Top Items:
Michael Hastings / Rolling Stone:
Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators — The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in “psychological operations” to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned …
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Michelle Malkin:
Video: CWA union thug strikes young female FreedomWorks activist; Updated — This is Tabitha Hale, a young conservative activist/original Tea Party organizer/blogger who works for Washington, D.C.-based FreedomWorks. I know her from her great grass-roots work with Smart Girl Politics when the Tea Party movement was just emerging.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, RedState, Examiner, Common Sense Political Thought, Townhall.com, Boston Globe, Right Wing News, UNCOVERAGE.net, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Doug Ross, theblogprof, Hot Air, NewsReal Blog, Big Journalism, Mofo Politics, The Sundries Shack, Human Events, The Gateway Pundit, Cold Fury, Moe Lane, Breitbart.tv, Red White Blue News, The Other McCain, AmSpecBlog, POWIP, Weasel Zippers, Wall Street Journal, JammieWearingFool, protein wisdom, Sister Toldjah, No Runny Eggs, American Power, The Daley Gator, Pajamas Media, Da Techguy's Blog, Instapundit and New Hampshire Journal
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Tabitha Hale / RedState:
Union Thuggery Descends On FreedomWorks — Today, union thugs descended on the FreedomWorks office. It was the middle of the day, and there was some excitement outside as all the buses pulled up and people started to fill the courtyard. We decided to go out and show our support for freedom.
Discussion:
Wonkette, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Scared Monkeys, Moe Lane and UNCOVERAGE.net
Kyle Cheney / Boston Herald:
Capuano ‘bloody’ comment becomes flashpoint in union flap — U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano expressed regret Wednesday for his choice of words at a Tuesday rally to support Wisconsin workers, after national and local Republicans pounced on him for “over-the-top and inflammatory rhetoric.”
Discussion:
Maggie's Notebook, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers, AmSpecBlog, theblogprof and The Gateway Pundit
Chris Frates / The Politico:
Lobbyists: White House sends meetings off-site to hide them — Caught between their boss's anti-lobbyist rhetoric and the reality of governing, President Barack Obama's aides often steer meetings with lobbyists to a complex just off the White House grounds - and several of the lobbyists involved …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Michelle Malkin, Pajamas Media, The Foundry, Weasel Zippers, Pundit Press, RedState, Verum Serum and Betsy's Page
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Aurelius / Pundit Press:
Go Figure: Obama White House Can't Spell “Libya” — Well, I may now know why President Obama took so long to talk about the revolts in Libya: his advisors and press people simply cannot spell the country's name. I mean, it's five whole letters! No one can figure that out:
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, JammieWearingFool, Outside the Beltway and Weasel Zippers
Aaron Klein / WorldNetDaily:
Obama's mystery links to Gadhafi uncovered
Obama's mystery links to Gadhafi uncovered
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Maggie's Notebook, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Fox Nation
Ezra Klein:
Andy Stern: ‘It may not end beautifully in Wisconsin.’ — Last year, Andy Stern retired as the president of SEIU, the service employees union that he'd built into a 2.2 million member heavyweight. During his tenure, Stern was known — and sometimes reviled — for his efforts to reform organized labor …
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Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
Democrats just don't understand the new populism — The Obama campaign and other liberals are looking to tap into the populist current of today's politics and turn the Wisconsin union fight into a national issue in the 2012 election. While the liberals can wield rhetorical pitchforks …
Discussion:
Grim's Hall
Jonathan Weisman / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Sits Out State Fights
Obama Sits Out State Fights
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Times, POWIP, The Note and The Politico
BBC:
Libya: Gaddafi blames Osama Bin Laden for protests — Col Muammar Gaddafi: “You should not listen to Bin Laden and his followers” — Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has told state TV that Osama Bin Laden and his followers are to blame for the protests wracking his country.
Discussion:
The Page
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Liberals to stage Tea Party-like revolts against GOP spending cuts — Democratic strategists believe their Tea Party moment has arrived. — Working with labor unions and liberal groups, they are using the Presidents Day congressional recess to organize a public backlash against billions of dollars in cuts to federal programs.
Discussion:
Fox Nation, Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom, Prairie Weather, Wake up America and POWIP
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Marin Cogan / The Politico:
Town hall ‘rage’ over spending
Henry Chu / Los Angeles Times:
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange loses round in extradition fight — A British judge approves Swedish prosecutors' request to extradite Julian Assange in a sexual-assault case. His lawyers say they will appeal, and the WikiLeaks founder condemns the decision as ‘a rubber-stamping process.’
Discussion:
Blogcritics and Scared Monkeys
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Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Pushes Mortgage Deal — Obama Proposal Seeks Multibillion-Dollar Settlement of Loan-Servicing Cases — The Obama administration is trying to push through a settlement over mortgage-servicing breakdowns that could force America's largest banks to pay for reductions in loan principal worth billions of dollars.
Discussion:
Felix Salmon, naked capitalism, Emptywheel, Mish's Global Economic …, Sweetness & Light, UNCOVERAGE.net, The Page and Calculated Risk
Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Spotted, Huntsman flees China rally — ‘You want to see chaos in China,’ a man says. 'No, I don't,' Huntsman answers. AP Photo — Jon Huntsman was caught on tape at an anti-government protest in China—and quickly left the scene after someone in the crowd noticed the U.S. ambassador's presence …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and FrumForum
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Pawlenty looks to take lead in boosting Wisconsin governor — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) sought Thursday to take the lead among possible GOP presidential candidates in bolstering Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) in his state's labor dispute. — Pawlenty released a video …
Discussion:
The Note, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog
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KOLD-TV:
Lubbock man arrested: weapon of mass destruction charge — LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - FBI agents arrested a Lubbock man on charges of Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction. The full text of an official statement is copied below. — WASHINGTON - Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20 …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Reid Wilson / NationalJournal.com:
McCain's Shift Makes Him Senate's Most Conservative — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., along with seven of his colleagues, voted most often on the conservative side. — The politician who once best exemplified the idea of a “maverick” independent has shifted so far to the right that he is now tied …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, Hot Air, The Caucus and New York Magazine
John / Power Line:
The Left's War on the Kochs — The most extraordinary story in the news these days is the all-out assault that the Left is mounting against Charles and David Koch and their company, Koch Enterprises. A day doesn't go buy—hardly an hour goes by—without some new attack being launched against these two lonely libertarians.
Discussion:
GayPatriot, The Caucus, The Other McCain, Sky Dancing, Booman Tribune, TBogg, Yahoo! News, Nice Deb, The Democratic Daily, ABCNEWS, Hot Air and Michelle Malkin
Teddy Schleifer / The Daily Princetonian:
Daniels '71: Into the spotlight — After Mitch Daniels '71 was arrested, indicted and convicted on charges of drug use as an undergraduate in May 1970, he said that he thought his aspiring political career was doomed. “Any goal I might have had for competing for public office were shot,” …
Discussion:
CNN and The Politico
Matt Bai / New York Times:
How Chris Christie Did His Homework — Like a stand-up comedian working out-of-the-way clubs, Chris Christie travels the townships and boroughs of New Jersey, places like Hackettstown and Raritan and Scotch Plains, sharpening his riffs about the state's public employees …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Page
Associated Press:
Wis. Assembly agrees to deal ending debate — MADISON, Wis. — Republicans and Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly have agreed to a deal that will limit further debate on a bill taking away collective bargaining rights for public workers and lead to a vote on the measure later Thursday.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Politics Daily, The Hill, Wonk Room, JSOnline and Right Turn