Top Items:
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 …
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Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
In shocker, Dorgan announces retirement — Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced this evening that he's retiring at the end of his term, a shocking development that threatens Democratic control of his Senate seat next year. — Dorgan was up for re-election in 2010, but the third-term senator …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Dorgan to retire — North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan will not run for re-election later this year, creating a major pickup opportunity for Republicans. — “After a lot of thought I have made the very difficult decision that I will not be seeking reelection in 2010, ” …
On Politics:
North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan to retire — Sen. Byron Dorgan, a 18-year veteran Democrat, dropped a late-day bombshell, announcing he will retire when his term ends this year. Dorgan's announcement represents an opportunity for Republicans: North Dakota is a Republican-leaning state …
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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The Hill:
Pelosi tells C-SPAN: ‘There has never been a more open process’ — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended Congress' work on a healthcare bill Tuesday saying the process has displayed historic transparency, just as C-SPAN mounts an effort to open the negotiations.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Wizbang, Stop The ACLU, Sister Toldjah and Betsy's Page
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Ritter Dropping Out in Colorado — A source tells Political Wire that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is ending his re-election campaign. A fundraiser scheduled for tonight was canceled and all campaign staff was sent home in the middle of the day. — The decision does not appear …
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Colorado Governor Ritter to retire — Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) will not seek a second term this fall, according to Democratic sources briefed on his decision. — Ritter, elected in a landslide in 2006, had seen his political fate dip considerably in the intervening years …
The Note:
Democrats are Dropping Like Flies — ABC News' David Chalian Reports: Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado, who was in for a tough reelection fight this year, canceled a scheduled fundraiser this evening and has decided not to seek reelection, according to Democratic sources familiar with the governor's plans.
Discussion:
Scorecard's Blog
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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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
Fox News:
U.S. to Suspend Gitmo Detainee Transfers to Yemen
U.S. to Suspend Gitmo Detainee Transfers to Yemen
Discussion:
Center for Constitutional …, The Jawa Report, And So it Goes in Shreveport, TalkLeft and Wizbang
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 …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Newshoggers.com, Outside The Beltway, QandO and The Lonely Conservative
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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.
Nancy Dillon / NY Daily News:
Joan Rivers bumped off flight in Costa Rica when Continental gate …
Joan Rivers bumped off flight in Costa Rica when Continental gate …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Gothamist, QandO, Atlas Shrugs, The Jawa Report, Moonbattery and JammieWearingFool
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 …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, The Huffington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Connecting.the.Dots, CNN, The TrogloPundit, Glenn Beck, Pundit & Pundette, WillCollier.com, The Corner on National …, PERRspectives, New Mexico Independent, Conservatives4Palin.com, Commentary, The Reaction, Hit & Run, EconLog, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice and Michelle Malkin
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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:
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 …
Discussion:
ATTACKERMAN, Guardian, Felix Salmon, Outside The Beltway, Riehl World View, Ezra Klein and Hullabaloo
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 …
Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
Palin: It's War, not a Crime Spree — A strong statement from the People's Governor:
Discussion:
HillBuzz
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 …
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:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Real Clear Politics, neo-neocon, Talking Points Memo, The Fix, HillBuzz, YID With LID, The Washington Independent, A Certain Enthusiasm, Gawker, Swing State Project, The Corner on National …, Open Left, Politics Daily, The Daily Dish, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, Althouse, Jules Crittenden, FiveThirtyEight, Erick's blog, Jumping in Pools, PoliBlog, Instapundit, Ben Smith's Blog, POWIP, Top of the Ticket, The Natural Truth, The Lonely Conservative, AmSpecBlog, Another Black Conservative, MyDD, PrairiePundit and Commentary
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.
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 …