Top Items:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BAD WILL HUNTING.... George Will, who has always presented himself as something of an intellectual among the conservative chattering class, seems to be struggling a bit now that there's a Democratic president. Some of his recent columns have varied between wrong and bizarre.
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Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Where There's a (George) Will There's A Way ... To Deny Global Warming — Looks like Fred Barnes isn't the only high-profile conservative columnist still arguing that climate change doesn't really exist. — Over the weekend, the Washington Post's George Will, got in on the act.
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Dark Green Doomsayers
Dark Green Doomsayers
Discussion:
American Prospect, FiveThirtyEight.com, Think Progress, The New Republic, Gristmill, Climate Progress, Power Line and Discriminations
Ross Douthat:
Is The GOP Hopeless? — David Frum, pulling no punches: … I spent a lot of time during the election just passed issuing complaints roughly like this one about the McCain campaign, and the GOP more generally. I've issued fewer over the last few weeks - partially out of exhaustion with the topic …
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The New Majority:
THE PARTY THAT LOST ITS MIND — Have you heard about the marsh mouse? The little swamp critter that got $30 million of stimulus bill spending thanks to Nancy Pelosi? Of course you have! The mouse was highlighted on Drudge and chortled over by Glenn Beck. One Republican congressman actually dandled a toy mouse in debate.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BEYOND PARODY.... Over the weekend, “Saturday Night Live” had a skit showing Republican officials scheming against President Obama. The GOP, of course, was made to look ridiculous — mocking the president's substantive answers to questions, arguing over whether Limbaugh or Hannity is the …
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Tennessean.com:
Lawmakers look dumb for reviving Obama hoax — In the Handy Guide for Newspaper Opinion Columnists, this is called shooting fish in a barrel. Or hitting a slow-pitched softball. — Four Tennessee state representatives, all Republicans, have signed up to be plaintiffs in a lawsuit …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
STUDY HARDER — I'm not sure what other ways he's going to follow in Newt Gingrich's steps. But GOP House whip Eric Cantor seems to have the megalomania and ego front down pat. He's been putting out word over the last few days that he's modeling himself off Newt and now apparently Winston Churchill too.
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The Huffington Post:
“The House GOP Is Back”: Republicans Promote Stimulus Opposition With Aerosmith — Usually, in war and politics, the victor writes the history. In the case of the soon-to-be-signed stimulus package, however, neither side is admitting defeat. — Republicans in the House of Representatives …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
The Fairness Doctrine Returns. It Just Won't Be Called That. — Here we go folks. — The Fairness Doctrine is going to make a comeback under the Obama administration. It just won't be via Congress and it won't be called the “Fairness Doctrine.” It'll come via the FCC …
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Mike Zapler / Mercury News:
California's budget: one vote shy; legislators to return today — SACRAMENTO — Despite weeks of painful negotiations and a sleepless weekend of marathon arm-twisting, California lawmakers failed to fix the budget and will have to return to the Capitol today to try to push through a sweeping plan …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Decade at Bernie's — By now everyone knows the sad tale of Bernard Madoff's duped investors. They looked at their statements and thought they were rich. But then, one day, they discovered to their horror that their supposed wealth was a figment of someone else's imagination.
Discussion:
The Baseline Scenario, Brilliant at Breakfast, CANNONFIRE, LewRockwell.com Blog, Balloon Juice and The Sideshow
Chicago Tribune:
U.S. Sen. Roland Burris tries to quell new questions about his controversial appointment by Blagojevich — Senator addresses Blagojevich ties as Republicans call for inquiry, ouster — Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., talks to the media about an affidavit that he filed Feb. 5 with the Illinois House committee.
Discussion:
Chicago Breaking News, Hot Air, Democracy in America, Washington Post, Gateway Pundit and BuzzFlash.org
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
The Two Progressivisms — The definitions of the terms “liberal” and “conservative” have been the subjects of much debate in contemporary American politics. But it has become increasingly clear that the term “progressive” is equally ambiguous, and is associated with at least two relatively distinct philosophical traditions.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Eunomia, American Power, theheretik.us, The Mahablog, Open Left and Booman Tribune
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Gay snipers stalk WV — The same-sex marriage wars, though largely absent from the presidential campaign, remain hot in the states, as this new video from the group wv4marriage.com shows. — The narrator warns that same-sex marriage in West Virginia is “a closer reality than you may think” …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, West Virginia Blue, Christy Hardin Smith, The Daily Dish, pandagon.net and American Power
Peter Wallsten / Los Angeles Times:
Liberals not pleased with go-slow approach by Obama — Activists recall his promises as a candidate and express frustration at his equivocation as president. They cite stem cell research and the detainee policy as examples. — Reporting from Washington — Slowly over the last few weeks …
Aron Heller / Associated Press:
Livni: Give up parts of ‘Land of Israel’ — JERUSALEM - Tzipi Livni, who hopes to be appointed Israel's prime minister-designate, said Monday Israel must give up considerable territory in exchange for peace with the Palestinians, drawing a clear distinction with her rival, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch
Gregory Clark / The Atlantic Business Channel:
Dismal scientists: how the crash is reshaping economics — With the chattering classes consumed by concern for the devastated value of their 401K funds, and their suddenly precarious lifestyles, there has been much anger and scorn directed at those former masters of the universe, financiers.
Discussion:
Paul Kedrosky's …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Sam Donaldson, Moving Out of Shouting Distance — Forceful Newsman to Retire After Four Decades at ABC — Whatever else he accomplished in his 41 years at ABC News, Sam Donaldson knows he'll be remembered mainly for his bellowing voice. — “I guess it'll be on my tombstone: ‘He yelled at Ronald Reagan,’ ” Donaldson says.
Discussion:
DailyHowler.com, NewsBusters.org, TVNewser, Michael Calderone's Blogs and The New Republic
Times of London:
Hotshot greens caught wasting home heat — A survey of the homes of top environmentalists has found they leak energy — THEY may shout their green credentials from the rooftops, but some of Britain's most prominent environmental champions are living in homes that produce up to half a ton of excess carbon dioxide a year.
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Conyers seeks DoJ probe into controversial sheriff — House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and three fellow Democrats want the Department of Justice to investigate civil rights complaints against controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio. — The lawmakers, in a letter …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
C-SPAN ranks presidents: Abe still on top, new shocker at the bottom — On this sacred United States holiday devoted to honoring the birthdays of the two most important presidents in the nation's history by selling bed linens and used automobiles at discount prices, we're publishing …
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Don Surber, The Raw Story, Political Machine, Wonkette, Hot Air, Washington Monthly and The Moderate Voice
Agence France Presse:
Hamburgers are the Hummers of food in global warming … When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of food, scientists say. — Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple days a week.
Robin Givhan / Washington Post:
You Gotta Love the First Lady. No, Really, You Have No Choice. — The rise of first lady Michelle Obama as an icon — of fashion, black womanhood, working motherhood and middle-class success — has propelled her onto a pedestal that would surely give the average person vertigo.
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Roberts Sets Off Debate on Judicial Experience — For the first time in its history, every member of the United States Supreme Court is a former federal appeals court judge. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in a lively and surprising talk a couple of weeks ago, said that development may be a good thing.
Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:
Fareed Zakaria — PostGlobal co-moderator Fareed Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all Newsweek's editions abroad. He writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often The Washington Post. He is a member of the roundtable of ABC News' …