Top Items:
Shmuley Boteach / Wall Street Journal:
Sarah Palin Is Right About ‘Blood Libel’ — Judaism rejects the idea of collective responsibility for murder. — The term “blood libel”—which Sarah Palin invoked this week to describe the suggestions by journalists and politicians that conservative figures like herself are responsible …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Power Line, GayPatriot, Sheya, Israel Matzav, Althouse, American Power and National Review
RELATED:
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Some say ‘blood libel’ signaled base
Some say ‘blood libel’ signaled base
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Conservatives4Palin
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Palin to deliver address at gun convention — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will deliver a keynote address to a gun convention later this month. — Palin (R) will speak to the Safari International Club (SCI) in Reno, Nev. on Saturday, Jan. 29, according to the group's website.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and JammieWearingFool
RELATED:
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Sarah Palin to speak in Nevada — Sarah Palin isn't retreating on guns. Instead, she's reloading. — The former vice presidential candidate and possible 2012 presidential hopeful is headed to Safari Club International's convention later this month in Reno, Nev. - one of the key early presidential primary states.
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, The Daily Caller and TPMDC
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
A Tale of Two Moralities — On Wednesday, President Obama called on Americans to “expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.”
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Paul Krugman, TalkLeft, The New Republic, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Althouse, The Mahablog and Patterico's Pontifications
Washington Post:
House GOP to resume health-care repeal effort, but with more civil tone — House Republican leaders said Thursday that they will begin their effort to repeal the new health-care law next week, a return to normal legislative business after the shootings in Arizona suspended activity on Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Wonk Room, The Politico, Prairie Weather, Parker Spitzer, Shakesville and The Plum Line
RELATED:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
House Republicans Edge Back to Business as Usual
House Republicans Edge Back to Business as Usual
Discussion:
The Hill and Sweetness & Light
Mike Allen / The Politico:
TEAM OBAMA BEGINS PLANNING $1 BILLION REELECTION CAMPAIGN - Party members may mix across aisle for State of the Union - Au revoir, Chairman Steele — Taylor and Amy Gross have #3, a girl — Good Friday morning. TOP TALKER - DNC BRAINSTORMS 2012 WITH BUNDLERS — Jeanne Cummings …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Commentary and Runnin' Scared
NY Daily News:
Drifter Naeem Ahmed accused of stalking Caroline Kennedy's 20-year-old daughter Tatiana Schlossberg — Tatiana Schlossberg, with mom Caroline Kennedy, has been fending off stalker Naeem Ahmed (below) for 2-1/2 years. He even tried twice to visit her Manhattan home.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, City Room, msnbc.com and JammieWearingFool
Jeffrey Lord / AmSpecBlog:
Mark Levin's $100,000 Challenge to Chris Matthews — Conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin has put out a stunning challenge to those left-wing media personalities accusing conservative talk radio stars and Sarah Palin of encouraging murder. — First, he offered $100,000 to Chris Matthews …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Daily Dish, Breitbart.tv, NewsBusters.org blogs, RealClearPolitics Video Log and RADAMISTO
First Lady Michelle Obama / White House.gov Blog:
An Open Letter to Parents Following the Tragedy in Tucson — Like so many Americans all across the country, Barack and I were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of violence committed in Arizona this past weekend. Yesterday, we had the chance to attend a memorial service and meet …
RELATED:
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Michelle Obama's lesson from the Tucson massacre: Teach your children …
Michelle Obama's lesson from the Tucson massacre: Teach your children …
Discussion:
Wizbang, TPM LiveWire and Lynn Sweet
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Steele's rocky tenure at RNC expected to end Friday — Washington (CNN) - It's anybody's guess which candidate will emerge as the next chairman of the Republican National Committee after Friday's election, but RNC watchers largely agree on one thing: the reign of Michael Steele has come to an end.
Discussion:
The Note, Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, This Just In, News Desk, Wall Street Journal and TPMDC
RELATED:
Tim Mak / FrumForum:
D-Day for Steele — Which RNC candidates should you watch on which ballots?
D-Day for Steele — Which RNC candidates should you watch on which ballots?
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com, Riehl World View and TPMDC
David Brooks / New York Times:
Tree of Failure — President Obama gave a wonderful speech in Tucson on Wednesday night. He didn't try to explain the rampage that occurred there. Instead, he used the occasion as a national Sabbath — as a chance to step out of the torrent of events and reflect. He did it with an uplifting spirit.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and The Moderate Voice
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Sen. Mike Lee Calls Child Labor Laws Unconstitutional — Last week, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) posted a lecture on his YouTube channel where he explains in great detail his views on the Constitution. As part of the lecture, which is essentially a lengthy defense of his radical tenther interpretation …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Maddow Blog
Free exchange:
The debt ceiling and default — ALMOST everyone takes it for granted that a failure to raise the debt ceiling will eventually force the United States to default on its Treasury debt. This notion is superficially puzzling. The question is addressed in this week's issue of The Economist.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein and The Glittering Eye
RELATED:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Gay groups criticize Justice Department brief — President Obama seemed to have mended his difficult relationship with the gay rights movement by getting the repeal of “don't ask, don't tell” done, but this evening brings another flare-up. — Gay groups are furious with a Justice Department …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, AMERICAblog Gay and FrumForum
RELATED:
Chris Geidner / Poliglot:
DOJ Files DOMA Defense in First Circuit Cases
DOJ Files DOMA Defense in First Circuit Cases
Discussion:
Wonk Room, Towleroad News #gay, The Confluence, Joe. My. God., TPMMuckraker and Pam's House Blend
Terri Moon Cronk / American Forces Press Service:
King Might Understand Today's Wars, Pentagon Lawyer Says — If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, would he understand why the United States is at war? — Jeh C. Johnson, the Defense Department's general counsel, posed that question at today's Pentagon commemoration of King's legacy.
Discussion:
Yglesias, Attackerman and Hit & Run
RELATED:
Justin Elliott / Salon:
Obama official: MLK would love our wars!
Obama official: MLK would love our wars!
Discussion:
Raw Story and Oliver Willis
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Palin's biggest problem — Sarah Palin's biggest obstacle to the White House may not be her remarkable level of unpopularity with Democrats and independents. Her more immediate problem is that she simply doesn't have much support in the vital early Republican states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Florida.
Discussion:
GOP 12
Not / AOL News:
Opinion: Elected Officials Flunk Constitution Quiz … When the Republican House leadership decided to start the 112th Congress with a reading of the U.S. Constitution, the decision raised complaints in some quarters that it was little more than a political stunt.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and Pajamas Media
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Tax cuts hinder Obama's plans to overhaul tax code, reduce deficit — President Obama's refusal to raise taxes for the vast majority of Americans will prevent him from pursuing a broad overhaul of the tax code and is making it difficult for him to achieve his goals for reducing the budget deficit …
Discussion:
Yglesias, Wall Street Journal and The New Republic
Mike Allen / Reuters:
Bruce Reed to be Joe Biden chief of staff — Bruce Reed, the executive director of President Barack Obama's deficit commission and well-known Clinton administration policy guru, will become chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, succeeding Ron Klain, an administration official said Friday.
Discussion:
CNN and Ben Smith's Blog
The Huffington Post:
Citigroup Was On The Verge Of Failure, New Report Finds; Rescue Was Based On ‘Gut Instinct’ — What's Your Reaction: … Citigroup, the nation's third-largest bank by assets, was on the verge of being closed by regulators the week of Nov. 24, 2008 as depositors rapidly withdrew money …
Discussion:
Firedoglake and The Big Picture
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Wisconsin 1, Illinois 0 — With Springfield raising taxes amidst its fiscal disaster, the new Republican governor of the Badger State is telling Illinoisans, “Escape to Wisconsin.” — Illinois this week earned the honor of becoming the first state in 2011 to sock it to taxpayers, passing a tax hike the size of Lake Michigan.
Discussion:
RedState, The Glittering Eye, Mish's Global Economic …, Shot in the Dark and Betsy's Page