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.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, ThinkProgress, The Plum Line, Swampland and Mediaite
RELATED:
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.
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:
Yglesias, Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Barbour doesn't remember Civil Rights era being ‘that bad’ — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he doesn't remember the Civil Rights era being “that bad,” citing his attendance at a Martin Luther King Jr. rally nearly 50 years ago. — “I just don't remember it as being that bad,” Barbour …
Discussion:
Salon, The Daily Caller and FrumForum
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Yazoo City Citizens' Council Was a White Supremacist Organization
Yazoo City Citizens' Council Was a White Supremacist Organization
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weigel, New York Magazine, Washington Post and Salon
David Halberstam / Commentary:
Respectable Means for Unrespectable Ends
Respectable Means for Unrespectable Ends
Discussion:
Eschaton, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BARBOUR WELL POSITIONED TO WRAP UP THE RACIST VOTE....
BARBOUR WELL POSITIONED TO WRAP UP THE RACIST VOTE....
Discussion:
Yglesias, Balloon Juice, TPMDC, Talking Points Memo and AOL News
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 …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, Don Surber, Althouse, Creative Minority Report, theblogprof, The Gateway Pundit, Pat Dollard and The Right Scoop
Jamison Foser / Media Matters for America:
60 Minutes' one-sided, GOP-friendly report on state budgets — Did Chris Cristie's speechwriters script this CBS report on state budget deficits? It certainly reads that way. — In 2,600 words about state deficits, you won't find the phrase “tax cuts.”
RELATED:
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:
The Right Scoop, Firedoglake, Hot Air, Wonk Room, The Foundry, Commentary, theblogprof and Eduwonk
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, Swampland and Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
Fhardingj / CNN:
CNN Poll: Three-quarters approve of new tax cut law — Washington (CNN) - Most Americans like the new tax cut law that President Barack Obama signed into law on Friday, according to a new national poll. — And a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday also indicates …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Weigel
Washington Post:
Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators. — The system, by far the largest …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Salon, Instapundit, Raw Story, Prairie Weather, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Danger Room, Hot Air, Emptywheel, BlogPost and ThinkProgress
RELATED:
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
In U.S., Satisfaction Dips to 17% at Year's End
In U.S., Satisfaction Dips to 17% at Year's End
Discussion:
Politics Daily, TPMDC and HotAirPundit
The Huffington Post:
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Opponents Taking Revenge On Russian Arms Treaty — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — The repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy over the weekend was a major victory for the White House, but it is now imperiling a chief priority …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish and Hullabaloo
RELATED:
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:
Washington Monthly and Salon
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... The NYT's John Harwood ran a good piece last night …
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... The NYT's John Harwood ran a good piece last night …
Discussion:
The Caucus and The Impolitic
Robert M. McDowell / Wall Street Journal:
The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom — ‘Net neutrality’ sounds nice, but the Web is working fine now. The new rules will inhibit investment, deter innovation and create a billable-hours bonanza for lawyers. — Tomorrow morning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) …
Discussion:
Tech Daily Dose, The Foundry, GigaOM, Post Tech, The Daily Caller, TechCrunch and Maggie's Farm, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Al Franken / The Huffington Post:
The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time — What's Your Reaction: — This Tuesday is an important day in the fight to save the Internet. — As a source of innovation, an engine of our economy, and a forum for our political discourse, the Internet can only work if it's a truly level playing field.
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Mahablog, more at Techmeme »
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
When Zombies Win — When historians look back at 2008-10, what will puzzle them most, I believe, is the strange triumph of failed ideas. Free-market fundamentalists have been wrong about everything — yet they now dominate the political scene more thoroughly than ever. — How did that happen?
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
TRENDING: Palin disses Michelle Obama over ‘dessert’ — (CNN) - Sarah Palin is again taking aim at Michelle Obama over her anti-obesity campaign, taking the opportunity in Sunday's “Sarah Palin's Alaska” to land a diss against the first lady's efforts to improve nutrition.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and Outside the Beltway
The Atlantic Online:
Preparing for Mass Evacuation From Korea — As the Korean peninsula enters what U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates calls “a difficult and potentially dangerous time,” the long-dormant Korean conflict is rumbling back into the public consciousness. Government officials from the U.S. …
RELATED:
Anita Kumar / Virginia Politics Blog:
Marshall seeks to ban gays from Virginia National Guard — Following this weekend's vote by the Senate to allow gays to openly serve in the military, Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince WIlliam) said he is drafting a bill for the 2011 legislative session that would ban them from serving in the Virginia National Guard.
Discussion:
Wonkette, Outside the Beltway and Towleroad News #gay
RELATED:
Seth McLaughlin / Washington Times:
Virginian: Bar gays from National Guard
Virginian: Bar gays from National Guard
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Right Wing Watch
Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Pence announcement looms in January — If Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence decides to run for president, he'll announce his candidacy before the end of January. — A source close to Pence told POLITICO that the conservative congressman still hasn't decided whether to run for president …
RELATED:
WISH-TV:
Skillman won't launch gubernatorial bid in 2012
Skillman won't launch gubernatorial bid in 2012
Discussion:
Cubachi, Ballot Box and The Fix
Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:
Obama reaches out to liberal groups to shore up Democratic base after tax deal — In the wake of President Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans, the White House is moving quickly to mend its strained relationship with the Democratic base, reassuring liberal groups, black leaders …
Lyndsey Layton / Washington Post:
Food-safety measure passes Senate in Sunday surprise — A bill that would overhaul the nation's food-safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression came roaring back to life Sunday as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans that helped overcome a technical mistake …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Shopfloor, Ezra Klein, The Atlantic Online, Pat Dollard, Shakesville and The Politico
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:
Washington Monthly, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog and The New Republic
Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Tea Party Discontent Bubbles to the Surface — Discontent Boiling Over Tax Cuts Bill and House GOP Committee Leadership Positions — The new Congress hasn't been seated yet but signs of a rift are already beginning to emerge between Republican leaders and Tea Party groups …
Discussion:
The Agonist and Left Coast Rebel
Wall Street Journal:
Auditors Face Fraud Charge — New York Set to Allege Ernst & Young Stood By as Lehman Cooked Its Books — New York prosecutors are poised to file civil fraud charges against Ernst & Young for its alleged role in the collapse of Lehman Brothers, saying the Big Four accounting firm stood …
Discussion:
naked capitalism, DealBook, Felix Salmon, Clusterstock, The BLT, New York Magazine and Parker Spitzer