Top Items:
Sally Quinn / Washington Post:
Time for accountability at the White House — Now it turns out that there was a third uninvited guest at the White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, this one a member of the Indian delegation. It was enough of a shock that the would-be stars Tareq and Michaele Salahi had crashed.
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The Politico:
Obama: No more ‘finger-pointing’ — President Obama will deliver a stern warning to his appointees at a meeting Tuesday afternoon that he won't tolerate efforts by the CIA, the State Department and others to shift blame for the recent intelligence foul-up to other parts of the government, said spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Reuters, Washington Post, Political Punch, Betsy's Page, Commentary, Wall Street Journal, Online NewsHour, The Note and msnbc.com
Sam Youngman / The Hill:
The FBI got ‘usable, actionable’ intel from terrorism suspect
The FBI got ‘usable, actionable’ intel from terrorism suspect
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
For Obama, terrorism is a four-letter word: Bush
For Obama, terrorism is a four-letter word: Bush
Discussion:
New York Times, The Corner on National …, Dr. Sanity, PrairiePundit, Washington Post and Jihad Watch
Michelle Malkin:
Airline security idiocy of the day: Milblogger Michael Yon handcuffed, Joan Rivers blocked — Milblogger/independent war correspondent extraordinaire Michael Yon reports that he was stopped at Sea-Tac airport and handcuffed by TSA agents: … I've met Michael and have blogged …
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Nancy Dillon / NY Daily News:
Joan Rivers bumped off flight in Costa Rica when Continental gate agent finds passport suspicious — Above, Rivers celebrates the New Year with family and friends in Costa Rica last week. On her return, though, she had a tough time leaving the country because of her ‘suspicious’ passport.
Anill / Think Progress:
Joan Rivers deemed a danger to national security, bumped off Costa Rica flight back to U.S. — The New York Daily News reports that comedian Joan Rivers was among the many travelers to get snared in the heightened-security frenzy that overtook airports after the December 25th failed terrorist attack.
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: Massachusetts Special Senate Election — 2010 Massachusetts Senate: Coakley 50%, Brown 41% — State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.
Discussion:
neo-neocon, Real Clear Politics, The Washington Independent, Jules Crittenden, Politics Daily, FiveThirtyEight, Ben Smith's Blog, HillBuzz, The Corner on National …, Top of the Ticket, Gawker, No More Mister Nice Blog, Open Left, Another Black Conservative, The Daily Dish, Daily Kos, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, Althouse, A Certain Enthusiasm, The Lonely Conservative, Jumping in Pools, Wake up America, Scorecard's Blog, Commentary, Confederate Yankee, PrairiePundit and The Strata-Sphere
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Will Collier:
More Arugula From David Brooks — Today's column by the NY Times' David Brooks is getting a good deal of blogospheric attention. Brooks puts on his familiar “Americans In The Mist” safari hat to once again analyze those strange beings from beyond Manhattan (and the Beltway), and reaches the following conclusion:
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David Brooks / New York Times:
The Tea Party Teens — The United States opens this decade in a sour mood. First, Americans are anxious about the future. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe the country is in decline, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey. Only 27 percent feel confident …
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
OH SNAP! Pelosi On Obama: ‘There Were A Number Of Things He Was For On The Campaign Trail’ — Speaker Nancy Pelosi had little to say this afternoon at a press conference following a meeting between House leaders and health care principals. She and other members acknowledged that a number …
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Florida GOP Chairman Resigns — The resignation of Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer today — a decision that came after weeks of calls for his head from conservatives — raises the question of whether Gov. Charlie Crist's already embattled Senate candidacy has sustained a blow from which it cannot recover.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Why Didn't He Just Blow Himself Up In The Toilet? — A reader asks a very interesting question about the undie-bomber - why did he get back into his seat to detonate a bomb that had a ramshackle detonator and where he could be overcome by fellow travelers? Read the whole email:
WDIV-TV:
Sweatshirt Sparks School Controversy — Hoodie Contains Image Of World Trade Center Towers — DEARBORN, Mich. — About 15 Arab-American students at Edsel Ford High School are in trouble over a sweatshirt they had made over the holiday break. — On the back of the sweatshirt …
Discussion:
Jihad Watch
Michael Kinsley / The Atlantic Online:
Cut This Story! — ONE REASON SEEKERS of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet has nothing directly to do with technology. It's that newspaper articles are too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions …
Patrick Goldstein / Los Angeles Times:
‘Avatar’ arouses conservatives' ire — Conservatives are blind to the 3-D blockbuster's charms. — A Na'vi warrior races into battle on a Thanator, a fearsome panther-like creature native to Pandora. (WETA / Twentieth Century Fox) — It's no secret that “Avatar” has been stunningly successful on nearly every front.
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Steele Doesn't Know If GOP Ready To Lead — RNC chair Michael Steele doesn't think his party can take back the House in '10, and even if they do, he doesn't know if the GOP is ready. — Appearing on Sean Hannity's nationally syndicated show the same day his new book, “Right Now,” …
Discussion:
The Hill, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Raw Story, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, AMERICAblog News, GOP 12, MyDD and Taegan Goddard's …
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Peter Allen / Daily Mail:
France to introduce new law banning ‘psychological violence’ in marriages — France will become the first country in the world to ban ‘psychological violence’ within marriage later this year. — The new law, which would also apply to co-habiting couples, would see people getting criminal records …
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
Examiner:
What the Dems know that we don't: Universal Voter Registration — Many are puzzled that Democrats persist in ramming unpopular and destructive legislation down our collective throats while seemingly unconcerned by their plummeting poll numbers. A widespread belief is that the Democrats …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BRIT HUME SPEAKS, AGAIN.... I didn't intend to return to the subject, but Fox News' Brit Hume spoke to Bill O'Reilly last night about his calls for Tiger Woods to change his religion. At this point, Hume now wants to debate the meaning of the word “proselytize.”
Justin Kitsch / Byron L. Dorgan:
STATEMENT BY U.S. SENATOR BYRON DORGAN — “Representing North Dakota in the U.S. Congress for nearly 30 years has been one of the great privileges of my life. — “The work I have been able to do to expand our economy, create new opportunities in energy and water development …
Drew Zahn / WorldNetDaily:
Glenn Beck on birther issue: 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard' — Claims controversy is political ‘dream come true’ for Obama — On the air today, popular radio host Glenn Beck mocked “birthers” and claimed there is a concerted campaign to get those questioning Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility onto …
Sam Roberts / New York Times:
No Longer Majority Black, Harlem Is in Transition — For nearly a century, Harlem has been synonymous with black urban America. Given its magnetic and growing appeal to younger black professionals and its historic residential enclaves and cultural institutions, the neighborhood's reputation …
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Fincher's fast fundraising — After garnering national attention for his fundraising prowess over the summer, farmer and gospel singer Stephen Fincher isn't letting up on the money front as he vies for the seat of retiring Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.). — The highly touted GOP recruit bested …
Discussion:
The Hill
Wall Street Journal:
Our Incompetent Civilization — Sometimes we have to choose between evils. — Printer — Friendly — When does a civilization become incompetent? I've been mulling the question in a number of contexts over the last year, including our inability to put a stop to Somali piracy …
Discussion:
Democracy in America