Top Items:
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
House rejects measure that would extend key Patriot Act provisions through December — A measure to extend key provisions of the Patriot Act counterterrorism surveillance law through December failed the House Tuesday night, with more than two-dozen Republicans bucking their party to oppose the measure.
RELATED:
The Politico:
Rank-and-file reject Patriot Act — House Republicans Tuesday night got a harsh introduction to the majority, as more than two dozen rank-and-file GOP lawmakers voted against reauthorizing the Patriot Act. — And just hours before the vote on the Bush-era homeland security measure …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Threat Level, The Nation, ThinkProgress and Hot Air
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House fails to extend Patriot Act surveillance as Republicans defect — The House on Tuesday night failed to approve legislation to extend surveillance authorities in the Patriot Act. — In a 277-148 vote, the House fell just seven votes short of the two-thirds majority of voting members necessary …
Discussion:
Fox News, Raw Story, The Impolitic, Booman Tribune and Hit & Run
Washington Post:
Patriot Act extension fails in the House by seven votes — House Republicans suffered an embarrassing setback Tuesday when they fell seven votes short of extending provisions of the Patriot Act, a vote that served as the first small uprising of the party's tea-party bloc.
Discussion:
Examiner, Daily Kos, The Foundry, Weigel, Wall Street Journal, Prairie Weather and Bloomberg
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
White House wants longer extension of Patriot Act than House Republicans — The Obama administration said Tuesday it wants a three-year extension of Patriot Act surveillance authorities, far longer than the timeline proposed by House Republicans. — The White House released a Statement …
Discussion:
Political Punch, Sky Dancing, Proof Positive, Firedoglake, The Note and The Nation
Teddy Partridge / Firedoglake:
Tea Party Meets Kucinich Halfway, Foils PATRIOT Act Extension
Tea Party Meets Kucinich Halfway, Foils PATRIOT Act Extension
Discussion:
Washington Post and rubber hose
Reuters:
House seen blocking healthcare funds
House seen blocking healthcare funds
Discussion:
RedState, YID With LID, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Arianna Huffington's ideological transformation — Did Arianna Huffington just sell out her fellow progressives? — In the literal sense, she undoubtedly has: The sale of Huffington Post to AOL for $315 million (including a large pile of cash going to Huffington herself) …
Discussion:
The New Republic and Online NewsHour
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Matt Lewis / Politics Daily:
My Farewell* Post to Politics Daily Readers
My Farewell* Post to Politics Daily Readers
Discussion:
Politics, Mediaite, POWIP, Pajamas Media, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Other McCain, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs, YID With LID, The Plum Line and Weigel
Simmi Aujla / The Politico:
West: AOL-HuffPo merger threatens tea party groups
West: AOL-HuffPo merger threatens tea party groups
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Weigel
Brett Pulley / Bloomberg:
AOL's Armstrong Wagers on Arianna Huffington in ‘Shoot The Moon’ Purchase
AOL's Armstrong Wagers on Arianna Huffington in ‘Shoot The Moon’ Purchase
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
John Vidal / Guardian:
Saudi oil reserves ‘overstated by 40%’ — US diplomat convinced by Saudi expert that reserves of world's biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40% — The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mother Jones, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, Philly.com, The Nation and AMERICAblog News
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Obama's Approval Rating on Deficit Sinks to New Low — Egypt ranks among issues on which Obama is best rated — PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama's approval rating for handling the federal budget deficit has gone from bad to worse in recent months, even as his ratings …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
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Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Just as things looked brighter for Obama, Americans' approval of his deficit handling craters — Oh, no! What a mid-week bummer for the White House. — Just when Americans appeared to be buying the rhetorical hoh-hah about President Obama realizing he had drifted way too far to the left side …
Discussion:
Gallup
Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
Plans Near for Freddie and Fannie — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and House Republicans are settling into a game of chicken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with each side daring the other to advance a plan for replacing the two housing finance companies.
Discussion:
DealBook, Ezra Klein, Market Urbanism and Calculated Risk
RELATED:
Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:
White House Plans to Revamp Mortgage Market
White House Plans to Revamp Mortgage Market
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Mark Mellinger / WANE-TV:
Lugar to Tea Party: “Get real.” — WASHINGTON, DC (WANE) - He's an institution in Washington, DC. Over the years, few senators have garnered more respect on Capitol Hill than Indiana's Richard Lugar . He's been a fixture in the Senate since 1977; seemingly unbeatable at the ballot box.
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, National Review, Politics Daily, Lippmann's Ghost, Hot Air, nancynall.com, The Fix, The Politico, The Hill, Shakesville, Weasel Zippers and msnbc.com
RELATED:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Boehner: ‘I should be’ considered a member of the Tea Party
Boehner: ‘I should be’ considered a member of the Tea Party
Discussion:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers and The Note
CNN:
Muslim Brotherhood: ‘We are not seeking power’ — Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — Keeping with the low-profile it has adopted in Egypt's uprising, the Muslim Brotherhood said Wednesday it wants to promote democracy but does not intend to field a candidate for president.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings from National:
Barack Obama: “I didn't raise taxes once.” — President Barack Obama says he didn't raise taxes once. — In an interview on Super Bowl Sunday, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly asked President Barack Obama to react to a Wall Street Journal editorial that accused Obama of being …
Discussion:
Tammy Bruce, Big Government, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, TaxProf Blog, The Foundry, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and AmSpecBlog
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Protest in Egypt Takes a Turn as Workers Go on Strike — CAIRO — Protesters demanding the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak appeared on Wednesday to have recaptured the initiative in their battle with his government, demonstrating a new ability to mobilize thousands to take over Cairo's streets beyond …
Discussion:
Guardian, The Nation and Wonkette
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Rick Santorum: Sarah Palin skips CPAC for C-notes — Rick Santorum knocked Sarah Palin's decision to skip CPAC, saying on Tuesday that she must have “business opportunities” that are keeping her from the annual conservative conference that is a showcase for potential presidential contenders.
Discussion:
CNN, Cubachi and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
CBS News:
Planned Parenthood Video Fuels Abortion Debate — Undercover Video Shows Fake Pimp Seeking Abortions for Underage Sex Workers, Getting Advice from Planned Parenthood Employees — (CBS) In Washington Tuesday the House began hearings on the controversial subject of abortion.
Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Chris Matthews Calls Palin ‘A Cuckoo Clock’ and Gingrich ‘A Mortal Enemy to Our Civilization’ — Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey said Monday that MSNBC's Chris Matthews “seems to be slipping out of touch with reality.” — On Tuesday, the “Hardball” host proved Armey's point by calling Sarah Palin …
Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Unbiasing Academia — I'm not surprised that John Tierney's new article on Jonathan Haidt has gotten a lot of attention from conservatives; it involves a liberal academic telling them something they already know: that academia discriminates against them. … In blog years, this is an age-old argument.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, Truth on the Market, Balloon Juice, alicublog, National Review and Hit & Run
Brad Johnson / ThinkProgress:
Rep. Fred Upton On Global Warming: ‘I Do Not Accept That It Is Man-Made’ — At a public forum today, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the new head of the House energy committee, denied that climate change is manmade. Upton, who received $20,000 from Koch Industries in his most recent campaign …
Discussion:
Climate Progress and The Gateway Pundit
David Rogers / The Politico:
Budget cuts take hits from both sides — Facing a two-front war on the left and right, the House Appropriations Committee voted, 27-22, Tuesday evening to move ahead with Republican plans for cutting close to $40 billion from domestic and foreign aid spending over the last seven months of this fiscal year.
Discussion:
National Review
Ryan J. Reilly / TPMMuckraker:
Christine O'Donnell Will Use Committee To ‘Investigate’ Left-Wing Groups — Failed GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell is back, and she's telling supporters she wants her newly formed political action committee ChristinePAC to “investigate and counter attack leftwing groups.”
Discussion:
Raw Story and Angry Black Lady Chronicles
New York Times:
Former Judge Is on Trial in ‘Cash for Kids’ Scheme — SCRANTON, Pa. — A former Pennsylvania judge went on trial in federal court on Tuesday, charged with racketeering, bribery and extortion in what prosecutors say was a $2.8 million scheme to send juvenile delinquents to privately run prisons.
Discussion:
WNEP-TV, Lawyers, Guns & Money and TalkLeft
Bloomberg:
Brown, BP Cleared of Lobbying Scots to Free Bomber — Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) — Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government and BP Plc were cleared of lobbying Scottish politicians to free Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Al-Megrahi in a report that said U.K. officials helped Libya seek his release.
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Daily Kos