Top Items:
ABCNEWS:
'Underwear Bomber's' Alarming Last Phone Call — Abdulmutallab Called His Father to Say It Would Be Their Last Contact — The accused “underwear bomber” made a dramatic final call to his father that he found so alarming, the father approached Nigerian officials who took him directly …
RELATED:
Spencer Ackerman / The Washington Independent:
Is This Really an Intelligence Failure? Real Talk on Abdulmutallab — In an appearance on “Democracy Now!” yesterday morning to discuss Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, I made the point that Abdulmutallab's ability to board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 demonstrates a policy failure more than an intelligence failure.
Patrick Gavin / The Politico:
DIVERSE REACTIONS TO LIMBAUGH — As news broke Wednesday night of radio show host Rush Limbaugh's hospital visit due to chest pains, many of his political counterparts on the left put down their ideological swords and wished him well on Twitter. — “All best wishes to Mr. Limbaugh tonight …
Discussion:
RADAR, OpEdNews, The Reaction, PERRspectives, NewsBusters.org, Raw Story, The Radio Equalizer, Riehl World View and New York Times
RELATED:
Anill / Think Progress:
Limbaugh Rushed To Honolulu Hospital That Gave Rise To ‘Birther’ Conspiracy — Conservative radio shock jock Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a Honolulu hospital yesterday with chest pains. After paramedics arrived and treated him at the Kahala Hotel and Resort, Limbaugh was transferred …
Sarah Netter / ABCNEWS:
Rush Limbaugh Undergoing Tests at Hospital
Rush Limbaugh Undergoing Tests at Hospital
Discussion:
The Reaction, The Huffington Post, Nice Deb, FishBowlDC, snooperreport.com and Atlas Shrugs
Bill Shireman / The Huffington Post:
Get Well, Mr. Limbaugh, But Don't Rush Back — The talk show host …
Get Well, Mr. Limbaugh, But Don't Rush Back — The talk show host …
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
“I hope he dies.” — I'm impressed that it took 12 comments …
“I hope he dies.” — I'm impressed that it took 12 comments …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, BizzyBlog, American Power, Ben Smith's Blog, Hullabaloo, KHVO and Whiskey Fire
Click2Houston.com:
Rocket Launcher Found In Apartment — No Charges Filed — HOUSTON — Police went to a southwest Houston apartment to break up a disturbance but ended up finding something else, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday. — A woman called police on Monday and said a man was forcing his way into her apartment in the 5300 block of Elm Street.
RELATED:
Robert / Jihad Watch:
Houston: Rocket launcher, jihadist writings found in apartment — no charges filed — Rocket launcher? Check. Jihadist writings? Check. But no worries — the Feds found no ties to terrorism! — Keystone Kops Alert from Houston: “Rocket Launcher Found In Apartment: No Charges Filed …
The Huffington Post:
DCCC Chair: GOP Opposition To National Security Funds Will Be Issue In 2010 — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Democratic leadership in Congress is pledging to make Republican votes against key national security and defense funding measures a feature in the upcoming congressional elections …
RELATED:
The Prowler / American Spectator:
The Politics of Incompetence
The Politics of Incompetence
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack, Verum Serum, Nice Deb, Politics Daily, Israel Matzav, QandO, Wizbang, Neptunus Lex, snooperreport.com and New York Times
Mark Hemingway / Washington Examiner:
White House takes four days to respond to terror attack …
White House takes four days to respond to terror attack …
Discussion:
The Hill, Don Surber, Gateway Pundit, Right Wing Nut House, Commentary, National Review Online and TPMDC
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
PFEIFFER MAKES IT PLAIN.... It's understandable that the White House …
PFEIFFER MAKES IT PLAIN.... It's understandable that the White House …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
David Freddoso / Washington Examiner:
White House: Cheney insufficiently critical of terrorists
White House: Cheney insufficiently critical of terrorists
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, Another Black Conservative and White House.gov Blog Feed
Rasmussen Reports:
58% Favor Waterboarding of Plane Terrorist To Get Information — Fifty-eight percent (58%) of U.S. voters say waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques should be used to gain information from the terrorist who attempted to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day.
John Cole / Balloon Juice:
A Thing of Beauty — This Chris Matthews quote is a Palinesque work of art: … Yes, Gerald. I hope you and your loved ones have a Happy New Year, even though we live under the grave threat of KUNG FU FIGHTING TERRORISTS!
RELATED:
msnbc.com:
‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’ for Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 — Guests: Matt Nesto, Gerald Posner, Michael Duffy, Steve Kornacki, Jonathan Martin, — CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Troll man. — Let's play HARDBALL. — Good evening. I'm Chris Matthews in New York. Leading off tonight:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Bill Roggio / Weekly Standard:
Did The Obama Administration Violate An Executive Order By Releasing Qais Qazali? — Did the Obama administration, by releasing Qais and Laith Qazali and more than 100 members of the Iranian-backed Asaib al Haq, violate an executive order put in place by President Ronald Reagan to prevent negotiations with hostage takers?
RELATED:
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Dem recruits continue to head for exits — Democrats have lost yet another touted recruit, this time in Kansas. — State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) just announced her withdrawal from the race to face Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.). She becomes the fifth formidable recruit to bow out in recent weeks.
CNN:
'Sent from the candidate's BlackBerry.' Really? — (CNN) - A mass e-mail was sent on Tuesday from Carly Fiorina's senatorial campaign, appearing to not only come from the candidate herself, but from her personal BlackBerry. — While most campaigns send e-mails appearing to be written from the candidate …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Micah L. Sifry / techPresident:
The Obama Disconnect: What Happens When Myth Meets Reality — “Collectively all of you, most of you whom are, I'm not sure, of drinking age, you've created the best political organization in America, and probably the best political organization that we've seen in the last 30, 40 years.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Tom Watson, The Confluence, Taylor Marsh, AMERICAblog News and Newshoggers.com
Eileen Sullivan / Associated Press:
TSA subpoenas bloggers, demands names of sources — Buzz up! — WASHINGTON - As the government reviews how an alleged terrorist was able to bring a bomb onto a U.S.-bound plane and try to blow it up on Christmas Day, the Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Pajamas Media, GayPatriot, The Huffington Post, Boing Boing, unbossed.com, Hit & Run, Outside The Beltway, At-Largely, Atlas Shrugs, Threat Level, Raw Story, YID With LID, elliott.org, snooperreport.com, BLACKFIVE, Boarding Area, PoliBlog, Investor's Business Daily and Fausta's Blog
RELATED:
Justin Elliott / TPM LiveWire:
The End Of TheConservatives.Com: Wash Times Cancels Site — TheConservatives.com, the Washington Times Web project that was billed as an ambitious “multiplatform” venture to allow “the Joe the Plumbers of the world to speak up to major thinkers, like Newt Gingrich,” has gone silent.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Comic Book Adaptation of the Decade — We had a lot of comic book adaptions in the zeros, and the best of them, contrary to what you might have heard, is Iron Man. I promise you that this is a better movie than The Dark Knight. Go back and watch them again if you don't believe me.
Del Quentin Wilber / Washington Post:
Judge dismisses all charges in Blackwater shooting — A federal judge on Thursday threw out charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing 14 people in a 2007 shooting in downtown Baghdad. — In a 90-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ruled …
Fouad Ajami / Wall Street Journal:
A Cold-Blooded Foreign Policy — No despot fears the president, and no demonstrator in Tehran expects him to ride to the rescue. — Printer — Friendly — With year one drawing to a close, the truth of the Obama presidency is laid bare: retrenchment abroad, and redistribution and the intrusive regulatory state at home.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
What Might Have Been — Looking back over a decade that was pretty great for China, India, much of Eastern and Central Europe, Brazil, and some parts of Africa but bad for the United States, it really is sobering to reflect on how contingent it all was. — As you know, I'm a firm believer …
Discussion:
Dave Weigel