Top Items:
CBS News:
Robert Gibbs Scrawls Notes on Hand, Mocking Sarah Palin (Video) — Posted by Brian Montopoli Following President Obama's surprise appearance at the White House press briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs garnered laughter from the press corps by holding up his hand to reveal that he had written notes on his palm in black marker.
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obama Rebukes Boehner In Testy Exchange, Charges GOP Wants To Kill All His Initiatives — Update: White House press sec Robert Gibbs just got in touch to confirm that there was an exchange and to clarify a key point. His comments are below. — At the private White House meeting today between Obama …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:
EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Palin's debut as a motivational speaker: Houston attendees rate her a ‘Fail’ — After her Tea Party Convention speech this weekend, Sarah Palin flew to Houston to continue campaigning for herself. The news focused on her appearance at a Rick Perry rally …
Punkin / Media Matters for America:
Palin headlines birther conference; press pretends not to notice
Palin headlines birther conference; press pretends not to notice
Alan Schroeder / The Huffington Post: Sarah Palin's Tea Party Speech: Beneath Her Wrath A Troubling Contradiction Lurks
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Robert Gibbs Goes Dane Cook: Steals Jokes from Sarah Palin to Make Fun of Her
Robert Gibbs Goes Dane Cook: Steals Jokes from Sarah Palin to Make Fun of Her
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
New York Senate Expels Monserrate Over Assault — ALBANY — The State Senate on Tuesday expelled a senator convicted of domestic assault, the first time in nearly a century that the Legislature has forced a member from office. — The Senate voted 53-to-8 to immediately oust the senator …
Discussion:
Capitol Confidential, Gothamist, Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay, New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice and Whiskey Fire
RELATED:
NY Daily News:
State Senate votes to boot Sen. Hiram Monserrate, citing his misdemeanor assault conviction — ALBANY - Embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate was ousted from his seat Tuesday night by colleagues who say his conviction for misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend brought shame on the chamber.
New York Times:
In Albany, a Rumor of a Rumor Catches Fire — Albany — long a place of scandal, the rumor of scandal and the echoing talk about the rumor of scandal — has had a week a bit unlike any other. Newspapers, blogs, reputable outfits and fringe gossip sites have worked themselves into a frenzy …
RELATED:
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
Paterson pens J'accuse letter to Times editor — David Paterson's Secretary Lawrence Schwartz has just sent a pretty extraordinary letter to Clark Hoyt, public editor of the New York Times, essentially accusing the paper of doing nothing to counter the firestorm of speculation over its highly anticipated profile of him.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Defiant Paterson reports on Times interview: ‘No such questions’
Defiant Paterson reports on Times interview: ‘No such questions’
Discussion:
Gothamist
Washington Post:
In poll, Republicans gaining political ground on Obama — Republicans have significantly narrowed the gap with Democrats on who is trusted to deal with the country's problems and have sharply reduced several of President Obama's main political advantages, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Discussion:
The Fix, Top of the Ticket, ABCNEWS, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill, Prairie Weather and National Review Online
RELATED:
Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
New Wind Farms in the U.S. Have Not Led to Jobs — Millions Have Been Invested in Wind Farms, but That Hasn't Brought Jobs — Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report …
Simon Johnson / The Baseline Scenario:
Revised Baseline Scenario: February 9, 2010 — Caution: this is a long post (about 3,000 words). The main points are in the first few hundred words and the remainder is supportive detail. This material was the basis of testimony to the Senate Budget Committee today by Simon Johnson.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather, EconLog, The Atlantic Online, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and The Atlanticist
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Obama Doesn't ‘Begrudge’ Bonuses for ‘Savvy’ Blankfein, Dimon — Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said he doesn't “begrudge” the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon or the $9 million issued to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein …
Joseph Abrams / Fox News:
Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds — A new Web site targeting the tea parties is a part of a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions and trickling slowly into political slush funds for Democratic activists.
Leon Wieseltier / The New Republic:
Something Much Darker — Andrew Sullivan has a serious problem. — I. — “Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity to readers of The New Republic is not easy.” On June 2, 1944, W.H. Auden penned that sentence in a letter to Ursula Niebuhr. On January 26, 2010 …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Obama meets with Republicans to bridge partisan divide — President Obama brought Republicans to the negotiating table on Tuesday, hoping to stem a steady deterioration in relations between the two parties that has brought business in Washington to a standstill, left the Democratic agenda …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Wall Street Journal, Beat the Press, USA Today, The Hill and The Moderate Voice
RELATED:
Reuters:
China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S. — BEIJING (Reuters) - Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country boost defense spending, adjust PLA deployments, and possibly sell some U.S. bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan.
Paul Joseph Watson / Alex Jones' Prison Planet.com:
Exposed: Naked Body Scanner Images Of Film Star Printed, Circulated By Airport Staff — Authorities' claim that virtual strip search pictures immediately destroyed proven fraudulent - use of devices needs to be halted now — Claims on behalf of authorities that naked body scanner images …
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, LewRockwell.com Blog, New York Magazine, Boing Boing, Gateway Pundit and Althouse
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Sen. Jim DeMint twitters: D.C. snow will continue ‘until Al Gore cries uncle’ — Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Tuesday used the D.C. snowstorm to make a political jab, saying that it provides evidence for global warming skeptics. — The conservative senator took to Twitter on Tuesday amid reports …
Henry Samuel / Telegraph:
Burka-wearing gunmen raid French bank — Two burka-wearing bank robbers have pulled off a heist near Paris using a handgun concealed beneath their full Islamic veil. — Employees let the pair through the security double doors of the banking branch of a post office, believing them to be Muslim women.
Discussion:
Israel Matzav
Tami Luhby / CNNMoney.com:
Unemployment taxes slam businesses — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Employers are getting hit with a massive tax hike at a time when they can least afford it. — Companies in at least 35 states will have to fork over more in unemployment insurance taxes this year, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.
Dean Baker / Beat the Press:
The Trucking Index of GDP — USA Today highlights a new measure of economic activity that is based on truckers' use of diesel fuel. This is an interesting way to try to get an up-to-date measure of the production and sale of goods in the economy. By contrast GDP numbers only come …
Discussion:
Unqualified Offerings
Megan McArdle:
Blogging the Snowpocalypse — You will probably have noticed that I did not post this morning. That's because sometime before 8 am, I decided that I should get to the grocery store and pick up my lung medicine in the hiatus between snows. — Four hours later, I returned with a trunk full …