Top Items:
Robert Pear / New York Times:
U.S. Alters Rule on Paying for End-of-Life Planning — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Conservatives4Palin, Hot Air, National Review, Don Surber, Firedoglake, The Plum Line, Right Turn, Weasel Zippers, Politics Daily, JustOneMinute, Connecting.the.Dots, Outside the Beltway, Pirate's Cove, Hullabaloo, Ezra Klein, Shakesville, The Incidental Economist, AMERICAblog News, Da Techguy's Blog, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The BLT and The Politico, more at Mediagazer »
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Juli Weiner / Vanity Fair:
Republicans to Spend $1.1 Million Reciting Constitution on House Floor — As we reported this morning, House Republicans will kick-start the 112th Congress tomorrow with a spirited recitation of the Constitution, a document whose recent relevance is due largely to the ideological and sartorial interests of the Tea Party.
Discussion:
Raw Story and AMERICAblog News
Cubachi:
Palin effective again: Death panels removed from medicare regulation
Palin effective again: Death panels removed from medicare regulation
Discussion:
Doug Ross and Liberty Pundits Blog
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:
Administration reverses on end-of-life counseling
Administration reverses on end-of-life counseling
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog and National Review
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
New team, same rules
New team, same rules
Discussion:
The Caucus, Washington Monthly, The Hill and PostPartisan
Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
Wily old Dems take on whippersnapper Republicans
Wily old Dems take on whippersnapper Republicans
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO BREAK KEY PROMISE ON DAY 1. …
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO BREAK KEY PROMISE ON DAY 1. …
Discussion:
Swampland, CNN, PERRspectives and ThinkProgress
Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Gibbs to Leave as White House Press Secretary — Updated Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary and close confidante to President Obama, said Wednesday that he will step down and become an outside political adviser to the president and his re-election campaign.
Discussion:
Political Punch, USA Today, The Hill, Economix, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Politico, Pam's House Blend, The Note, The Impolitic, The Atlantic Online, TPMDC, Sister Toldjah, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Swampland, Proof Positive, AOL News, CANNONFIRE, Ballot Box, Wonkette, RedState, Emptywheel, Weasel Zippers, The Fix, Fox Nation, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, BLACKFIVE, Daily Kos, Hotline On Call, AmSpecBlog, New York Magazine, Atlas Shrugs, Weigel, Gawker and Towleroad News #gay
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Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Howard Dean endorses Daley for chief of staff, rips White House — Former DNC chairman and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said Wednesday that William Daley would be a “huge plus” for the Obama administration if he is tapped to be the president's new chief of staff.
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN, The Nation, Weasel Zippers and TPMDC
Sean Higgins / Investor's Business Daily:
Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families — On the eve of his demotion by voters from House Majority Leader to House Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Hoyer offered this insight into the psychology of the Tea Party movement: … So, there you have it.
Discussion:
Fox Nation, Gates of Vienna, Weasel Zippers, Right Pundits, Hot Air and National Review
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Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:
Howard Dean on Tea Party: ‘Last Gasp of the 55-Year-Old Generation’ — Speaking to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning, former Vermont governor and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Dr. Howard Dean shared his thoughts on the Tea Party.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Fausta's Blog, Weasel Zippers, Fox Nation and Nice Deb
CNN:
Tea Party leaders not swayed by Lugar meeting
Tea Party leaders not swayed by Lugar meeting
Discussion:
Ballot Box, National Review and Hotline On Call
John R. Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: President Michele Bachmann? — Sources: Tea Party Favorite Is Mulling a Presidential Bid in 2012 — Forget the fervent chatter speculating that Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat …
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Politics Daily, TPMDC, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Left Coast Rebel, SpyTalk, AOL News, Right Pundits, Salon, Conservatives4Palin, Comments from Left Field, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Plum Line, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Derek Wallbank, CNN, Wonkette, Towleroad News #gay, Washington Monthly, neo-neocon, ThinkProgress, Joe. My. God., Indecision Forever, National Review, Outside the Beltway and GOP 12
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Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
Michele Bachmann for President?
Michele Bachmann for President?
Discussion:
PostPartisan and The Daily Caller
Ezra Klein:
A very smart speech by Speaker Boehner — If you spent the afternoon watching C-SPAN, as I did, you heard applause. A lot of it. Over and over again. And when John Boehner took the podium to be sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives, it swelled back up, and stayed there.
Discussion:
PostPartisan, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Dish, Hot Air and Prairie Weather
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Here it is: The filibuster reform package! — Here's a copy of the filibuster reform resolution that Senate Democrats will introduce later today, sent over by an aide to Tom Udall, one of the key Senators driving this campaign. — While the broad outlines of the proposal were already public …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Crooks and Liars, National Review, Hot Air, Big Think, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, RedState and A plain blog about politics
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ben Nelson on filibuster: ‘The last thing we need to do is start changing rules’
Ben Nelson on filibuster: ‘The last thing we need to do is start changing rules’
Discussion:
Omaha World-Herald, The Note, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake and Grist
Henri Paget / ninemsn:
KFC employee screams insults at customer — A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer. — The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26 …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Andrew Bolt, American Power and Tim Blair
The Politico:
19 Democrats vote against Nancy Pelosi — Nearly 20 Democrats abandoned their party's pick for speaker of the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a sign of their concerns about supporting the unpopular former speaker and of the difficulty she will have in marshaling her forces …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, CNN, The Note, The Caucus, The Hill, Big Government, Wake up America, The Impolitic, GayPatriot, Weasel Zippers and Balloon Juice
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Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
19 Democrats Oppose Pelosi's Bid for Speaker
19 Democrats Oppose Pelosi's Bid for Speaker
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay
Philly.com:
Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt — Source: John P. Wheeler 3d planted incendiary devices at a neighbor's home in Del. days before his disappearance. — Police in Delaware have discovered evidence that a former Pentagon aide may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his murder …
Discussion:
delawareonline, The Politico, Gawker, Mediaite, TPMMuckraker, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Post-Midterm Approval Ratings Don't Predict Re-Election Chances — Barack Obama got some good news to start his new year: his Gallup approval rating ticked up to 50 percent yesterday, against 42 percent disapproval. That's the first time it has been at the 50 percent threshold since early June.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, The Fix and Gallup
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama to address U.S. Chamber — President Obama will speak next month in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a spokeswoman for the organization confirmed Wednesday. — Obama will speak to the business group at a Feb. 7 meeting in a high-profile example of outreach from the administration to the business community.
Discussion:
CNN
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Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Wire:
Obama to Visit Chamber on Feb. 7
Obama to Visit Chamber on Feb. 7
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Caucus and TPMDC
Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
GOP Rep. Mulvaney, Against Raising Debt Ceiling, Admits He Doesn't ‘Know’ What Will Happen If It Isn't Raised — In recent weeks, a number of high-profile Republicans have stated their intention to vote against any increase to the U.S. debt limit. From Sen. Mike Lee (UT) to Rep. Michelle Bachmann …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Balloon Juice and George's Bottom Line
Tim Kane / The Atlantic Online:
Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving — Why are so many of the most talented officers now abandoning military life for the private sector? An exclusive survey of West Point graduates shows that it's not just money. Increasingly, the military is creating a command structure that rewards conformism and ignores merit.
Ezra Klein:
Repealing health-care reform would cost hundreds of billions of dollars — and Eric Cantor knows it — House Republicans are in a pickle: One of their new rules says that new legislation must be paid for. But the health-care bill reduces the federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.
Naomi Wolf / Guardian:
Julian Assange's sex-crime accusers deserve to be named — The shielding of sex-crime accusers is a Victorian relic. Women are moral adults and should be treated as such — As Swedish prosecutors' sex-crime allegations against Julian Assange play out, one aspect of the case merits serious scrutiny.
Discussion:
Samizdata.net, Harry's Place and Shakesville
Aftenposten:
S E C R E T TEL AVIV 002447 — NEA/IPA INR/TNC TREASURY FOR GLASER, D. — E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018 TAGS: PREL, KPAL, KTFN, EFIN, IS SUBJECT: CASHLESS IN GAZA? — REF: A. 10/22/08 AGOR-BURNETT HOLMSTROM ET. AL. E-MAIL B. TEL AVIV 2144 C. TEL AVIV 2291 D. TEL AVIV 1742 E. TEL …
Discussion:
The Lede, msnbc.com, Informed Comment, Obsidian Wings and Open Left
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Democratic Party ID Drops in 2010, Tying 22-Year Low — Democrats still outnumber Republicans, while independent identification increases — PRINCETON, NJ — In 2010, 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, down five percentage points from just two years ago and tied …
Discussion:
Politics Daily and Right Turn
Paul Krugman:
Fiscal Shock — I see that the Washington Post editorial board is shocked, shocked to discover that the incoming Republicans aren't serious about deficit reduction. Who could have suspected? — I was going to be snarky all the way here, but actually let's be serious …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Open Left, The Huffington Post and Suburban Guerrilla
Political Correction RSS:
GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan: “I Can't Tell You The Answer” To Specific Spending Cuts — 3 hours and 30 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein — This morning on NBC, incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) discussed the spending cuts that Republicans plan to enact in the new Congress.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Daily Kos and Eschaton
Michael Klein / Philly.com:
Trial set for firing over use of ‘n’ word — A federal jury will be asked to decide whether it is acceptable for an African American person, but not a white person, to use the “n” word in a workplace. — U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick has ruled that former Fox29 reporter-anchor …
Discussion:
Vox Popoli and protein wisdom