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In U.S., 46% Favor, 40% Oppose Repealing Healthcare Law — Three-quarters of Republicans favor repeal; 64% of Democrats oppose it — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans do not strongly endorse the new Republican House majority's efforts to repeal the landmark healthcare legislation passed last year.
Discussion:
The Hill, American Power, Washington Post, Swampland, The Page, CNN, Wake up America, National Review, Pajamas Media and The Hill
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Buckle Up for Round 2 — The health care reform law was signed 10 months ago, and what's striking now is how vulnerable it looks. Several threats have emerged — some of them scarcely discussed before passage — that together or alone could seriously endanger the new system. These include:
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Right Turn, Hit & Run, Commentary and The Incidental Economist


Republicans Are Given a Price Tag for Health Law Repeal, but Reject It — WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan budget scorekeepers in Congress said on Thursday that the Republican plan to repeal President Obama's health care law would add $230 billion to federal budget deficits over the next decade …
Discussion:
The Politico, ACS Blog and Wonk Room

CBO says health care repeal would deepen deficit
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, GOP 12, Capitol View, Prairie Weather and The Politico


Rudy gearing up for DC run — Confident that he'd have a chance to win, Rudy Giuliani is rounding up his top political advisers for a possible 2012 presidential run, sources tell Page Six. — Sources say the tough-talking former mayor “thinks the Republican race will be populated …
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Romney flexes muscle in first NH Primary poll while Palin and others lag behind
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Weigel, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and GOP 12

Another CPAC Dust-Up Over Gays
Discussion:
Weigel, TPMDC and Politics Daily

Report: Rudy Giuliani may run again
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, National Review and GOP 12


Obama mouthpiece Robert Gibbs was forced out by new henchman William Daley — I wondered yesterday whether Robert Gibbs jumped or was pushed and noted that President Barack Obama's words indicated that it was “not an entirely voluntary departure”. — It's being reported by John King …
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
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Mitch McConnell: William Daley pick a ‘hopeful sign’ — Senate Minority Mitch McConnell called it a “hopeful sign” that there will soon be someone at the White House who knows how to run more than a “lemonade stand,” hailing President Barack Obama's pick for his new top aide, William Daley.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Ben Smith's Blog

A Shift in Tactics, Not in Ideology
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, NewsBusters.org, Prairie Weather, Marbury, Daily Kos, National Review, Ben Smith's Blog and The Atlantic Online

The Note: Will Obama Sink Or Swim In 2012?: Jobs Report Holds Clues
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, CNN and New York Times

President Revs Up Campaign to Make Peace With Business
Discussion:
Associated Press, Shakesville, Political Punch, The Caucus, CNN and The Page


Private Sector Improves Jobs Picture Only Moderately — The United States economy ended the year by adding 103,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday, a number that missed expectations. In addition, the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent last month from 9.8 percent.
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Key Numbers In Unemployment Report Not So Good
Discussion:
Power Line, The Atlantic Online, JustOneMinute, CNBC, Michelle Malkin, Brookings Institute and Moe Lane

103,000 new jobs in December; unemployment down to 9.4 percent
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Felix Salmon, Brookings Institute, The Daily Dish and AOL News

Economy Adds Fewer Jobs Than Expected
Discussion:
New Deal 2.0, The Daily Caller and iOwnTheWorld.com

Parts of the Constitution inadvertently skipped in ‘historic reading’ on floor — The U.S. Constitution has still never been read in its entirety and in order on the House floor. — During Thursday morning's “historic reading,” one member apparently skipped Article 4 Section 4 and part …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, New York Times, Politics Daily, Raw Story, The Huffington Post, The Nation and TPMDC
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Boehner v. Pelosi: House Leaders Spar Over Significance of Jobs Report
Discussion:
The Politico

Memo to Speaker Boehner: If You Won a Congessional Majority …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Other McCain and AMERICAblog News

MA Supreme Court Deals Banks a Major Blow on Foreclosure Fraud, in the Ibanez Case — In a major ruling in the Massachusetts Supreme Court today, US Bank and Wells Fargo lost the “Ibanez case,” meaning that they don't have standing to foreclose due to improper mortgage assignment.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Emptywheel
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A court case to challenge securitisation standards [updated]
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg, Clusterstock, naked capitalism and Foreclosure Fraud

The Texas Omen — These are tough times for state governments. Huge deficits loom almost everywhere, from California to New York, from New Jersey to Texas. — Wait — Texas? Wasn't Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered? Didn't its governor declare …
Discussion:
Clusterstock, The Future of Capitalism, AMERICAblog News and Prairie Weather

Pawlenty: Sarah Palin Is a ‘Force of Nature’ — Although former Gov. Tim Pawlenty no longer holds the executive seat in Minnesota, that doesn't mean he is hanging up his political hat for good.
Discussion:
Cubachi, USA Today, Liberty Pundits Blog, TPMDC, The Page and Politics Daily
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To House GOP, illegal immigration is a jobs issue — With Republicans now in control of the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder and other Justice Department officials are going to be answering a lot of questions in the next two years. “We're going to start fast,” …
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House approves resolution fixing problem with missed swearing-in — The House has just approved H.Res. 26, which is meant to fix the problems created when two Republican members were not properly sworn in on Jan. 5. — The resolution was approved over Democratic objections in a 257-159 vote.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Washington Monthly
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Two Members Appear to Break Rules on First Day of New Congress
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Huffington Post, Booman Tribune, Oliver Willis, Wonkette, Suburban Guerrilla, Daily Kos and The Impolitic


Church Leaders Blast NYC Abortion Numbers … Archbishop Timothy Dolan joined other religious leaders Thursday vowing to work to reduce the number of abortions in New York City. — Leaders of various faiths denounced figures that showed that 41% of pregnancies in the city were terminated in 2009.
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared
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39 Percent Of NYC Pregnancies Result In Abortion
Discussion:
theblogprof, Hot Air and iOwnTheWorld.com

U.S. Sends Warning to People Named in Cable Leaks — WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning hundreds of human rights activists, foreign government officials and businesspeople identified in leaked diplomatic cables of potential threats to their safety and has moved a handful …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Guardian, AOL News, Foreign Policy, New York Magazine and The Agonist


Bernanke Warns Jobs Recovery Could Take Years, Urges Action on Deficit Problems — ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports: — Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke today told Congress that if the pace of job creation continues at December's levels - when 103,000 jobs were added to payrolls …
Discussion:
The Politico and HotAirPundit


EXCLUSIVE: Sonny Bono's Widow - Rep. Mary Bono - In Lurid Photo Scandal With Woman Investigated By FBI — Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack has been caught on camera in a lurid scandal where another woman is apparently licking her breast. — RadarOnline.com has exclusively obtained the photo …
Discussion:
Oliver Willis

Hinkle: Debates of 2010 Raised More Questions — Time's passage winnows the chaff from the country's big debates. So look back at two of the chief disputes from 2010. You will find something curious in the kernels. — The first debate concerned health-care reform.
Discussion:
protein wisdom