Top Items:
Stephen Labaton / New York Times:
Some Banks, Citing Strings, Want to Return Federal Aid — WASHINGTON — The list of demands keeps getting longer. — Financial institutions that are getting government bailout funds have been told to put off evictions and modify mortgages for distressed homeowners.
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Wall Street Journal:
Buffett's Unmentionable Bank Solution — Last week's post mortem on the Fannie and Freddie takeover was received better than we might have expected. A few readers assumed Eddie Lampert and Bill Miller, fund managers who lost money when Fan and Fred were seized, and whose letters …
Democracy Corps:
Rush Limbaugh Weighs Down Heavily on Republicans — Read the full memo: — Overview — With a national debate raging over the place of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh in the Republican Party, a new national survey from Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner finds that Limbaugh weighs …
Discussion:
The Fix, Washington Whispers, Ben Smith's Blog, The Plum Line, Hotline On Call, Swampland, TPMDC and Think Progress
Roll Call:
Heard on the Hill: Vitter Goes From Hookergate to Gate-Crashing — Among Members of Congress, there's a long-standing, proud tradition of the Airport Freakout. Add to the list of those who've indulged in meltdowns and temper tantrums while traveling one Sen. David Vitter …
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Raw Story, Michael Calderone's Blog, TPMDC, Political Machine, MoJo Blog Posts, Wonkette, Think Progress, Washington Monthly and Salon
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The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Sen. David Vitter says airport gate incident overstated
Sen. David Vitter says airport gate incident overstated
Bill Sammon / Fox News:
Flashback: Carville Wanted Bush to Fail — The press never reported that Democratic strategist James Carville said he wanted President Bush to fail before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But a feeding frenzy ensued when radio host Rush Limbaugh recently said he wanted President Obama to fail.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Flopping Aces, Townhall.com, JammieWearingFool and Sweetness & Light
Alan Greenspan / Wall Street Journal:
The Fed Didn't Cause the Housing Bubble — Any new regulations should help direct savings toward productive investments. — We are in the midst of a global crisis that will unquestionably rank as the most virulent since the 1930s. It will eventually subside and pass into history.
RADAR:
BRISTOL PALIN & LEVI JOHNSTON BREAK OFF ENGAGEMENT — Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol has reportedly broken off her engagement with Levi Johnston, the father of her 2-month-old son Tripp. It's surprising because in an interview just last month with FOX's Gretta Van Susteren …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
No quit: the campaign to boost Bush — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — The defense never rests. When President Barack Obama released his own policy this week on former President George W. Bush's practice of attaching controversial signing statements to legislation …
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Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
NYT's Baquet defends handling of Freeman — For nearly three weeks, the nomination of Chas Freeman as chairman of the National Intelligence Council has been a hot-button issue among bloggers. — That's included those holding strong foreign policy positions—especially relating to Israel and China …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Daily Dish, Weekly Standard, Yourish.com and Media Blog
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MJ Rosenberg / Mideast Peace Pulse:
Freeman Opponents Pyrrhic Victory
Freeman Opponents Pyrrhic Victory
Discussion:
Stephen M. Walt, American Footprints, Capital J | JTA, Mondoweiss, Harry's Place, Newsweek and Ben Smith's Blogs
Barbara Barrett / Raleigh News & Observer:
Edwards talks about poverty, stays silent on paternity — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards took another tentative step into the public spotlight tonight, speaking at Brown University about extreme poverty around the world and urging Americans to get involved in what he called a “fundamental moral issue.”
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Dan Collins / protein wisdom:
I Did Not Make This Up … I think I'm on record as having …
I Did Not Make This Up … I think I'm on record as having …
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
GOP chair Steele appears to disparage Republicans on Hill as “scurrying mice” — The Republican civil war continues. — Very weird quote from chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele. … Sounds like stage two of a two-stage process to get himself fired.
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Times, Salon, DownWithTyranny!, Think Progress and PoliticalBase.com Blog
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Approval of Congress Hits Four-Year High, Fueled by Dems — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' job approval rating of Congress is up an additional 8 points this month, after a 12-point increase last month, and now stands at 39% — the most positive assessment of Congress since February 2005.
Johanna Neuman / Top of the Ticket:
Ron Paul defends earmarks, says anti-pork McCain is just grandstanding — Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is the darling of the Libertarian Right, has more earmarks in the pork-laden $410-billion spending bill than any other Republican. — That's not according to the MSM, or the liberal blogosphere.
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Andrew S. Grove / Washington Post:
Mr. President, Time to Rein In The Chaos — There is nothing more difficult . . . than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. — Machiavelli's 500-year-old warning notwithstanding, we elected a president who is committed to “change.”
Wall Street Journal:
The Union Cudgel — Big Labor gets nasty on ‘card check.’ — Big Labor's drive to eliminate secret ballots for union elections has united American business in opposition, so labor chiefs are putting on the brass knuckles: The new strategy is to threaten companies with government retaliation …
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Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Coleman supporters' private info likely breached — Norm Coleman's Senate campaign said Wednesday that the private information of its supporters has probably been breached and is encouraging them to cancel their credit cards. — Coleman backers began receiving e-mails Tuesday night …
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
China's Way Forward — OUR APARTMENT IN Beijing overlooks one of the city's long-distance bus terminals, where people arrive from the countryside to find work or sell wares, and depart for visits or permanent returns to their home villages. Early last summer, the terminal was jammed, and most of the passengers were leaving town.
Discussion:
The Peking Duck
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
This Is Not a Test. This Is Not a Test. — It's always great to see the stock market come back from the dead. But I am deeply worried that our political system doesn't grasp how much our financial crisis can still undermine everything we want to be as a country. Friends, this is not a test.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Independent, NewsBusters.org, Brilliant at Breakfast, Corrente and The Mahablog
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
BIG FIBBIN' — You just can't trust this Eric Cantor guy as far as you can throw him. He's still on TV repeating that discredited ‘scoring’ of the House GOP stimulus bill, which contained the fairly preposterous claim that their version would create twice the jobs at half the price even though …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Geoff Earle / New York Post:
REVEALED: PELOSI'S ‘AIR RAGE’ — WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gone from frequent flier to jet-aircraft connoisseur, with aides berating military officials to get the best planes, e-mails revealed yesterday. — Pelosi, who clashed with the military to get nonstop service …
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Reform Lite: Obama goes soft on pork — The old bulls won. — Pulled between his campaign rhetoric and his own party's congressional barons, President Barack Obama largely sided with his Hill allies in unveiling an earmark proposal Wednesday that shies away from any strict crackdown on the practice.
Michael Yon:
David Rhodes Still Missing — 11 March 2009 — Few people realize that New York Times journalist David Rhodes was kidnapped in Afghanistan back in November. There were a few scattered stories early on, but big reporting apparently has been squashed. In December, during a trip with Secretary Gates …
Sydney Morning Herald:
Obama Wiki fiddler caught red-handed — US President Barack Obama and, inset, Aaron Klein. — Asher Moses — A right-wing pundit has been caught red-handed manufacturing controversy after claiming US President Barack Obama's Wikipedia page was being whitewashed, in a scandal that fooled big news outlets including Fox News.
Bruce Kesler / Maggie's Farm:
Top Ten Reasons For ObamaCare Are Based On False Information — George Bernard Shaw warned “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” The major overhaul of American health care pursued by President Obama and his supporters is based on many false premises and is excessive and likely to do more harm than good.
Salon:
Heads should roll — Oh, the incestuous mediocrity of American politics and media — compared to the splendors of Brazil! As a direct result of the two articles I wrote about superstar singer Daniela Mercury in Salon in June and August of last year, I was invited by the publisher Editora Abril …