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:
National Review, Pajamas Media and Chicago Boyz
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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:
No Runny Eggs, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Paul Krugman, Hot Air, Pundit & Pundette and Marathon Pundit
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Lucky Duckies — I don't think we should cut Social Security benefits. But if we are going to cut Social Security benefits, I think it doesn't make sense to do what the Obama administration has done and make “No current beneficiaries should see their basic benefits reduced” one of the bargaining points.
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
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:
Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Questions and Observations, The Jawa Report, The Huffington Post, The Politico, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, The TrogloPundit, Hot Air, National Review, The Moderate Voice, Washington Times, AmSpecBlog, Ballot Box, Washington Wire, Samizdata.net, The Greenroom, The New Republic and Wall Street Journal
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
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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
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
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:
Ben Smith's Blog and JammieWearingFool
Brady Dennis / Washington Post:
Neil Barofsky, TARP's outspoken overseer, will resign — Neil M. Barofsky, whose aggressive oversight of the government's $700 billion bank bailout program has become a thorn in the Obama administration's side over the past two years, gave notice Monday that he plans to resign his position at the end of March.
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Kate Sheppard / Mobile | 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. — A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of “justifiable homicide” …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, pandagon.net, The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice and alicublog
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Should Republicans Fret Over Their Presidential Field? — Republican insiders, reports the Washington Post's plugged-in Jennifer Rubin, are worried about the quality of their slate of presidential candidates for 2012. Indeed, it has become the conventional wisdom to assert that the Republican field is a fairly weak one.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and The Volokh Conspiracy
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
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
WBIR-TV:
Critics and supporters turned out for event featuring Huckabee — Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee was a guest at a fundraiser held at the Knoxville Convention Center. — The event benefits an anti-abortion group called the Center for Bioethical Reform.
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
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:
Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and The BLT
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, Wonkette, Riehl World View and The Page
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
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:
American Power, The Moderate Voice, CNN and HotAirPundit
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
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, WMUR, Real Clear Politics and The Hill
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
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:
Daily Kos and Bay Area BizTalk
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
Squathole / Obalesque:
Oh Say Can Vee Dee? — Well, today's the big day. VD. Valentine's Day. Or, as we say around here, “Viagra Day.” — Guido is pretty direct about it. “Get me flowers,” she says. “Or get yourself some bandages and a place to spend the night.” — Ha! What a kidder. But then I read my email.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
New WH spokesman ready to brief the press, colleague says — New White House press secretary Jay Carney has yet to hold a formal press briefing, but one of his colleagues says he is certainly ready to do so. — White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer took to Twitter on Tuesday …
Discussion:
The Politico
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
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 …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Fix, The Hill, CNN and Taegan Goddard's …
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