Top Items:
James Fallows:
In praise of George W. Bush — Since the results of the 2008 election became clear, the 43rd President of the United States has behaved in a way that brings honor to him, his family, his office, and his country. By all reports he did what he could to smooth the transition to his successor …
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The Politico:
Cheney slams Obama for projecting ‘weakness’ — MCLEAN, Va. — On the eve of the unveiling of the nation's new Afghanistan policy, former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Barack Obama for projecting “weakness” to adversaries and warned that more workaday Afghans will side …
Discussion:
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New York Times:
Pullout From Afghanistan to Begin in 2011, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to announce Tuesday night that he will begin to transition American forces out of Afghanistan beginning in July 2011, setting the first time frame to wind down the war there nearly a decade …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, CNN, Washington Post, TPMDC, The Corner on National …, TPMMuckraker, The Politico, VetVoice, NO QUARTER, Michael Calderone's Blog, Left Coast Rebel, Guardian, Commentary, Boston Globe, Newsweek Blogs, Hot Air, democracyarsenal.org, Vanity Fair, About.com Conservative …, The Huffington Post, TPM LiveWire, At War, The Caucus, Think Progress, Associated Press, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Swampland, Erick's blog, Ben Smith's Blog, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather, Politics Daily, RedState, Cato @ Liberty, Michelle Malkin, Neptunus Lex, Wall Street Journal and The Foundry
CNN:
Just In: Key Obama speech excerpts released — (CNN) - The White House just released excerpts of President Obama's prime-time televised speech where he will outline his strategy on Afghanistan.
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David Stout / New York Times:
Obama Calls War ‘Vital’ to U.S. Security — WASHINGTON — President Obama announced Tuesday night that he will begin to draw American forces out of Afghanistan in July 2011, even after sending some 30,000 more United States troops there by mid-2010 because “it is in our vital national interest” …
Spencer Ackerman / The Washington Independent:McChrystal Praises Obama, Strategy Review
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
CNN:Obama wants Afghan war over in 3 years, officials say
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Political Punch, Taylor Marsh, BuzzFlash.org, Ben Smith's Blog, The New Republic, MyDD and Afghanistan Crossroads
Associated Press:
UK climate scientist to temporarily step down — LONDON — Britain's University of East Anglia says the director of its prestigious Climatic Research Unit is stepping down pending an investigation into allegations that he overstated the case for man-made climate change.
Discussion:
The Paper Trail, Commentary, EU Referendum, Climate Progress, The Jawa Report, NewsBusters.org and Doug Ross
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Douglas J. Keenan / Pajamas Media:The Fraud Is Everywhere: SUNY Albany and Queens University Belfast …
John Tierney / New York Times:E-Mail Fracas Shows Peril of Trying to Spin Science
Discussion:
The New Republic, Dot Earth, Hot Air, Big Government, Pajamas Media, Stop The ACLU and NewsBusters.org
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Leaving the Right — It's an odd formulation in some ways as “the right” is not really a single entity. But in so far as it means the dominant mode of discourse among the institutions and blogs and magazines and newspapers and journals that support the GOP, Charles Johnson is absolutely right …
Discussion:
Joe. My. God.
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Little Green Footballs:
Why I Parted Ways With The Right — 1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.) — 2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, The Other McCain, Washington Monthly, Saberpoint, ChattahBox News Blog, Another Black Conservative, Crooks and Liars, Liberal Values, Left Coast Rebel, AMERICAblog News, DaTechguy's Blog, Harry's Place, TigerHawk, Right Wing Nut House, Dennis the Peasant, Jihad Watch, The Strata-Sphere, At-Largely and Riehl World View
John Cook / Gawker:
A Bravo Contract Delivered White House Gatecrashers to the Today Show — NBC News didn't pay the Salahis for their exclusive Today appearance this morning. They didn't have to: According to rival bookers trying to land the Salahis, they already have a contract with Bravo preventing them from talking to anyone else.
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Media Relations / SPD Blotter:
Officer involved shooting in South Seattle — At approximately 2:43 a.m. today, a uniformed patrol officer came upon a suspicious vehicle in the 4400 block of South Kenyon Street. The vehicle, an Acura Integra, was unoccupied. The engine was running and the hood was up.
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Alice Schroeder / Bloomberg:
Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public: Alice Schroeder — Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — “I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol.
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Ben Nelson to offer Stupak-like amendment — Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a key swing vote, plans to offer an amendment that would impose Stupak-like restrictions on abortion under the Senate health care bill. — The amendment would mirror language authored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) …
Discussion:
The Page
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Bob / Capitol Ideas with John L. Micek:
The Worst Kind Of Scheduling Conflict. — President Barack Obama ... ... is slated to deliver a prime-time address on Tuesday night in which he'll lay out his plans for the American war in Afghanistan. — The address before the United States Military Academy at West Point on Tuesday night …
Max Blumenthal / Mondoweiss:
Gutsy progressive congressman Alan Grayson leads a double life — Since defeating an incumbent in Florida's Republican-heavy 8th congressional district last year, Rep. Alan Grayson has emerged as one of the progressive movement's most vocal champions. His attacks on Republican obstruction …
Jeannie Kever / Houston Chronicle:
Some toy drives check immigration status — They don't claim to know who's been naughty or nice, but some Houston charities are asking whether children are in the country legally before giving them toys. — In a year when more families than ever have asked for help, several programs …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, 24Ahead, Newshoggers.com, Wonk Room, Immigration Chronicles and Joe. My. God.
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Christopher Soghoian / slight paranoia:
8 Million Reasons for Real Surveillance Oversight — Disclaimer: The information presented here has been gathered and analyzed in my capacity as a graduate student at Indiana University. This data was gathered and analyzed on my own time, without using federal government resources.
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Palin blasts media for bus tour stories — Sarah Palin fired back at the media today for a series of stories on her travel arrangements. — Over the last few days, several outlets have picked up on the story that Palin actually flew to some of the stops on her “bus tour.” (Here, here, and here, for example.)
Derek / pipeline.corante.com:
Climategate and Scientific Conduct — Everyone has heard about the “Climategate” scandal by now. Someone leaked hundreds of megabytes of information from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, and the material (which appears to be authentic) is most interesting.
Gary Fields / Wall Street Journal:
Job Cuts Loom as Stimulus Fades — WASHINGTON—Highway-construction companies around the country, having completed the mostly small projects paid for by the federal economic-stimulus package, are starting to see their business run aground, an ominous sign for the nation's weak employment picture.
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Grassley: 'I've lived off the public tit' as a congressman. — On C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was asked if he thought the health care reform bill before the Senate amounted to socialism. “No,” Grassley said, but he then attacked the public option aspect of the bill, calling it “socialism.”
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Threat of reconciliation hovers over centrist Democrats on healthcare — Talk about using budget reconciliation to pass healthcare reform in the Senate has faded from public view, but Democratic leaders continue to hang the threat over centrists in private.
The Note:
MoveOn Mobilizes Against Obama on Afghanistan — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: The liberal drumbeat against President Obama's new Afghanistan policy is about to get a whole lot louder. — MoveOn.org, the liberal advocacy group that claims 5 million members, today sent an e-mail blast urging members …
Richard S. Lindzen / Wall Street Journal:
The Climate Science Isn't Settled — Confident predictions of catastrophe are unwarranted. — Printer — Friendly — Is there a reason to be alarmed by the prospect of global warming? Consider that the measurement used, the globally averaged temperature anomaly (GATA), is always changing.
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