasn't ignoring them. I guess that's a big victory if they say it is …
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Caterpillar Workers Oppose Stimulus, Despite Obama's Visit, Implausible Promises
Caterpillar Workers Oppose Stimulus, Despite Obama's Visit, Implausible Promises
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
House Passes Stimulus Package-and Oh, By the Way, Bipartisanship is Dead
House Passes Stimulus Package-and Oh, By the Way, Bipartisanship is Dead
The Huffington Post:
Specter: Republicans Support Stimulus, Don't Want ‘Fingerprints’ On It — Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who broke with his party to support President Obama's stimulus package last week, said before the final vote Friday that more of his colleagues would have joined were they not afraid of the political consequences.
Gene Warner / Buffalo News:
Prominent Orchard Park man charged with beheading his wife — Orchard Park police are investigating a particularly gruesome killing, the beheading of a woman, after her husband — an influential member of the local Muslim community — reported her death to police Thursday.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch, Little Green Footballs, Gates of Vienna, GINA COBB, Neptunus Lex and Ace of Spades HQ
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Brad Friedman / The BRAD BLOG:
BREAKING: Court Excludes ‘Huge Number’ of Ballots in MN's U.S. Senate Election Contest — [Updated several times at bottom of article.] — A late Friday finding from the 3-judge panel presiding over the Coleman/Franken U.S. Senate election contest in Minnesota, has limited the number …
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Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
In New Opinion, Minnesota Election Court Seriously Damages Coleman's Chances — The Minnesota election court has just handed down a very important ruling that will determine the entire course of the rest of this trial — and it's very bad news for Norm Coleman, cutting off multiple avenues …
Discussion:
D-Day
Dengre / Daily Kos:
Judd Gregg & his Abramoff Problem — We were lucky. — A few weeks ago on a Friday, Todd Boulanger pleaded guilty for his role in the ongoing Abramoff corruption scandal. He was a key member of Team Abramoff and before that he worked for former NH Senator Bob Smith (one of Jack's go-to Senators).
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Chuck Todd / MSNBC:
THE WHITE HOUSE BUBBLE — From NBC's Chuck Todd — Obviously, I'm one of the newbies here in the White House press corps, so maybe I'm unfamiliar with the ways of how this place works. I have to say, nothing is more frustrating than covering an actual event here at the White House …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Bipartisanship Isn't So Easy, Obama Discovers — WASHINGTON — On the day before the big vote, President Obama took a freshman Republican member of Congress aboard Air Force One to visit Illinois. Before an audience in Representative Aaron Schock's district, Mr. Obama praised him as …
Discussion:
Think Progress
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San Francisco Chronicle:
Addicted to fake outrage — I'm not sure if it's because we're strung out on “Lost” episodes, or if it's because we're still suffering from a post-9/11 stress disorder that makes us crave “breaking news” alerts, or if it's because the economy has turned us into distraction junkies.
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Texas Rainmaker:
Borders Bookstore in Dallas Praises Saint Obama — A reader sent me this picture taken at a Borders Bookstore in Dallas. He says the picture was taken in the Kids section. I guess Borders understands that it's never too early to indoctrinate the younguns. — Welcome to the Obamanation.
CNN:
Dems target right-wing talk radio — WASHINGTON (CNN) — More and More Democrats in Congress are calling for action that Republicans warn could muzzle right-wing talk radio. — Representative Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat from New York is the latest to say he wants to bring back the …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, TigerHawk, Shakesville, American Power, QandO, Michelle Malkin, NewsBusters.org and Sister Toldjah
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Afghan President Karzai hopes Obama will “settle down,” show “better judgment” — President Barack Obama is moving up in the world in terms of picking fights. Or walking into them. — First came a disagreement over the impact of the administration's economic stimulus package in East Peoria …
Josh / Right Wing Watch:
Virginia GOP Chair goes all Cro-Magnon on Darwin, on his birthday — Yesterday was the birthday of Lincoln and Darwin, and Virginia GOP chairman Jeff Frederick couldn't pass up the opportunity to go all Cro-Magnon on the father of modern biology. — Frederick obviously put a lot of thought …
Mike Baker / Associated Press:
APNewsBreak: Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticized work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe.
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Ross Douthat:
Authoritarianism Just Around the Corner — It's possible you've also already been following the debate prompted by Damon Linker's attack on Andrew Bacevich's vision of conservatism; if not, go here and here and here; here for Linker's response to his critics; and here and here for more.
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Damon Linker / The New Republic:
Lessons in Blogging — I avoided blogging for a long time.
Lessons in Blogging — I avoided blogging for a long time.
Discussion:
Upturned Earth
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blogs:
White House books Brown's flight to D.C. — Sarah Abruzzese reports: — A government plane will ferry Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) back to Washington from his mother's wake in Ohio in time to vote tonight, courtesy of the White House. — Brown won't even be leaving until viewing hours end …
Rasmussen Reports:
Specter Vote For Stimulus Hurts Him Back Home — Senator Arlen Specter is one of only three Republicans to support the economic stimulus bill in Congress, and the latest Rasmussen Reports survey in Pennsylvania shows that his position is costing him support back home.
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight.com, Hot Air, TPMDC, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Power Line and Real Clear Politics
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Disposing of Assets of Failed Banks Tests F.D.I.C. — WASHINGTON — When regulators took over the First National Bank of Nevada last year, they faced a showdown with the Terrible Herbst, the mustachioed cowboy who boasts of being the “best bad man in the West.”
Nick Spinetto / Local & Florida:
Henrietta Hughes says she's not milking the system — SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - A woman making national headlines after a tearful moment with President Obama has a new home. — Thursday morning, Chene Thompson handed Henrietta Hughes the keys to her home in Hendry County.
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Bush Aide: Leahy Truth Commission Is ‘Terribly Dangerous’ Idea, Possibly ‘Deadly’ — Last night on The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly showed a clip of a Fox News producer ambushing Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to accuse him of political hypocrisy for urging an investigation into Bush crimes after he had opposed the Clinton impeachment.
Daniel Gross / Newsweek:
Tax Cuts Won't Work — Yesterday's fixes can't help this economy … The congressional debate over the stimulus package may be over, but the larger debate isn't. Many critics of the bill, which contains a mix of tax cuts and government spending, believe that the government spending part just won't work.
Matt Corley / Think Progress:
RNC Chair Steele on his own party: ‘No reason, none, to trust our words or our actions at this point.’ — On Glenn Beck's Fox News show this evening, Beck told RNC Chairman Michael Steele that conservatives are “pissed” at Republicans because they don't “expect socialism” from them.