Top Items:
John / Power Line:
“Steep Cuts?” Even the Left Is Starting to Notice — Liberal press outlets are reporting, generally without criticism, the Obama administration's claim that its FY 2012 budget embodies “steep cuts” in federal spending over the coming decade. Since a picture is worth a thousand words …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and Chicago Boyz
RELATED:
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Obama To The Next Generation: Screw You, Suckers — The logic behind president Obama's budget has one extremely sensible feature: it distinguishes between spending that simply adds to consumption, and spending that really does mean investment. His analogy over the weekend …
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, The Jawa Report, The Politico, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Washington Times, Hot Air, The TrogloPundit, National Review, The Moderate Voice, AmSpecBlog, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, Washington Wire, Samizdata.net, The Greenroom, The New Republic and Wall Street Journal
Directorblue / Doug Ross:
One Chart to Rule Them All: the Obama Budget Apocalypse — I modified an excellent Wall Street Journal graphic to illustrate just how tragic and ineffectual President Obama's proposed budget cuts are. — Consider the anticipated spending trajectory over the next decade as entitlement spending and interest payments balloon.
Discussion:
National Review, Outside the Beltway, Paul Krugman, Hot Air, CNNMoney.com, Pundit & Pundette and Marathon Pundit
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Lucky Duckies — I don't think we should cut Social Security benefits.
Lucky Duckies — I don't think we should cut Social Security benefits.
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Paul Krugman:
The Great Abdication — Andrew Leonard is right …
The Great Abdication — Andrew Leonard is right …
Discussion:
The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Salon, Grasping Reality …, AmSpecBlog, Ezra Klein, The Plum Line and driftglass
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE EXTRAORDINARY TIMING OF JIM DEMINT AND MIKE PENCE. …
THE EXTRAORDINARY TIMING OF JIM DEMINT AND MIKE PENCE. …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Daily Beast, SENATUS, United States Senator …, Ezra Klein, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Rep. Ryan: GOP won't allow shutdown due to budget impasse — Republicans will pass short-term measures to keep funding the government rather than allow a shutdown, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday. — Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said that if the GOP-held House …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and JammieWearingFool
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE PROSPECTS OF A ‘GRAND BARGAIN’.... Rumors occasionally make the rounds about a “grand bargain” between Democrats and Republicans. The idea is based on the notion of an all-inclusive compromise that would encompass deficit reduction, tax reform, the debt ceiling, and giving entitlements some sort of haircut.
Discussion:
New York Review of Books, Mother Jones and The New Republic
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Clinton to announce new ‘AfPak’ envoy — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has chosen a new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, after months of delay and disagreements between the White House and the State Department over the parameters of the job that became vacant …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, News Desk, New York Times, Politics Daily, FrumForum and The Page
RELATED:
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
Truth or Consequences — What if Justice Scalia sued the New York Times for libel? — The following letter to the editor appeared in the New York Times Friday: … If this is true, Scalia's misconduct is even worse than Fein suggests. Not only has Congress considered legislation to repeal ObamaCare …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and SCOTUSblog
Lance M. Bacon / Army Times:
‘Punisher’ gets its first battlefield tests — XM25 ‘performs flawlessly’ in Afghanistan — The XM25 has changed the battlefield with only 55 rounds, and earned a new name among soldiers. They call it “the Punisher.” — Since its first contact Dec. 3, the XM25 has been in nine engagements …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and Weasel Zippers
Kate Sheppard / Mother Jones:
South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers — A bill under consideration in the Mount Rushmore State would make preventing harm to a fetus a “justifiable homicide” in many cases. — Post Comment — A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice and alicublog
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
House Votes to Extend Patriot Act Provisions — WASHINGTON — The House on Monday voted to reauthorize and extend through Dec. 8 three ways in which Congress expanded the Federal Bureau of Investigation's counterterrorism powers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, TPMMuckraker, FrumForum and The Page
Rachel Maddow / msnbc.com:
Closed captioning of: Prosecutors gear up to charge Edwards in criminal case — >> for two years a federal grand jury has been in fact investigating john edwards and whether he break campaign finance laws to try to cover up an affair with rielle hunter. now the investigation reached a decisive point.
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
DigiTimes:
Apple to expand iPhone screen size to 4-inches — Apple reportedly will change the screen size of iPhone to 4-inch for its fifth generation iPhone to compete with the Google Android platform in the 4- to 7-inch smartphone market, according to upstream component suppliers.
Discussion:
Disruptors, Outside the Beltway, Engadget, TechCrunch and SAI, more at Techmeme »
The Politico:
Liberals launch anti-Darrell Issa crusade — Democrats are understandably obsessed with Darrell Issa — he's built himself up as a one-man investigative machine aimed straight at the Obama presidency. — But a handful of liberal political operatives in California — including …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
More facts emerge about the leaked smear campaigns — As I noted on Friday, the parties implicated in the smear campaigns aimed at WikiLeaks supporters and Chamber of Commerce critics have attempted to heap all the blame on HBGary Federal ("HBGary") and its CEO, Aaron Barr.
Discussion:
Bay Area BizTalk and The Majority Report …
Lisa Riley Roche / Deseret News:
Chaffetz within 10 points of Hatch in new poll — SALT LAKE CITY - A new Deseret News-KSL poll shows Rep. Jason Chaffetz is just 10 points behind Sen. Orrin Hatch, even though he isn't in the race — yet. — In a GOP primary, 44 percent of the Utahns surveyed statewide said they'd vote …
Jennifer Yachnin / Roll Call:
Ethics Board Eyes Schmidt — The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating Rep. Jean Schmidt's receipt of legal assistance from a Turkish-American interest group that has represented her in a host of proceedings in Ohio, one of the Republican's counsels confirmed Friday.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and TPMMuckraker
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Common Cause Asks Court About Thomas Speech — WASHINGTON — Discrepancies in reports about an appearance by Justice Clarence Thomas at a political retreat for wealthy conservatives three years ago have prompted new questions to the Supreme Court from a group that advocates changing campaign finance laws.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice and The BLT
CNN:
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood seeks political party status — Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood will apply to become a political party, it announced Tuesday. — The Brotherhood “envisions the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
The Politico:
Key 2012 early states cool to Palin — A new poll of New Hampshire voters is the latest in a string of surveys suggesting that if Sarah Palin chooses to run for president, she'll struggle in the crucial early states. — The WMUR Granite State Poll released late Monday afternoon puts Palin close …
Discussion:
WMUR, American Power, The Moderate Voice, CNN and HotAirPundit
Andrew Ross Sorkin / DealBook:
Vanishing Act: ‘Advisers’ Seek Distance From a Report — A new study backed by pro-business groups takes a harsh stance on rules intended to bring transparency to the $600 billion derivatives market. The report, published on Monday, claims that proposed regulation could cost 130,000 jobs …
Discussion:
The Big Picture, naked capitalism and The Baseline Scenario
Laura Myers / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Romney visits Las Vegas, meets with GOP backers, business — Mitt Romney spent Valentine's Day in Las Vegas, speaking to business groups and supporters in preparation for his likely White House run. — Given the friendly audiences, it was all hearts and flowers on Monday for the former Massachusetts governor.
Discussion:
GOP 12, Real Clear Politics and The Hill
Peter Suderman / Wall Street Journal:
ObamaCare and the Medicaid Mess — States need relief from the program's inflexible rules and escalating costs. — Facing growing resistance to Medicaid costs, the Obama administration's Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, sent a letter to states last week noting the …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page and Hit & Run
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Experience Economy — Tyler Cowen's e-book, “The Great Stagnation,” has become the most debated nonfiction book so far this year. Cowen's core point is that up until sometime around 1974, the American economy was able to experience awesome growth by harvesting low-hanging fruit.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, EconLog and Daily Kos
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Poll: Bill Nelson vulnerable to GOP challenger — Florida Sen. Bill Nelson falls short of the 50-percent mark against five potential Republican opponents, according to a poll commissioned by Ron Sachs Communications and conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research.
Discussion:
CNN and Taegan Goddard's …
Juana Summers / The Politico:
Trump: Gays yes, gay marriage no — Donald Trump may have some New Yorkers doing a double-take, after he expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage while also saying he digs the city's robust gay population. — “New York is a place with lots of gays, and I think it's great.
Discussion:
CNN, Riehl World View and The Page
Las Vegas Sun Blogs:
Rep. Dean Heller takes poll, leads Sen. John Ensign by 15, inches closer to announcement — Rep. Dean Heller all but telegraphed his intention to run against Sen. John Ensign by taking a poll to gauge his viability and discovering he leads Ensign by 53-38. The survey, taken last month …
Discussion:
Hotline On Call