Top Items:
Chicago Sun Times:
Details surface of Scott Lee Cohen's 2005 domestric violence arrest — Scott Lee Cohen — a pawnbroker who shocked state Democratic leaders Tuesday night by winning the party's nomination for lieutenant governor — was arrested about four-and-a-half years ago and accused of holding a knife …
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CNN:
Brown sworn in as new senator from Massachusetts — Washington (CNN) — Republican Scott Brown was sworn in Thursday as the new U.S. senator from Massachusetts to fill the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. — His Senate colleagues applauded after the ceremony on the floor …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, Left Coast Rebel, Mudville Gazette, The Lonely Conservative and JammieWearingFool
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CNN:
Brown to take Kennedy's office — Sen.-elect Scott Brown will be sworn in Thursday in Washington. — Washington - After Scott Brown gets sworn in Thursday afternoon, he won't just be taking Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, he will also be taking over his plush office space in the Senate Russell building.
Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
National Prayer Breakfast Draws Controversy — For more than 50 years, the National Prayer Breakfast has served as a prime networking event in Washington, bringing together the president, members of Congress, foreign diplomats and thousands of religious, business and military leaders for scrambled eggs and supplication.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The White House, CNN, Left Coast Rebel, Taylor Marsh, HRC Back Story, The Caucus, The Huffington Post, The Swamp, New York Magazine, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AMERICAblog News, AMERICAblog Gay, Prairie Weather, Washington Monthly, Towleroad News #gay and The Bilerico Project
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Ben Frumin / TPM LiveWire:
Obama Makes Birther Joke At Prayer Breakfast (VIDEO) — At this morning's national prayer breakfast in Washington D.C., President Obama made a birther joke. — Calling once again for a return to civility in politics, the president declared that civility is “not a sign of weakness” …
The Huffington Post:
Obama's Engagement On Health Care Has ‘Dried Up’: Dem Senator — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Despite urging Democratic senators on Wednesday to forge ahead on health care reform, President Obama and his aides have been largely hands-off in guiding the legislative process, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Tough talk comes after Obama exits
Tough talk comes after Obama exits
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wake up America, Stop The ACLU, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, Mother Jones, New York Times, Booman Tribune, TalkLeft, Another Black Conservative, The Swamp, Commentary, Hullabaloo, Ruby Slippers, Wall Street Journal, Wonk Room, Baltimore Sun, Pundit & Pundette and The Plum Line
Jim Treacher / The DC Trawler:
Last night I got hit by a car and broke my knee — Sometime between 7 and 7:30, not long after I got home from work, I walked to the CVS on 22nd and M to get some bread, milk, and a SmartTrip card. I was right across the street from the CVS, and I waited for the crosswalk light to tell me to go before I crossed.
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Chris Wallace on whether Palin will sit on his lap during their interview: ‘One can only hope.’ — This week, former Alaska governor and Fox News contributor Sarah Palin will be on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, in his first Sunday show appearance ever.
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog
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Kristi Keck / CNN:
Fractures emerge as Tea Party convenes
Fractures emerge as Tea Party convenes
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, JammieWearingFool, Nashville Scene, American Power, Needlenose and PERRspectives
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
She's baaack! Sarah Palin launches her next political journey …
She's baaack! Sarah Palin launches her next political journey …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Swamp, THE WEEK News & Opinion and The Note
TPMDC:
Boehner Distances Republicans From Ryan Budget...But He Can't Name A Single Objection — House Republicans are at pains to point out that a far-reaching budget roadmap unveiled by their top budget guy, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), isn't their budget, but when asked today at a press conference …
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Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Poll: Republicans Prefer Having A Deficit With Tax Cuts, Over A Balanced Budget And Higher Taxes — A new Rasmussen poll supplies a very interesting data point in the ongoing debate about the budget deficit: As it turns out, Republican voters would prefer having a deficit if it meant …
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Palin Camp Rips Limbaugh, Hits His “Retard” Comment As “Crude And Demeaning” — Sarah Palin versus Rush Limbaugh! — Palin believes Limbaugh's repeated use of the word “retard” yesterday was “crude and demeaning,” her spokesperson emails. — In the wake of Palin's demand that Rahm Emanuel …
Discussion:
US News, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN, Washington Post, Mediaite, Hot Air, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Liveshots and Ben Smith's Blog
Philip Terzian / Weekly Standard:
Clarence Thomas on Why He Skips the State of the Union — I don't go because it has become so partisan. — One final contribution to the post-mortem on the State of the Union address. — In a question-and-answer session at Stetson University College of Law in Florida this week …
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Justice Defends Ruling on Finance
Justice Defends Ruling on Finance
Discussion:
The BLT, Commentary, Hit & Run, Don Surber, Law Blog, Wizbang, Conventional Folly, Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
On the claimed “war exception” to the Constitution — Last week, I wrote about a revelation buried in a Washington Post article by Dana Priest which described how the Obama administration has adopted the Bush policy of targeting selected American citizens for assassination if they are deemed (by the Executive Branch) to be Terrorists.
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Asian-Americans Lean Left Politically — Asian-Americans more liberal than other racial/ethnic groups — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Daily tracking data reveal that Asian-Americans tend to be more Democratic and much less conservative than the general population in their political views.
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The Note:
Landrieu says Republicans should ‘shut their mouth’ — ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports: Don't mess with Mary Landrieu. — The Democratic Senator from Louisiana has had about enough of people criticizing the clause she helped put into the Senate version of health care reform and she took …
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E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Off-message, Biden recasts the Obama agenda — Vice President Biden is tired of seeing the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan demeaned, derided and dismissed, and he wanted to talk about it. — But a funny thing happened in the course of an interview at Biden's White House office on Tuesday afternoon.
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
AMERICAN GREATNESS LIBERALISM.... One of the more robust applause lines …
AMERICAN GREATNESS LIBERALISM.... One of the more robust applause lines …
Discussion:
democracyarsenal.org
Steve Krakauer / Mediaite:
NBC Cafeteria Celebrates Black History Month With Fried Chicken Special (Update) — So who at NBC thought it would be a good idea for the special today to be, among other things, fried chicken, “in honor of Black History Month”? — Because, spoiler alert - it wasn't a good idea at all.
Joan E. Darrah / CNN:
My secret life under 'don't ask, don't tell' — Editor's note: Retired Navy Capt. Joan E. Darrah served 29½ years as a naval intelligence officer and was chief of staff and deputy commander at the Office of Naval Intelligence. She has received several awards: three Legion of Merits …
Ariane De Vogue / ABCNEWS:
Obama Prepares for 2 Supreme Vacancies — SCOTUS Watchers Believe Justices Stevens and Ginsburg Could Decide to Step Aside — Lawyers for President Obama have been working behind the scenes to prepare for the possibility of one, and maybe two Supreme Court vacancies this spring.
Megan McArdle:
How Unions Work — In a valiant attempt to defuse the ideological conflicts between the reformist and traditionalist wings of the liberal education wonketariat, Matthew Yglesias argues that this disagreement is not not ideological at all. Rather, it is an artifact of past decisions about educational structure:
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
James Hohmann / The Politico:
Pelosi may wait on 'Don't Ask' vote — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested Thursday that Democrats may wait on voting to repeal the ban on gays in the military until after the midterm elections and after the Pentagon has completed a full review of its “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy.
Dick Brass / New York Times:
Microsoft's Creative Destruction — AS they marvel at Apple's new iPad tablet computer, the technorati seem to be focusing on where this leaves Amazon's popular e-book business. But the much more important question is why Microsoft, America's most famous and prosperous technology company …