Top Items:
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Sarah Palin on Barack Obama speech: ‘WTF’ — Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday night that President Barack Obama's call for “winning the future” during his State of the Union address is best framed by the acronym it shares with a much different phrase — “wtf.”
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Rumproast, Fox Nation, TPMDC, FrumForum, Taylor Marsh and Althouse
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Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
Whoa!... Sarah Palin on Obama's SOTU Speech: “WTF Was Spot-On... There Were a Lot of WTF Moments In That Speech” (Video) — Sarah Palin on Barack Obama's State of the Union Speech. — “His theme of WTF was spot-on.” — Sarah Palin on Barack Obama's State of the Union Address:
Discussion:
Hot Air and iOwnTheWorld.com
Alvin Felzenberg / US News:
Obama's State of the Union Was Tantamount to Plagiarism — If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what can be said of plagiarism? President Obama's second State of the Union address contained enough recycled ideas and lines lifted from speeches of others to make historians wince.
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Betsy's Page, Blue Crab Boulevard, American Glob and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
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NPR:
The State Of The Union, In Your Words — Right after President Barack Obama finished his State of the Union address, we asked our listeners to describe his speech in three words. We received responses from more than 4,000 of you. We've run them through a word cloud generator and this is what all of you said:
Discussion:
Marbury, Tim Blair, Gawker, New York Magazine, Federal Eye and Wonkette
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Boehner: Saying retirement age needed to be raised was ‘mistake’ — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he “made a mistake” when he suggested raising the retirement age to 70 last year. — The Speaker indicated he was premature in suggesting raising the legal age at which retirees …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Daily Kos
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Jana Winter / Fox News:
Celebrity Journalist: I Never Spoke to Hawaii Gov About Obama Birth Certificate — A celebrity journalist now claims he misspoke when he said last week that Hawaii's governor told him he was unable to find President Barack Obama's original birth certificate after a search of state and hospital archives.
Wall Street Journal:
What Caused the Financial Crisis? — Congress's inquiry commission is offering a simplistic narrative that could lead to the wrong policy reforms. — Today, six members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission—created by the last Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis—are releasing their final report.
Discussion:
KeithHennessey.com and Economist's View
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Sewell Chan / New York Times:
Dissenters Fault Report on Crisis in Finance
Dissenters Fault Report on Crisis in Finance
Discussion:
KeithHennessey.com, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and The Big Picture
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Rep. Paul Ryan 1, ObamaCare 0 — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) held an important hearing on ObamaCare, showing just how important is the process for educating the public, and thereby setting defenders of ObamaCare back on their heels. — As he did last night …
Discussion:
Questions and Observations and National Review
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New York Times:
G.O.P. Splits Over Plans to Cut Defense Budget — WASHINGTON — To hear the Republican leadership tell it, the once-sacred Pentagon budget, protected by the party for generations, is suddenly on the table. But a closer look shows that even as Speaker John A. Boehner and Representative Eric Cantor …
Discussion:
The Page
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Jillian Rayfield / TPM LiveWire:
Matthews Yells At Tea Party Leader: Why Is ‘Balloon-Head’ Bachmann Speaking For You
Matthews Yells At Tea Party Leader: Why Is ‘Balloon-Head’ Bachmann Speaking For You
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community, Mediaite and Politics Daily
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
SURPRISED BY THE DEGREE OF SURPRISE.... The day of President Obama's inauguration, the federal budget deficit left by the Republican administration was $1.3 trillion. After some additional economy-saving measures were added to the mix, the 2009 deficit reached $1.4 trillion.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Ezra Klein and The Apothecary
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Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
U.S. Budget Deficit to Pass $1.5 Trillion This Year
U.S. Budget Deficit to Pass $1.5 Trillion This Year
Discussion:
Director's Blog, PostPartisan, Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air, Politics Daily, Outside the Beltway and Instapundit
BBC:
Uganda gay rights activist David Kato killed — David Kato led condemnation of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill — A Ugandan gay rights campaigner who last year sued a local newspaper which outed him as homosexual has been beaten to death, activists say. — Police have confirmed the death …
Discussion:
Harry's Place and Comments from Left Field
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Jim Burroway / Box Turtle Bulletin:
Ugandan LGBT Advocate Murdered; Had Been Named By “Hang Them” Tabloid
Ugandan LGBT Advocate Murdered; Had Been Named By “Hang Them” Tabloid
Discussion:
New York Times, Pam's House Blend, Guardian, The Huffington Post and Lez Get Real
Bill Keller / New York Times:
Dealing With Assange and the Secrets He Spilled — This past June, Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guardian, phoned me and asked, mysteriously, whether I had any idea how to arrange a secure communication. Not really, I confessed. The Times doesn't have encrypted phone lines, or a Cone of Silence.
Discussion:
Threat Level, Eschaton, Balloon Juice, Runnin' Scared, Gawker, The Awl, Prairie Weather and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »
The Politico:
Filibuster reform's small steps — With the start of a new session, the time was ripe for the Senate to reform its archaic procedural rules and curb obstruction - to do something about rampant filibuster abuse. — There had been much talk about comprehensive rules reform …
Discussion:
Brennan Center for Justice, New York Times and pr.thinkprogress.org
RELATED:
ABCNEWS:
Sen. Harry Reid Says Earmarks Will Return, Despite Obama's State of the Union Vow
Sen. Harry Reid Says Earmarks Will Return, Despite Obama's State of the Union Vow
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, CNN, Hot Air, Liberty Pundits Blog and The Hill
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Senate nears approval of filibuster changes
Senate nears approval of filibuster changes
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and The Hill
W. Thomas Smith Jr / Human Events:
Bill Aimed at Protecting S.C. From Foreign Law Introduced in Legislature — COLUMBIA, S.C. - A legislative initiative aimed at preventing “a court or other enforcement authority” from enforcing foreign law in the Palmetto State was introduced today in both the S.C. House and Senate by Rep. Wendy Nanney …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Jihad Watch, HillBuzz.org, Weasel Zippers and Ben Smith's Blog
Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich sues cafeteria over olive pit in sandwich — Rep. Dennis Kucinich has sued a U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria for selling him a sandwich wrap that caused dental damage when he bit into an olive pit, according to a Jan. 3 lawsuit filed in Superior Court for the District of Columbia.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media and FrumForum
RELATED:
Jason Millman / The Hill:
HHS grants 500 new healthcare waivers — A week after Republicans announced plans to investigate waivers granted to organizations for healthcare reform provisions, President Obama's health department made public new waivers for more than more than 500 groups.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Carlos Lozano / L.A. NOW:
Border authorities arrest controversial Muslim cleric east of San Diego — U.S. border authorities have arrested a controversial Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia three years ago and was caught earlier this month trying to sneak into California inside the trunk of a BMW, according to court documents.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, AOL News, The Gateway Pundit, Jihad Watch and The Jawa Report
Reuters:
Goldman Sachs Got Billions From AIG For Its Own Account, Crisis Panel Finds … Goldman Sachs collected $2.9 billion from the American International Group as payout on a speculative trade it placed for the benefit of its own account, receiving the bulk of those funds after AIG received …
Discussion:
naked capitalism
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Chrysler makes U-turn after bailout — Republicans introduced legislation this week that would amend the Constitution to prevent the government from owning stock in a private company. — The bill, introduced by Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), is aimed at preventing a repeat of the bailouts …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Brian Donohue / New Jersey Online:
Slopes behind ropes: fear of lawsuits closing great New Jersey sledding hills … It's one of the simple, most wonderful pleasures of life: zooming down a snow-covered hill just fast enough for a touch of fear to quicken your pulse. Maybe it's a solo run. Maybe you're clinging to a loved one as you tear down the hill tandem.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Maggie's Farm and ProfessorBainbridge.com
Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
After Failing to Change Senate Rules, Democrats Lose Right to Blame Mitch McConnell — Senate Democrats must blame themselves now, rather than Mitch McConnell. — Senate Democrats had an opportunity to get together and make the Senate a working, majority-rule-based chamber.