Top Items:
New York Times:
Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor — KABUL, Afghanistan — For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table …
RELATED:
Joshua Partlow / Washington Post:
Negotiator for Taliban was an impostor, Afghan officials say
Negotiator for Taliban was an impostor, Afghan officials say
Discussion:
Prairie Weather and Newshoggers.com
Alex Strick van Linschoten / Afghan Wire:
Five Things David Petraeus Wants You To Believe
Five Things David Petraeus Wants You To Believe
Discussion:
Rethink Afghanistan War Blog
Washington Post:
Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Americans support full-body scanners at airports — Nearly two-thirds of Americans support the new full-body security-screening machines at the country's airports, as most say they put higher priority on combating terrorism than protecting personal privacy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Discussion:
Federal Eye, The Politico, Boing Boing, Flying With Fish, Hit & Run and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
RELATED:
Fredreka Schouten / USA Today:
Body scanner makers doubled lobbying cash over 5 years — WASHINGTON — The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the past five years and hired several high-profile former government officials …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Israel Matzav
Harriet Baskas / msnbc.com:
Union that represents airport screeners urges agency to protect employees
Union that represents airport screeners urges agency to protect employees
Discussion:
Instapundit, Focal Point, Runnin' Scared, LewRockwell.com Blog, ABCNEWS and New York Magazine
Tony Pugh / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
TSA chief admits he withheld information on pat-downs
TSA chief admits he withheld information on pat-downs
Discussion:
Emptywheel, The Gateway Pundit and The Note
Ashley Halsey III / Washington Post:
Scientists say they have solution to TSA scanner objections
Scientists say they have solution to TSA scanner objections
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Commentary, Hot Air, Sunlight Foundation, The Daily Beast, Don Surber and JustOneMinute
Michelle Singletary / Washington Post:
Woman who told Obama her financial fears has lost her job — Nobody is safe. — Velma Hart, who burst onto the media scene after telling President Obama she was scared about her financial future, has been laid off. Hart was let go as the chief financial officer for Am Vets, a nonprofit Maryland-based veteran services organization.
Discussion:
NO QUARTER, RedState, New York Magazine and HotAirPundit
CNN:
N. Korea fires on S. Korea, killing 2 and injuring more than a dozen — Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — North Korea fired artillery toward its tense western sea border with South Korea on Tuesday, killing two South Korean marines, the South's Defense Ministry said.
Discussion:
Reuters, Top of the Ticket, The Gateway Pundit, Pajamas Media, Da Techguy's Blog and AmSpecBlog
RELATED:
Mark McDonald / New York Times:
North and South Korea Exchange Fire, Killing Two — SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire on Tuesday after dozens of shells fired from the North struck a South Korean island near the countries' disputed maritime border, South Korean military officials said.
Wall Street Journal:
North Korea Fires Rockets at Island — SEOUL—North Korea fired artillery rockets at South Korea's Yeonpyeong island near a disputed maritime border Tuesday, setting houses on fire in its small villages, and prompting the south to return fire and dispatch fighter jets to the area.
Discussion:
REPUBLICAN REDEFINED and naked capitalism
Hannity / Fox News Insider:
VIDEO - Palin: I Will Not Waste My Time With Katie Couric — In an interview tonight with Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin opens up about the mainstream media and whether she would sit down for another interview with Katie Couric. — See what she has to say in the video below …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Huffington Post, NewsBusters.org and Commentary
RELATED:
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Sarah Palin: No time for Katie Couric
Sarah Palin: No time for Katie Couric
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Fhardingj / CNN:
TRENDING: Palin won't ‘waste time’ on Couric
Marc Ambinder / NationalJournal.com:
White House Fights Pat-Down Backlash — The administration is quietly and aggressively defending airport security policies against what they see as a media frenzy of distorted information. — The White House and the Department of Homeland Security indicated today that they won't yield …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, Emptywheel, Gothamist and The Atlantic Online
RELATED:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Drudge wins — The weekend collapse of the Administration's airline screening policy is hard to understand as a matter of messaging, with Clinton undermining the TSA's screening regime and the relevant official sending a hazy mixed message on the subject, even as the screening policy remains in place.
Discussion:
Gawker, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mother Jones
Zogby:
Zogby Interactive: Obama Falls to 39%, As Support from Democrats Continues to Slide; He Trails Romney, J. Bush & Gingrich in '12 — Those Saying U.S. on Wrong Track Hits High Under Obama of 69% — UTICA, New York - President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped to the lowest point …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and HotAirPundit
Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
Gibbs Warns Congress Against Leaving DADT Repeal To The Courts — This afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs listed repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell as a priority for the lame duck session after the Thanksgiving recess and reiterated the now oft-repeated warning that if Congress fails …
Discussion:
Dennis the Peasant, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.
RELATED:
Megan Scully / NationalJournal.com:
Navy Chief Preparing 'Don't Ask' Recommendations
Navy Chief Preparing 'Don't Ask' Recommendations
Discussion:
Washington Blade, Towleroad News #gay, Wonk Room and Advocate
Sally Quinn / Washington Post:
The unholy (s)election of Bristol Palin — I feel for Bristol Palin. Here's a plucky young woman who signed up for “Dancing With the Stars” knowing she had no chance to win but thinking it might be an adventure. Bristol had never danced and was up against some world-class dancers. That takes guts.
Discussion:
TMZ.com, Big Hollywood, Hot Air and INSTAPUTZ
RELATED:
Lisa de Moraes / Washington Post:
‘Dancing’ up a political storm: Bristol Palin's feet have yet to meet defeat
‘Dancing’ up a political storm: Bristol Palin's feet have yet to meet defeat
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU, Don Surber, Moraes on TV, HillBuzz.org and Reliable Source
Matt Welch / Hit & Run:
Editorial Boards to the Little People Complaining About the TSA: Bend Over and Take it Like a Man! — More evidence for Radley Balko's thesis that the media is more statist than liberal (and for my contention that the unsigned newspaper editorial should go the way of the dodo bird): — Los Angeles Times:
Discussion:
The Agitator
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Left's pressure moves Pelosi toward clashes with Obama — When President Obama meets with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi next year, he may face a lot more resistance than he's used to from his longtime ally. — The shift from Speaker to opposition leader will undoubtedly change Pelosi's …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
Fhardingj / CNN:
BREAKING: Sources: Plouffe to join White House staff, Axelrod may exit sooner than expected — Washington (CNN) - President Obama is planning to bring former campaign manager David Plouffe onto the White House staff at the beginning of January to work alongside senior adviser David Axelrod …
Discussion:
The Politico
RELATED:
Mother Jones:
Sarah Palin's Mystery Research Firm — Why's an incendiary Dutch journalist on the payroll of the ex-Alaska governor's political action committee? A Mother Jones investigation. — Post Comment — In recent months, Sarah Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC …
Discussion:
The Confluence, Firedoglake and Oliver Willis
Emma Perez-Trevino / Brownsville Herald:
Ortiz concedes District 27 race to Farenthold — U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz conceded late Monday to Congressman-elect Blake Farenthold. — Noting that the recount of more than 106,000 votes had been completed in the district, Ortiz said: “Therefore, with great respect and admiration …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Other McCain and The Gateway Pundit
Evan Hurst / Truth Wins Out:
SPLC Designates American Family Association, Family Research Council, Illinois Family Institute As Hate Groups — The Southern Poverty Law Center today updated its list of designated hate groups, and this year is significant in that some of the larger anti-gay outfits have made the cut.
Greg Moran / SignOnSanDiego.com:
Cunningham, attorney differ on effectiveness of defense — Disgraced ex-congressman from Rancho Santa Fe gives his first media interview — Randy “Duke” Cunningham, the disgraced former congressman from Rancho Santa Fe, said in an interview from prison that he regrets pleading guilty almost five years ago …
Discussion:
TalkLeft and The Politico
A. G. Sulzberger / New York Times:
Defenders of Earmarks Point to Urgent Needs That Would Not Be Met — ST. LOUIS — With their vote last week to support a moratorium on earmarks, House and Senate Republicans are taking aim at a popular target: the much-criticized system for distributing federal money that reflects politicians' clout …
Agence France Presse:
Blacks, Jews most likely victim of US hate crimes: FBI — WASHINGTON (AFP) - Blacks and Jews were the most likely victims of hate crimes driven by racial or religious intolerance in the United States last year, the FBI said Monday in an annual report. — Out of 6,604 hate crimes committed …
Discussion:
GayPatriot and Jihad Watch