Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Cites ‘Systemic Failure’ in U.S. Security — HONOLULU - President Obama on Tuesday blamed a “systemic failure” in the nation's security apparatus for the attempted bombing of a passenger jet on Christmas Day and vowed to identify the problems and “deal with them immediately.”
RELATED:
Armen Keteyian / CBS News:
U.S. Intel Lapses Helped Abdulmutallab — CBS News Exclusive: CIA Had Info on Person of Interest Dubbed “The Nigerian” in August But Officials Failed to Connect Dots — (CBS) CBS News has learned that as early as August of 2009 the Central Intelligence Agency was picking up information …
Washington Times:
Awlaki personally blessed Detroit attack — The Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner had his suicide mission personally blessed in Yemen by Anwar al-Awlaki, the same Muslim imam suspected of radicalizing the Fort Hood shooting suspect, a U.S. intelligence source has told The Washington Times.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weekly Standard, The Long War Journal, American Power and The Corner on National …
Wall Street Journal:
Obama Slams Security Breach — ‘Catastrophic’ Lapse Enabled Bomb Try; Father Told CIA of Suspect's Radicalization — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said a “potential catastrophic breach” allowed the alleged Christmas Day bomber to set his attack into motion, as it emerged …
Discussion:
Commentary
Chuck Bennett / New York Post:Ex-Gitmo goons did it! — Freed Qaeda creeps hatched undie-cover plan …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Rove granted divorce in Texas — Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, has been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage, a family spokesperson said. — Dana Perino, the spokesperson, said: “Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week.
Discussion:
Salon, Liberal Values, Political Byline, Raw Story, Newsweek Blogs, The Impolitic, Wonkette, The Daily Dish, TPM LiveWire and Shakesville
RELATED:
Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:
Karl Rove and His Wife Have Divorced — Karl Rove, the political mastermind for former President George W. Bush, and his wife, Darby, have divorced after 24 years of marriage. — A family spokeswoman, the former White House press secretary Dana Perino, said in a statement: “Karl Rove and his wife …
Discussion:
Truthdig
Avi Zenilman / The Plum Line:
Skittish Democrats Refuse To Defend Obama On National Security — Are Democrats so cowed by Republican attacks on Obama's foreign policy that they're unwilling to defend him? — It's now been five days since the attempted bombing of Flight 253 in Detroit, and Congressional Democrats …
Discussion:
CNN, Pajamas Media, The Anchoress, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, The Swamp, Talking Points Memo, ATTACKERMAN and Raw Story
RELATED:
The Grand Rapids / MLive.com:Complete text of U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra's fundraising letter sent …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Fix, Think Progress, Stop The ACLU, democracyarsenal.org, Top of the Ticket, TPMDC and Associated Press
Deborah Solomon / New York Times:
Power of Attorney — Your new book, “Crisis and Command,” is an eloquent, fact-laden history of audacious power grabs by American presidents going back to George Washington. Which president would you say most violated laws enacted by Congress? — I would say Lincoln.
Discussion:
FP Passport, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Ezra Klein, Truthdig, Gawker, Main Justice, The Washington Independent and The BLT
Politiken.dk News in English:
Obama greater than Jesus — The U.S. president - the practical saviour of our times — He is provocative in insisting on an outstretched hand, where others only see animosity. — His tangible results in the short time that he has been active - are few and far between.
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Republican calls on Napolitano to resign — Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) on Tuesday became the first lawmaker to call on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to resign after the recent attempted airline bombing. — The veteran member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called …
RELATED:
Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
Move Your Money: A New Year's Resolution — Last week, over a pre-Christmas dinner, the two of us, along with political strategist Alexis McGill, filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki, and Nick Penniman of the HuffPost Investigative Fund, began talking about the huge, growing chasm between …
Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
Medicare vs. Medicaid: A Stark Warning About Having States Execute Reform — Political map of the United States, ca. 2002 (source: Univ. of Texas at Austin) — The Social Security Act of 1965 created two public insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid. One proved to be a big success, and the other, not so much.
Discussion:
American Power
Ezra Klein:
Attacking the excise tax — and cost control — Bob Herbert's column today isn't so much a good argument against the excise tax as it is an example of why cost control will be virtually impossible, and thus national bankruptcy — a real decrease in wages — is a near-certainty.
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2012: Nebraska Senate — Health Care Vote Puts Nelson 30 Points Down in Reelection Bid — The good news for Senator Ben Nelson is that he doesn't have to face Nebraska voters until 2012. — If Governor Dave Heineman challenges Nelson for the Senate job, a new Rasmussen Reports …
Blue Texan / Firedoglake:
Terrorism Still Less Deadly in US Than Lack of Health Insurance, Salmonella — Since we still seem to be having a national freakout over some loser who got on a plane with a bomb in his underwear, which was apparently worthy of a presidential address, it might be a good idea to put …
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Published Document States Khamenei Is Planning to Escape to Russia ...Update: Khamenei's Jet Put on Standby — A letter published on the Iranian websites claims that Ayatollah Khamenei is planning a possible escape to Russia. — There were rumors floating around yesterday that Ayatollah Khamenei was preparing to flee Iran.
Discussion:
Planet-Iran.com, rnw.nl, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Hot Air, The Jawa Report and Weasel Zippers
Reuters:
U.S. plane bomber wanted to study sharia in Yemen — ABUJA (Reuters) - A Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a U.S. airliner told his parents he wanted to study Islamic sharia law in Yemen shortly before cutting off contact with them, the Nigerian government said on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Jewish Internet Defense Force
Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
Ten Things to Watch in the Health-Care Reform Conference — It's not just about abortion and the public option. Every decision Congress faces while merging the Senate and House health bills will give it the opportunity to make reform better. — Schoolhouse Rock undersold the excruciating difficulty involved in making a bill a law.
Discussion:
Democratic Strategist, Open Left, PERRspectives, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake and CNN
Steve Rosenthal / The Politico:
Five steps to recovery for Dems — You wouldn't know it by listening to many Democrats, but the last time I checked, the party still controls the White House, the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and 26 governor's offices across the country. And while they could be heading …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Marriage In Malawi — These two heroes - one dressed as a bride - got married knowing the legal consequences: … It's almost certainly a response to the global marriage movement for gays that has begun to alter consciousness even in places like Malawi. But same-sex marriage …
Discussion:
Reuters
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
