Top Items:
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Panel Weighs Deep Cuts in Tax Breaks and Spending — WASHINGTON — A draft proposal to be released Wednesday by the chairmen of President Obama's bipartisan commission on reducing the federal debt calls for deep cuts in domestic and military spending starting in 2012, and an overhaul of the tax code to raise revenue.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, Politics Daily, Washington Post, Swampland, Outside the Beltway, The Politico, Pajamas Media, Bloomberg, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Ben Smith's Blog, Wonk Room, Choosing the Nation's …, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Danger Room, Marginal Revolution, AMERICAblog News, ECHIDNE of the snakes, msnbc.com, Online NewsHour, EconLog, New York Magazine, Calculated Risk and Gawker
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
U.S. Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security, Medicare — The co-chairmen of President Barack Obama's debt-reduction commission will propose cuts to Social Security and Medicare, as well as reductions in income tax rates in exchange for curbing tax breaks, according to a Republican aide who attended the meeting.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, TPMDC and ProfessorBainbridge.com
Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:
Fiscal Commission Co-Chairs Simpson And Bowles Release Eye-Popping Recommendations — The White House's fiscal commission's co-chairs, Erskine Bowles and former-Sen. Alan Simpson today released their draft recommendations on how to reduce the country's budget deficit.
Paul Krugman:
Unserious People — OK, let's say goodbye to the deficit commission. If you're sincerely worried about the US fiscal future — and there's good reason to be — you don't propose a plan that involves large cuts in income taxes. Even if those cuts are offset by supposed elimination of tax breaks elsewhere …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Poll: Voters Would Rather Tax The Wealthy Than Cut Social Security
Poll: Voters Would Rather Tax The Wealthy Than Cut Social Security
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and Daily Kos
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Catfood Commission Presser Livestream at 1pm ET; Cuts to Social …
Catfood Commission Presser Livestream at 1pm ET; Cuts to Social …
Discussion:
Grasping Reality … and Eschaton
Becky Bohrer / Associated Press:
Miller sues to force exact spelling rule for write-in votes — JUNEAU — GOP nominee Joe Miller is asking a federal judge to keep the state from using discretion in counting write-in ballots in Alaska's hotly contested Senate race. — The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, comes …
Discussion:
Cubachi, USA Today, Associated Press, Alaska Dispatch, The Fix, Swing State Project, Politics Daily, NPR Topics, TPMDC, The Agonist, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, Wake up America, Indecision Forever, Online NewsHour, Liberty Pundits Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Althouse, National Review, Taegan Goddard's …, Riehl World View, The Politico, Weasel Zippers, Big Government, Creative Minority Report, Hot Air and Conservatives4Palin.com
RELATED:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Miller: We Can Assume All Poor Spellers Support Me
Miller: We Can Assume All Poor Spellers Support Me
Discussion:
Wonkette
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
Joe Miller And “Voter Intent.”
Joe Miller And “Voter Intent.”
Discussion:
Salon, Daily Kos, Election Law and FrumForum
Kennebec Journal:
DAVID B. OFFER: Collins optimistic that moderation is key to success by Congress — The votes were barely counted last week before national columnists and pundits began analyzing the impact of the Republican victories. Many predicted more gridlock. — “Moderate Republicans will be less likely …
Discussion:
The Fix, TPMDC, Weasel Zippers, Collins Watch, Balloon Juice, Donkeylicious and Washington Post
RELATED:
Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:
The GOP can't be led by Sarah Palin. But can it live without her?
The GOP can't be led by Sarah Palin. But can it live without her?
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Prairie Weather and Big Government
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Sen. Collins says Kirk wants to join centrist ‘mod squad’
Sen. Collins says Kirk wants to join centrist ‘mod squad’
Discussion:
FrumForum
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
House Republican: Bush ‘destroyed GOP’ — Former President George W. Bush is no “class act,” a Republican lawmaker insisted Wednesday. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said Bush had “destroyed” the GOP during his eight years in office in a blunt shot at the former Republican president …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, USA Today and Raw Story
RELATED:
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Bush camp attacks ‘ridiculous’ story
Bush camp attacks ‘ridiculous’ story
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, Hot Air, Gawker, Right Wing News, New York Magazine and Washington Wire
Scott Wong / The Politico:
George W. Bush still unpopular in new poll
George W. Bush still unpopular in new poll
Discussion:
CNN, Gallup and Top of the Ticket
Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:
More federal workers' pay tops $150,000 — The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds. — The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, TigerHawk, theblogprof, CEPR, Hot Air, Wonkette, The Sundries Shack, The New Editor, Left Coast Rebel, Gateway Pundit, Swampland, The Foundry, GayPatriot, James Pethokoukis and FrumForum
Ezra Klein:
There is no report from the fiscal commission — Here is the most important fact about the proposal released by the co-chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform: It is not the commission's report. And here is the second most important fact to remember …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish and The Plum Line
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Video: Christie names names in fight against inflated education salaries — “The new poster boy for all that's wrong with the public-school system...” — As part of his efforts to reform public school systems in New Jersey and apply resources more directly to students …
Discussion:
NewsReal Blog and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
Sarah Bloomquist / WPVI-TV:
Controversy over Palin's cookie comments at Pa. school — sarah palin, tea party, bucks county, pennsylvania, inside politics — Call it “Cookiegate”. Sarah Palin is baking up a little controversy in Pennsylvania. She was the guest speaker last night at a fundraiser at Plumstead Christian School in Plumstead Township.
Discussion:
The Politico and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Jennifer Lin / Philly.com:
Palin wows the crowd at Bucks County fund-raiser
Palin wows the crowd at Bucks County fund-raiser
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Note and GOP 12
fda.gov:
Proposed Cigarette Product Warning Labels — Overview — The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) requires that cigarette packages and advertisements have larger and more visible graphic health warnings. — FDA issued a proposed rule …
RELATED:
Rob Stein / Washington Post:
New, more graphic cigarette warnings unveiled
New, more graphic cigarette warnings unveiled
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Weasel Zippers and Wonkette
Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:
Exclusive: Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito Dismisses His Profligate Right-Wing Fundraising As ‘Not Important’ — Last night, the American Spectator — a right-wing magazine known for its role in the “Arkansas Project,” a well-funded effort to invent stories with the goal …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Jan Crawford / CBS News:
Bush: “The Wolves of Washington” and the Roberts/Miers/Alito Nominations
Bush: “The Wolves of Washington” and the Roberts/Miers/Alito Nominations
Discussion:
New York Times, Wonk Room, Law Blog and The Volokh Conspiracy
Simmi Aujla / The Politico:
John Boehner to fly commercial as speaker — House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Wednesday he intends to take commercial flights home when he moves up to speaker in the new Congress. — “Over the last 20 years, I have flown back and forth to my district on commercial aircraft …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Note, Fox News, The Hill, CNN and Washington Post
RELATED:
Michael McDonald / Bloomberg:
Wall Street Collects $4 Billion From Taxpayers as Swaps Backfire — The subprime mortgage crisis isn't the only calamity Wall Street created that's upending the finances of U.S. states and cities. — For more than a decade, banks and insurance companies convinced governments and nonprofits …
Discussion:
The Future of Capitalism and AMERICAblog News
RELATED:
Barry Ritholtz / Bloomberg:
Kiss Your Assets Goodbye If Certainty Reigns: Barry Ritholtz
Kiss Your Assets Goodbye If Certainty Reigns: Barry Ritholtz
Discussion:
The Big Picture and Economix
Michael Calderone / Yahoo! News:
Carlson sent fake ‘Olbermann’ emails to Philly columnist — Tucker Carlson boasted in July that his site, the Daily Caller, had bought the domain name for liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. Carlson, a conservative journalist and pundit, even said he would start using the email address keith@keitholbermann.com as a gag.
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
LaHood Threatens to Take High Speed Rail Stimulus from OH, WI — My favorite cabinet secretary is the one who knows how to play hardball with Republican obstructionists, who knows the leverage he holds and is not afraid to use it. I guess that's because he's the only Republican in the cabinet*.
Discussion:
pandagon.net, CNN and Dennis the Peasant
Seton Motley / Big Government:
28-Year Democrat Rep. Ortiz Loses, But Keeps ‘Finding’ Ballots in Recount — What we're witnessing in the south Texas (TX-27 - Corpus Christi and Brownsville) Congressional recount that followed the race is a dramatic interpretation of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle magic act.
Discussion:
Hot Air and Brownsville Herald
RELATED:
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Whoa! SEIU Members Are Counting the Ballots in Hotly Contested US House Race
Whoa! SEIU Members Are Counting the Ballots in Hotly Contested US House Race
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Joe Flint / Company Town:
Lou Dobbs joining Fox Business Network — Just about a year to the day that he left CNN, Lou Dobbs is returning to cable news, this time as host of his own show on News Corp.'s Fox Business Network. — Fox Business Network is expected to announce that it has signed Dobbs as early as Wednesday afternoon.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Media Decoder, Gawker, Mediaite and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »
Nancy A. Youssef / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama's pledge that he'd begin withdrawing U.S. forces …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Corrente, Right Wing News, Open Left, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Scared Monkeys, Raw Story, Daily Kos and Barcepundit
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
The Onion Strikes Comic Gold With Biden Parodies — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has never smashed a Whac-A-Mole game in a drunken fit. He has never invoked Freedom of Information laws to find out a female federal employee's work schedule. And to the best of anyone's knowledge …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Awl
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Liberalism — Jon Chait had a good post this morning about how there's no contradiction between Barack Obama praising the liberalization of the Indian economy and also being a liberal in the US political context. Indeed, one hint might be that the letter-string “l-i-b-e-r-a-l” occurs in both terms.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Liberal Values, Dennis the Peasant, The New Republic and Wall Street Journal
ABCNEWS:
Attorney General Eric Holder: ‘Close to a Decision’ on 9/11 Trials — New York City for Sept. 11 Trials? Obama Administration Poised to Decide — Attorney General Eric Holder said today that he is “close to a decision” on where and how to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Discussion:
The Hill