Top Items:
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Haley Barbour's Affection for the White Supremacist Citizens' Council — Andrew Ferguson's profile of Haley Barbour reveals that the guy is dangerously ignorant about the history of race in his state: … Fortunately, it's actually possible to look at the archives of the Citizens Council newspaper published right in Mississippi.
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Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Barbour Spokesman: Mississippi Gov. Is Not Racist — I just spoke with Dan Turner, the official spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), who responded in strong terms to criticism of Barbour's recent praise for the segregationist Citizens Council groups of the Civil Rights era.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Caucus, The Fix, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, Yglesias, Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Shakesville
Ben Smith / The Politico:
The watermelon thing — Race is a hard issue for older conservative politicians from the Deep South seeking national office. The roots of Southern Republicanism are in the segregationist split from the Democratic Party, and so there's no presumption of innocence, and no second chance, as Trent Lott learned.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Democracy in America
The Huffington Post:
Haley Barbour's Account Of Civil Rights Era In Mississippi Assailed By NAACP, Historians — What's Your Reaction: … WASHINGTON — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has set off a firestorm of controversy over his comments on the civil rights era in his hometown of Yazoo City …
Discussion:
National Review, Yglesias, Weigel, Wonkette, The Atlantic Online and Oliver Willis
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Barbour Praises Civil Rights-Era White Supremacist Citizens Councils — Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), a potential Republican presidential candidate, has an interesting perspective on the tumults of the civil rights era that swept through his Deep South state. — As Barbour recalls …
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Discussing Civil Rights Era, a Governor Is Criticized
Discussing Civil Rights Era, a Governor Is Criticized
Discussion:
TPMDC
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Yazoo City Citizens' Council Was a White Supremacist Organization
Yazoo City Citizens' Council Was a White Supremacist Organization
Discussion:
Weigel, The New Republic, New York Magazine, Salon, Firedoglake and Washington Post
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Barbour doesn't remember Civil Rights era being ‘that bad’
Barbour doesn't remember Civil Rights era being ‘that bad’
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Salon and FrumForum
David Halberstam / Commentary:
Respectable Means for Unrespectable Ends
Respectable Means for Unrespectable Ends
Discussion:
Eschaton, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice
Timothy Karr / The Huffington Post:
Obama FCC Caves on Net Neutrality — Tuesday Betrayal Assured — What's Your Reaction: — Late Monday, a majority of the FCC has indicated that they're going to vote with Chairman Julius Genachowski for a toothless Net Neutrality rule. — According to all reports, the rule …
Discussion:
The Agonist
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Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
F.C.C. Poised to Pass Net Neutrality Order
F.C.C. Poised to Pass Net Neutrality Order
Discussion:
Post Tech, Blue Wave News, Gawker and Truthdig, more at Techmeme »
Al Franken / The Huffington Post:
The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time
The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Mahablog, more at Techmeme »
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators concede arms treaty will secure enough votes to pass — Republican senators say privately they expect the Senate to ratify the New START treaty this week, which would hand President Obama his third major victory of the lame-duck session. — GOP senators — including those who plan …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Eunomia, The Hill, Daily Kos, The Greenroom, National Review, democracyarsenal.org, Outside the Beltway and The Politico
RELATED:
The Huffington Post:
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Opponents Taking Revenge On Russian Arms Treaty
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Opponents Taking Revenge On Russian Arms Treaty
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Senate Support Builds for Pact on Arms Control
Senate Support Builds for Pact on Arms Control
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Guardian, Wonk Room, Washington Monthly, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and PoliPundit.com
Ginger Gibson / New Jersey Online:
Gov. Chris Christie commutes sentence of man convicted of having guns in N.J. illegally — TRENTON — Brian Aitken, who was convicted of illegally possessing two handguns that he had legally purchased in Colorado, will be spending Christmas out of prison. — Gov. Chris Christie commuted …
Discussion:
Hit & Run
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Chris Christie commutes gun sentence of Brian Aitken — We haven't covered Aitken's case (except for a lone Headline item a few weeks ago), but he's a cause celebre among libertarians and Second Amendment fans — for good reason. In a nutshell: He bought three guns, entirely legally …
Discussion:
TigerHawk and Don Surber
Jamison Foser / Media Matters for America:
60 Minutes' one-sided, GOP-friendly report on state budgets
60 Minutes' one-sided, GOP-friendly report on state budgets
Discussion:
AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, AFSCME, RedState, Open Left, Daily Kos and Crooks and Liars
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Poll: Obama rebounding — President Barack Obama may be staging a comeback in the eyes of the American people, a new poll suggests. — In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday, 48 percent of Americans say they approve of how Obama is handling his job, while 48 percent disapprove.
Discussion:
CNN, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, American Glob, Swampland and Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
Fhardingj / CNN:
CNN Poll: Three-quarters approve of new tax cut law
CNN Poll: Three-quarters approve of new tax cut law
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, Taegan Goddard's … and Weigel
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
The Tax Deal in Florida and Ohio
The Tax Deal in Florida and Ohio
Discussion:
Clusterstock and Firedoglake
Brent Baker / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Nina Totenberg: ‘I Was At - Forgive the Expression - a Christmas Party...’ — “I was at - forgive the expression - a Christmas party,” NPR reporter Nina Totenberg interjected on Inside Washington in the weekend's oddest cautionary separation from a common description for a common event …
The Politico:
No endgame on Hill as Christmas nears — 'I hope we don't have to do that this year.' | There's still no clear endgame in sight as Democrats struggle to close out the lame-duck session of Congress in time for Christmas. — The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is in limbo …
Discussion:
Truthdig
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Republican Sen Kyl: No plans to repeal 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Republican Sen Kyl: No plans to repeal 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Discussion:
The Politico, Salon and Washington Monthly
Patricia Murphy / Politics Daily:
Food-Safety Bill Clears Senate in Wake of 2010's Massive Recalls
Ezra Klein:
Chris Christie's Pepsi problem — In 1975, Pepsi unleashed “the Pepsi Challenge,” a blind taste test where subjects threw back an ounce of each beverage and reported back on their favorite. Their favorite was Pepsi. — You already know what happened next: Coca-Cola developed a more Pepsi-like product called “New Coke.”
Discussion:
Right Turn, AmSpecBlog and Das Krapital
Myglesias / Yglesias:
My Token Moment of Outreach to the Religious Right — Ross Douthat: … I don't spend a lot of time agreeing with the Christian right about things, but the whining about the secularization of Christmas is a point I sympathize with. If Christmas were more properly religious …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Eschaton, Balloon Juice and The New Republic
Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
The Culture War Ain't What It Used to Be. — Jonathan Bernstein makes an excellent point about the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell: … With the possible exception of John McCain, pretty much every conservative knew they were going to lose this argument eventually.
Discussion:
National Review and No More Mister Nice Blog
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Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Peter King: 'I'm Willing To' Be Called A Bigot If That's What It Takes …
Peter King: 'I'm Willing To' Be Called A Bigot If That's What It Takes …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Washington Monthly, Wonkette, Newsday and The Politico
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Conservatives growing uncomfortable with GOP blockade of 9/11 health bill — With Senate Democrats upping the pressure for passage of the bill giving health benefits to sickened 9/11 responders, it's going to get increasingly hard for GOP Senators to maintain their opposition.
Discussion:
Swampland, Examiner, The Democratic Daily, Indecision Forever, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, The Hill and George's Bottom Line
The Cleveland Fed:
The Effect of Falling Home Prices on Small Business Borrowing — Small businesses continue to report problems obtaining the financing they need. Because small business owners may rely heavily on the value of their homes to finance their businesses (through mortgages or home equity lines) …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
David Weigel / Weigel:
Republicans Start Teaching Members How to Obey the Constitution — Earlier today, some Hill staffers attended the first of four staggered meetings on how to write a new clause into legislation that explains why, exactly, the legislation is constitutional. This was a big Tea Party demand …
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Mitch McConnell plans power plays against Democrats — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has a warning for Democrats seething over his shrewd political tactics: Get used to it. — “There's much for them to be angst-ridden about,” McConnell said with a chuckle. “If they think it's bad now, wait 'til next year.”
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
CBS News:
State Budgets: The Day of Reckoning — Steve Kroft Reports On The Growing Financial Woes States Are Facing — (CBS) By now, just about everyone in the country is aware of the federal deficit problem, but you should know that there is another financial crisis looming involving state and local governments.
Discussion:
Wonk Room, Firedoglake, The Foundry, Eduwonk, Commentary and theblogprof
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