Top Items:
Democracy Now:
Tucson Shooting Survivor: “It Looks Like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the Rest Got Their First Target” — We speak with Tucson shooting survivor Eric Fuller. A 63-year-old disabled veteran, Fuller had campaigned for Arizona Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in her reelection campaign …
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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.
Kendra Marr / The Politico:
Tucson shooting victim blames Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Sharron Angle — A wounded survivor of the Tuscon shooting that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is blaming Sarah Palin, House Speaker John Boehner, Fox TV host Glenn Beck, and former Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle for the tragedy.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, JammieWearingFool, TBogg, Weasel Zippers, FrumForum, The Daily Caller and Fox Nation
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Michael Steele bows out of RNC Chair race, endorses Maria Cino — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele bowed out of his longshot bid for a second term, bringing an end to a two-year tenure more defined by gaffes than the electoral victories his party racked up.
Discussion:
Fox Nation, Weasel Zippers, The Page, New York Magazine and News One
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T.W. Farnam / Washington Post:
RNC finances suffer from loss of major donors
RNC finances suffer from loss of major donors
Discussion:
Mother Jones, New York Times, Hot Air, Washington Wire, Politics Daily, The Daily Beast, AOL News, The Gateway Pundit, FrumForum and The BLT
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
RNC Member Yells Out ‘No’ When Asked To Support Steele For Second Term
RNC Member Yells Out ‘No’ When Asked To Support Steele For Second Term
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Gateway Pundit
Paul Bedard / US News:
Reagan Son Claims Dad Had Alzheimer's as President — 2011 is a big year for Ronald Reagan fans, being the centennial of his February 6 birth in Tampico, Ill. But youngest son Ron Reagan is spoiling the good cheer with a new book that suggests the Gipper suffered from Alzheimer's disease …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Pajamas Media, Raw Story, Taegan Goddard's … and Joe. My. God.
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Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Morning Joe: Palin's AZ Response ‘Probably Ended Her Political Career’ — Joe Scarborough did invite folks to “rub it in my face if I'm wrong,” and there will surely be many who would like nothing better than to oblige him . . . Today's Morning Joe saw considerable consensus around the view …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Outside the Beltway
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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 …
Nick Baumann / Mother Jones:
What's Happening in Tunisia Explained — Reports just emerged around 12:30 p.m. Eastern time that the Tunisian dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Ben Ali), has fled the country and the Army has taken power. (Also: We have a scoop about how Washington Media Group, the DC public affairs firm …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Hot Air, al-bab.com, Marc Lynch, Gawker, TechCrunch, msnbc.com, Danger Room, Time, RealClearWorld and Newshoggers.com, more at Mediagazer »
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Elizabeth Dickinson / Foreign Policy:
The First WikiLeaks Revolution? — Tunisians didn't need any more reasons to protest when they took to the streets these past weeks — food prices were rising, corruption was rampant, and unemployment was staggering. But we might also count Tunisia as the first time that WikiLeaks pushed people over the brink.
Discussion:
BBC, The Daily Dish, Gawker, The Wire, Clusterstock, The Nation, Guardian, Emptywheel and FP Passport, more at Techmeme »
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Prime Minister Claims Power in Tunisia as President Flees
Prime Minister Claims Power in Tunisia as President Flees
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Daily Dish, FP Passport, The Lede, al-bab.com, Outside the Beltway, AOL News, Hit & Run, Guardian, democracyarsenal.org and Gawker
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.”
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New York Times:
Police Describe Photos of Loughner Posing With Gun — TUCSON — Law enforcement officials said Friday they have multiple photos of Jared L. Loughner posing with a Glock 9mm pistol next to his naked buttocks and dressed in a bright red g-string. It is the same model of weapon as the one the police …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Wire, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, The Daily Caller, Runnin' Scared, National Review, ABCNEWS, Sister Toldjah, TPMMuckraker and msnbc.com
Washington Times:
Blood libel against Palin, Limbaugh — Liberals stoop to new low, scramble to score points from murder — Sarah Palin issued a statement yesterday condemning the “reprehensible” response to Saturday's shooting in Tucson by some members of the media. “Within hours of a tragedy unfolding …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, TPMMuckraker and New York Magazine
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William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
And The Award For Most Hypocritical “Blood Libel” Critic Goes To ...
And The Award For Most Hypocritical “Blood Libel” Critic Goes To ...
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs, Pajamas Media, Power Line and National Review
Ben Geman / The Hill:
Study: Climate change contributed to fall of Roman empire — Some House Democrats blamed their defeat in November's mid-term elections partly on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to force a vote on a climate change bill. — A new study suggests that climate change has claimed bigger political victims in the past.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool
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Farhad Manjoo / Slate:
Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period. — Last month, Gawker published a series of messages that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had once written to a 19-year-old girl he'd become infatuated with. Gawker called the e-mails “creepy,” “lovesick,” and “stalkery”; I'd add overwrought, self-important, and dorky.
Discussion:
GOOD, The Daily Dish and A plain blog about politics
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Maine governor says NAACP can ‘kiss my butt’ — (CNN) - Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage is keeping up his reputation for blunt language, telling an unhappy NAACP chapter that they can “kiss my butt.” — The governor made the comments to CNN affiliate WCSH after being asked about criticism …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and JOSHUAPUNDIT
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:
Firedoglake, PostPartisan, The Huffington Post, The Awl, The Moderate Voice and The Daily Dish
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:
Wonkette, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, The Maddow Blog and AFL-CIO NOW BLOG
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
There will be blog — What Part Of “Nonviolence” Is Hard To Understand? — The Department of Defense has bitten off a little more than they can chew here: … The short answer is that King was committed to the principle of nonviolence and so would not have supported any war …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
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Terri Moon Cronk / American Forces Press Service:
King Might Understand Today's Wars, Pentagon Lawyer Says
King Might Understand Today's Wars, Pentagon Lawyer Says
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Salon, Political Punch, Raw Story, Yglesias, Attackerman, Hit & Run and Oliver Willis
John McCain / Washington Post:
After the shootings, Obama reminds the nation of the golden rule — President Obama gave a terrific speech Wednesday night. He movingly mourned and honored the victims of Saturday's senseless atrocity outside Tucson, comforted and inspired the country, and encouraged those of us who have the privilege of serving America.
Discussion:
The Hill and Weasel Zippers
Jeanne Cummings / The Politico:
Barack Obama's 2012 cash challenge — Bracing for a half-billion-dollar onslaught of outside GOP cash in 2012, President Barack Obama's advisers are quietly working to bring back together the major donor base that produced a record-breaking fundraising haul in his first run for president.
Discussion:
The Confluence, Weasel Zippers and Ben Smith's Blog
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:
Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway and Pajamas Media
Joshua Green / The Atlantic Online:
The Wacky, Mildly Racist Godfather's Pizza Ad That Could Affect the GOP Primary — After posting this profile of Herman Cain, the Tea Party-backed, African-American former CEO of Godfather's pizza and current radio talk-show host who just launched a presidential exploratory committee...
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
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
Ramesh Ponnuru / New York Times:
How the G.O.P. Can Cut and Survive — THE new Congress is less than two weeks old, but pundits from across the political spectrum are already urging the newly empowered Republicans to take on Medicare and Social Security. — Conservatives argue it's the only way to make good on the party's limited-government rhetoric.
John T. Bennett / The Hill:
House Republican aims to put brakes on repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell' — A member of the House Armed Services Committee plans to introduce legislation next week designed to put the brakes on repeal of the military's ban on openly gay troops. — The measure by Rep. Duncan Hunter …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog Gay and Joe. My. God.
Ezra Klein:
The White House brings in Bruce Reed — I've not paid much attention to the resignation of Ron Klain, Chief of Staff to the Vice President. But now that Biden has named Bruce Reed to replace him, I'm a bit more interested. — Reed — who is pictured at right, standing alongside Gene Sperling …