Top Items:
Associated Press:
Feds investigate Christine O'Donnell spending — BALTIMORE — A person with knowledge of the investigation says federal authorities have opened a criminal probe of Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell to determine if the former Senate candidate broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, CREW, The Hill, Hot Air, Wonkette, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Taylor Marsh and The Atlantic Online
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Feds probe Christine O'Donnell's campaign spending — BALTIMORE - Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation of Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell to determine if the former Senate candidate broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Truthdig and Salon
David Catanese / The Politico:
O'Donnell faces federal investigation — A top Delaware Republican confirms to POLITICO that former Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell is under federal investigation for allegedly misusing campaign funds. — The Associated Press first reported Wednesday that O'Donnell …
Discussion:
USA Today and AmSpecBlog
Suzi Parker / Politics Daily:
Report: Christine O'Donnell Under Federal Investigation for Campaign Spending
Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
AP: Feds Investigating Christine O'Donnell
Discussion:
Slate, CNN, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway
Floyd Abrams / Wall Street Journal:
Why WikiLeaks Is Unlike the Pentagon Papers — Everyone knows that Daniel Ellsberg leaked top-secret government documents about the Vietnam War. How many remember the ones he kept secret, or why? — In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg decided to make available to the New York Times …
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Kevin Sack / New York Times:
Terrain Shifts in Challenges to the Health Care Law — The legal challenge to the Obama health care act has invigorated a dispute as old as the Constitution about the framers' most nettlesome grant of power, which gives Congress treacherously broad authority to pass laws “necessary and proper” …
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, Greg's Opinion, Ezra Klein and Law Blog
WRAL-TV:
Lunchbox mix-up leads to charges for Sanford teen — SANFORD, N.C. — An athletic and academic standout in Lee County said a lunchbox mix-up has cut short her senior year of high school and might hurt her college opportunities. — Ashley Smithwick, 17, of Sanford, was suspended …
Discussion:
Instapundit, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Don Surber, Lean Left, Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway and Joanne Jacobs
Dylan Stableford / The Wrap:
Fox Utterly Destroys Cable News Ratings Competition in 2010 — The Nielsen numbers are in for 2010, and in the battle for cable news ratings supremacy, Fox News took the title for the ninth year in a row — bludgeoning the competition for another year. — The blowout comes on the heels …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Commentary and Doug Ross
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
CNN Poll: Plurality say Obama's policies will likely fail — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama enters the new year with a growing number of Americans pessimistic about his policies and a growing number rooting for him to fail, according to a new national poll. — Full poll results [pdf]
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
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Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Poll: Fewer Americans hope Obama's policies succeed
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys and Weasel Zippers
Patrick Doyle / Rolling Stone:
Exclusive: Merle Haggard on His Kennedy Center Honor, Meeting Obama and Oprah and More — The singer, who received a lifetime achievement award, takes us behind the scenes of Tuesday's broadcast — Merle Haggard is no stranger to the White House: He was a guest of both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Lean Left and The Political Carnival
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Kucinich worries his district will be eliminated — (CNN) - The state of Ohio will lose two congressional seats thanks to the latest U.S. Census figures, and liberal stalwart Dennis Kucinich is worried his seat is on the chopping block. — In an e-mail to supporters Wednesday …
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, Zandar Versus The Stupid and TPMDC
Glenn Davis / Mediaite:
Tucker Carlson: “I Think Personally [Michael Vick] Should Have Been Executed” — Tucker Carlson again filled in for Sean Hannity on Hannity tonight, and couldn't resist, as others already had, delving into the issue of President Obama praising Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie …
Discussion:
Hot Air, NewsReal Blog, theblogprof, Outside the Beltway and SportsGrid
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Michael David Smith / ProFootballTalk:
Tucker Carlson: Michael Vick should have been executed
Discussion:
Fanhouse NFL Blog, The Wire, Politics Daily, Vox Popoli, Bleacher Report, AOL News and Mediaite
David S. Bernstein / thephoenix.com:
The Road to 2012: The New New Hampshire — Mitt Romney and the rest of the GOP field are about to find a whole new set of players standing between them and first-in-the-nation primary victory — For Mitt Romney and other likely presidential contenders, 2011 will be a busy year of campaigning …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weigel, Talking Politics and Booman Tribune
Charlotte Hays / National Review:
Mother Nature vs. Nanny — The blizzard is definitely a force for conservatism, and not only because it has had the global-warming crowd scrambling for explanations. The blizzard reveals something basic: Liberals in government want to tell us what to eat, counsel us about how and when to die …
Discussion:
Power Line and Firedoglake
RELATED:
Gary Bauer / Human Events:
If Christians Were Treated Like Muslims — Few Americans would deny that Judeo-Christian beliefs and values informed the Founding of this country and that they continue to shape much of American life today. Nor would many of us deny that Americans who embrace Islamic values are a distinct minority here.
Discussion:
Babalú Blog, The Mahablog, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune and The Jawa Report
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Top NRSC official: Several Senate Dems up in '12 in ‘serious trouble’ — Washington (CNN) - The number two man at the National Republican Senatorial Committee says he thinks several Democratic senators facing re-elections in 2012 are in “serious trouble.” — But NRSC Executive Director Rob Jesmer …
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Republican campaign committee names top 2012 Senate targets
Discussion:
CNN
David Weigel / Weigel:
House Republicans Could End Lame Duck Sessions — Little-noticed over the holiday week: Rep. Lynn Jenkins tweeting this promise. … Jenkins linked to a story by David Farenthold explaining that the 20th amendment was supposed to end lame duck sessions by truncating the life of expired Congresses …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Plum Line, Washington Monthly and slacktivist
The Business Insider:
GARY SHILLING: And Now House Prices Will Now Drop Another 20% — In October, Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co., predicted that house prices would fall another 20%. — In the two months since, house prices have resumed their decline. Below, Gary outlines why he thinks the recent drops are just the beginning.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Felix Salmon and Ezra Klein
Ryan J. Reilly / TPMMuckraker:
Megyn Kelly: Calling Aliens ‘Undocumented’ Like Calling Rape ‘Non-Consensual Sex’ (VIDEO) — Plenty of conservatives are pretty upset over a campaign by the Society of Professional Journalists to convince reporters to stop using the terms “illegal aliens” and “illegal immigrants” in favor of “undocumented immigrant.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Obama uses recess appointment to seat Justice Dept. official — President Obama used a recess appointment Wednesday to name James Cole as deputy attorney general. — The president also recess appointed five other officials, including four ambassadors. — Cole's nomination …
CNBC:
US Foreclosures Jump in Third Quarter: Regulators — U.S. home foreclosures jumped in the third quarter and banks' efforts to keep borrowers in their homes dropped as the housing market continues to struggle, U.S. bank regulators said on Wednesday. — The regulators said one reason …
Discussion:
The Confluence, TalkLeft and Eschaton
Judy Battista / New York Times:
Favre Is Fined $50,000 but Not Suspended — Brett Favre, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback whose 20-year career is likely to end after this weekend, was fined $50,000 by the National Football League Wednesday for failing to cooperate with the league's investigation into graphic photos …
Discussion:
Gothamist, Bleacher Report and Fanhouse NFL Blog
David Freedlander / New York Observer:
Soon To-Be Ex-Congressman John Hall Warns Against Creeping Fascism — In a wide-ranging interview before he prepares to leave the House of Representatives, Hudson Valley Congressman John Hall warned that the nation could quickly descend into Fascism if more is not done to curb the influence of corporate money in politics.
Discussion:
Sky Dancing, Weasel Zippers, Left Coast Rebel and JammieWearingFool
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