Top Items:
Terri Cullen / Reuters:
Backdoor taxes to hit middle class — NEW YORK (Reuters.com) —The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
Discussion:
Media Decoder, Left Coast Rebel, Hyscience, Liberal Values, Outside The Beltway and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
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Gillian Reagan / The Wire:
Reuters Withdraws ‘Backdoor Taxes To Hit Middle Class’ Story Linked By Drudge Report — The lead story at DrudgeReport.com as of 11:30 a.m. this morning was “**REUTERS: Backdoor taxes to hit middle class.” But Reuters withdrew the article last night. Drudge noted the change and wrote …
Discussion:
YID With LID, Left Coast Rebel, Big Journalism, Reuters, Bob McCarty Writes, Washington Post, theblogprof, Washington Times and Raw Story
Christina Bellantoni / TPM LiveWire:
White House Gets Reuters To Pull Budget Story — Obama administration aides appealed to the Reuters White House reporting team to kill a story by another reporter of the news service that suggested the president's new budget blueprint included “backdoor” tax hikes.
Discussion:
Gawker
Sarah Palin / USA Today:
Why I'm speaking at Tea Party convention — Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement. I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility.
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Kos / Daily Kos:
The 2010 Comprehensive Daily Kos/Research 2000 Poll of Self-Identified Republicans — As I've mentioned before, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic world.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, Ezra Klein, The TrogloPundit, TPMDC, CANNONFIRE, Winds of Change.NET, The Moderate Voice, Feministe, Left Coast Rebel, NewsBusters.org, Little Green Footballs, race42008.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politics Daily, Conservatives4Palin.com, Progressive Fix, Discourse.net, The Washington Independent, Economist's View, Swampland, msnbc.com, 24Ahead, Liberal Values, The Impolitic and Althouse
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Reid: Senate can't pass reconciliation first, decision hopefully by next week — Emerging from a meeting Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes Democrats can decide by next week on a way to move the health care bill forward.
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Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Intelligence officials warn new attacks are ‘certain’ — The nation's top intelligence officials warned Congress on Tuesday that terrorists are “certain” to attempt another attack on the U.S. within the coming months. — CIA Director Leon Panetta said the foremost risk …
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Top Defense Officials Seek to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — WASHINGTON — The nation's top two Defense officials called for an end on Tuesday to the 16-year-old “don't ask, don't tell” law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.
Discussion:
The Politico, Firedoglake, CBS News, The Hill, The Note, Room for Debate, democracyarsenal.org, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Raw Story, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Washington Monthly, Law Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Indecision Forever, TPM LiveWire, INSTAPUTZ, ACS Blog, Shakesville, Boing Boing, Towleroad News #gay, Unqualified Offerings and SENATUS
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Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
McCain appears to shift on 'don't ask, don't tell' — Three years ago, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was pretty clear about his stand on the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy. — A former war hero, McCain said he would support ending the ban once the military's top brass told him that they agreed with the change.
Rahm Apologizes / Political Punch:
Rahm Apologizes for Privately Calling Liberal Activists “Retarded” — Paulson: I Was Afraid McCain Would Change Mind and Go Against TARP — Brennan: All Transferred Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism Were Released by Bush, No Recidivism for Those Released by Obama
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Emanuel apologized for ‘retarded’ remark — A White House official emails that Rahm Emanuel has acknowledged calling liberal Democrats “retarded” and apologized for the remark. — “Rahm called Tim Shriver Wednesday to apologize and the apology was accepted,” the official said.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Washington Post, Power Line, NewsReal Blog, theblogprof, RedState, Facebook, Confederate Yankee, Another Black Conservative, Politics Daily, Latest Open Salon Blog, CNN, Flopping Aces, Jezebel, Blue Crab Boulevard, Raw Story, Gawker, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Gateway Pundit and The Plum Line
ABCNEWS:
Exclusive: The Jenny Sanford Interview — S.C. First Lady Tells Barbara Walters: ‘I Thought He Loved Me in His Own Way, Which Is Not a Warm, Bubbly Way’ — South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford recalls how she made the “leap of faith” to marry husband Gov. Mark Sanford even though …
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Blanche Lincoln Poll — John Boozman will enter the Arkansas Senate race this weekend as the frontrunner. He leads incumbent Blanche Lincoln by an amazing 56-33 margin in our first poll of the race. — Lincoln's approval rating has sunk to just 27%, with 62% of voters in the state disapproving of her.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Futile Struggle Against Free Content — David Goldman writes about falling music sales: … Music industry executives can tell themselves that as long as they want. But under conditions of perfect competition, the price of a song ought to be equal to the marginal cost of distributing a new copy of a song.
Discussion:
Conventional Folly
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David Goldman / CNNMoney.com:
Music's lost decade: Sales cut in half
Music's lost decade: Sales cut in half
Discussion:
The Atlantic Business Channel
Ezra Klein:
Rep. Paul Ryan's daring budget proposal — The White House's 2011 budget is only the second-most interesting budget proposal released recently. First prize goes to Congressman Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, who's released a budget proposal that actually erases the massive long-term deficit.
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Paul Ryan's Budget Alternative: Massive Rationing
Paul Ryan's Budget Alternative: Massive Rationing
Discussion:
The League of Ordinary …
Sewell Chan / New York Times:
Dodd Calls Obama Plan Too Grand — WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee warned on Tuesday that the Obama administration's new proposals to rein in Wall Street firms ran the risk of derailing months of delicate negotiations over overhauling financial regulations.
Discussion:
The Big Picture
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Limbaugh ‘thanks God every day’ for Obama's political problems — Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said that he “thank[s] God every day” for the political difficulties facing President Barack Obama. — Limbaugh told Fox News in an interview to air on “Fox and Friends” …
David Streitfeld / New York Times:
No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away — In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach. By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid. Or maybe 2040. — “People like me are beginning to feel like suckers,” Mr. Koellmann said.
National Post:
N.L. Premier Williams set to have heart surgery in U.S. — ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States. — Deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale confirmed the treatment at a news conference Tuesday …
Discussion:
Big Government, The TrogloPundit, Hot Air, American Power, The Foundry, Flopping Aces, Hyscience, Fausta's Blog, The Jawa Report and CBC News
Sally Jenkins / Washington Post:
Tebow's Super Bowl ad isn't intolerant; its critics are — I'll spit this out quick, before the armies of feminism try to gag me and strap electrodes to my forehead: Tim Tebow is one of the better things to happen to young women in some time. I realize this stance won't endear me to the …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, The Other McCain, NewsBusters.org, Jezebel, Hot Air, Wizbang, Feministe, Betsy's Page, RedState and Stop The ACLU
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Shoe bomber was read Miranda rights — Republicans may have a hard time keeping up their talking point about how reading Miranda rights to the Christmas Day bomber represented a dangerous new direction under President Barack Obama. — It turns out that that back in December 2001 …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, JustOneMinute, Washington Monthly, Newsweek Blogs and Ben Smith's Blog
Mary Pilon / Wall Street Journal:
What's a Degree Really Worth? — A college education may not be worth as much as you think. — For years, higher education was touted as a safe path to professional and financial success. Easy money, in the form of student loans, flowed to help parents and students finance degrees …
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Obama takes another dig at Las Vegas — President Barack Obama on Tuesday took another dig at Las Vegas at his New Hampshire town hall Tuesday after similar remarks got him into hot water last year. — Obama said that people should now “blow a bunch of cash in Vegas” during a tough recession.
David Rogers / The Politico:
Murtha in intensive care — Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha was in intensive care at a Virginia hospital Tuesday because of serious complications related to gall bladder surgery last week. — Murtha's congressional office confirmed that he underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery to remove …
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Nervous Dems Go On Polling Spree — Dems facing a difficult political terrain next year began polling their districts early to survey a tumultuous political landscape, according to reports filed with the FEC. — At least 14 potentially vulnerable Dems commissioned polls in the last 3 months of '09 …
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Kim Jong-il's regime is even weirder and more despicable than you thought. — Visiting North Korea some years ago, I was lucky to have a fairly genial “minder” whom I'll call Mr. Chae. He guided me patiently around the ruined and starving country, explaining things away by means of a sort …
Discussion:
NewsReal Blog