Top Items:
Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Darrell Issa reveals list of investigations — Rep. Darrell Issa is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months of what promises to be a high-profile chairmanship of the top oversight committee in Congress.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Confederate Yankee, Comments from Left Field, The Impolitic, Crooks and Liars, Left Coast Rebel, DownWithTyranny!, Mediaite, The Note, iOwnTheWorld.com, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Daily Pundit, CNN, theblogprof, The Moderate Voice, Maggie's Notebook, Stop The ACLU, Cubachi, skippy the bush kangaroo and The Hill
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
DeMint wants ‘big showdown’ with Dems over debt ceiling — Republicans should prepare for a “showdown” with President Obama and congressional Democrats over raising the debt ceiling, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Monday. — DeMint, a de-facto leader of Senate conservatives and many Tea Party senators …
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Lindsey Graham Joins the Loonies — The U.S. appears to be the only country in the developed world that forbids its government from accumulating debt without authorizing legislation. And that's led to some scary moments, including one that the economist Henry Aaron shared with me recently.
Michelle Malkin:
Snort: Now the Dems are worried about wasteful “witch hunts” — After decades of indulgent public floggings and ideological fishing expeditions led by chief congressional inquisitor Henry Waxman (see here here here here for starters), Democrats are suddenly worried about abuse of investigative powers.
Discussion:
Right Turn, HillBuzz.org, Wake up America, The Politico, Pundit & Pundette, The Hill and Patterico's Pontifications
Mike Allen / The Politico:
2 days until the 112th Congress: Sheriff Issa's top six targets …
2 days until the 112th Congress: Sheriff Issa's top six targets …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, TPMDC, neo-neocon, TPMMuckraker, The Political Carnival, RedState, Ace of Spades HQ and National Review
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Cummings wants agreement between Issa and White House
Cummings wants agreement between Issa and White House
Discussion:
The Politico
Jason Mattera / Human Events:
DeMint Demands Showdown On Increasing Debt Ceiling
DeMint Demands Showdown On Increasing Debt Ceiling
Discussion:
TPMDC, GOP 12, National Review and CBS News
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Austerity is first order for Boehner's installation as House speaker — Nancy Pelosi brought camera crews and dignitaries into her childhood Baltimore neighborhood where a street was being renamed in her honor, while John Boehner is bringing his 11 siblings from working-class Ohio to Washington for a private reunion.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, A plain blog about politics, USA Today, Hotline On Call, National Review, The Other McCain, Taylor Marsh, TPMDC and The Page
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Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Conservative Seeks Balance on His Way to Senate — ZIONSVILLE, Pa. — Patrick J. Toomey was elected to the Senate in November as part of the Republican revolution, with a big assist from Tea Party activists, an endorsement from Sarah Palin and the expectation that he would join …
Discussion:
National Review
Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
‘Tea party’ activists keep watch on Congress' new class
‘Tea party’ activists keep watch on Congress' new class
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and American Power
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
John P Wheeler III — I was stunned to learn tonight that my long-time friend Jack Wheeler has been murdered in Delaware. He was last seen getting off an Amtrak train from Washington at the Wilmington, DE, station this past Tuesday night; then, as a gruesome and cryptic local story recounts …
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit
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The Politico:
Majority of RNC against Michael Steele — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele faces an all-but-impossible path to reelection this month, as a majority of the RNC's 168 members indicate that they will not support the controversial chairman for another term.
Discussion:
RedState, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Ben Smith's Blog, The Washington Independent, Right Turn, CNN, YID With LID, Hot Air, The Page, Politics Daily, National Review, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, ThinkProgress, Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway, Hotline On Call, AmSpecBlog, The Moderate Voice and TPMDC
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David Cole / New York Times:
Chewing Gum for Terrorists — DID former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Tom Ridge, a former homeland security secretary, and Frances Townsend, a former national security adviser, all commit a federal crime last month in Paris when they spoke in support …
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Vanity Fair:
The Febraury 2011 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll — Americans are numerically at a loss after a trillion. To balance the budget, most of them would choose to tax the rich. And as far as memories go, they'd prefer to keep them. (All of them.) — Numbers games this month: What comes after a trillion?
Discussion:
Wonkette, The New Republic and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Poll: Tax hikes on rich first step to balance budget
Poll: Tax hikes on rich first step to balance budget
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and JammieWearingFool
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Unborn Paradox — The American entertainment industry has never been comfortable with the act of abortion. Film or television characters might consider the procedure, but even on the most libertine programs (a “Mad Men,” a “Sex and the City"), they're more likely to have a change of heart than actually go through with it.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, pandagon.net, Feministe, AmSpecBlog, Shakesville, The Anchoress, Brilliant at Breakfast and Sadly, No!
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
He Entered Congress Swinging, and Exits That Way — ORLANDO, Fla. — He has zero faith in the incoming speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, whom he calls a “tool of special interest.” — He derides the Tea Party's successes as “bought and paid for by the enormously rich and the selfish.”
Discussion:
Ballot Box, The Political Carnival, JustOneMinute, iOwnTheWorld.com and Weasel Zippers
Christina Bellantoni / Roll Call:
President's Re-Election Transition Begins With OFA Layoffs — The Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America has started laying off staff in multiple states as the first phase of a restructuring before the official kickoff of President Barack Obama's re-election bid.
Christian Science Monitor:
European nations begin seizing private pensions — Hungary, Poland, and three other nations take over citizens' pension money to make up government budget shortfalls. — People's retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don't want to reduce spending or make privatizations.
Discussion:
theblogprof, Say Anything, Betsy's Page and protein wisdom
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Deep Hole Economics — If there's one piece of economic wisdom I hope people will grasp this year, it's this: Even though we may finally have stopped digging, we're still near the bottom of a very deep hole. — Why do I need to point this out? Because I've noticed many people overreacting to recent good economic news.
Discussion:
ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Prairie Weather, The Glittering Eye and Corrente
Evan Halper / PolitiCal:
Schwarzenegger commutes prison sentence of Fabian Nuñez's son [Updated] — In his final night before leaving office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted the prison sentence of the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez who had pleaded guilty to taking part in the slaying of a college student.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, Moonbattery and TalkLeft
presstv.ir:
Mossad behind Egypt church blast — The explosion at a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, which left 21 people killed and another 80 Muslims and Christians wounded, raises one question: Who was behind the blast? — Although, at first glance, the finger is pointed at extremist Wahabi …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Front Page Magazine, The Daily Dish, Outside the Beltway, Jihad Watch, Hot Air, Israel Matzav, YID With LID, CNN, Elder of Ziyon and Vancouver Sun
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
GETTING THE OLD GANG BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.... By the time disgraced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) left Congress, the “culture of corruption” surrounding Republicans in Washington was pervasive. GOP leaders vowed to change course, but it was too late — in 2006 …
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Noah Kristula-Green / FrumForum:
How O'Donnell Brought Down the Delaware GOP — The FBI is investigating whether Christine O'Donnell misused campaign funds during her Senate run. While we wait to find out whether she's guilty on that count, we already know that she is guilty in another way: for destroying and cannibalizing the Republican Party in Delaware.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway and Ben Smith's Blog
Matt Danzico / BBC:
Educational programme brings foreigners to North Korea — The programme brings students from the US, UK, Canada and other nations into North Korea — Amid the ongoing tensions between North Korea and the international community, a educational scheme created by two young men from the US …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Babalú Blog
David Derbyshire / Daily Mail:
Eco-bulb cost to treble: Makers cash in as the ban on old-style bulbs kicks in — The price of energy-saving light bulbs will treble as the final supplies of traditional bulbs dry up, industry experts have warned. — The Government has ordered energy companies to scrap the subsidies …
Discussion:
Moonbattery and International Liberty