Top Items:
Mind Stain:
Scott Walker Asked to Leave Local Restaurant — Come looking for an article about Scott Walker being booted from a Madison restaurant? Yes, you came to the right place, but at the request of the restaurant owner due to abusive phone calls, the article has been hidden for the time being.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Althouse, Da Techguy's Blog, The Mahablog, The Lonely Conservative, Crooks and Liars and American Power
RELATED:
Swopa / Firedoglake:
Late Night: You'll Never Eat Dinner in This Town Again — Sometimes, it's good to leave detached, cerebral meta-analyses of politics aside and just get a taste of public opinion being expressed the old-fashioned way. — Wisconsin blogger Naomi Houser reports tonight (via Howie Klein on Twitter):
Discussion:
Althouse, American Power and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post:
The Real Political Math In Wisconsin … WASHINGTON — The real political math in Wisconsin isn't about the state budget or the collective-bargaining rights of public employees there. It is about which party controls governorships and, with them, the balance of power on the ground in the 2012 elections.
Discussion:
The New Republic
RELATED:
Ben Jones / USA Today:
Protesters plan biggest rally at Wisconsin Capitol — MADISON, Wis. — Opposition to Gov. Scott Walker's plan to strip public unions of bargaining powers has been burning at the Capitol for two weeks. But today, demonstrators are turning up the heat. — Union organizers are hoping to top …
Discussion:
Guardian and The Raw Story
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Long Bread Lines and Open Revolt in Libya's Capital — TRIPOLI, Libya — A bold effort by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to prove that he was firmly in control of Libya appeared to backfire Saturday as foreign journalists he invited to the capital discovered blocks of the city in open revolt.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Following U.S. Sanctions, U.N. Security Council to Meet on Libya
Following U.S. Sanctions, U.N. Security Council to Meet on Libya
Discussion:
CNN, Babylon & Beyond, CBS News, The Daily Beast, New York Magazine and FrumForum
Leon Wieseltier / The New Republic:
We Choose Consultations — In Libya, Obama strikes (not) again.
We Choose Consultations — In Libya, Obama strikes (not) again.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Hot Air, Slate and The Enterprise Blog
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Protesters at the Wisconsin Capitol disrespectfully have taped signs on and piled junk against the Veterans Memorial. — Meade and I confront them, and we're told we're the first people who've had a problem with it. I try to explain how that attempted defense of the behavior is only going to make it look worse.
Chicago Tribune:
First blow to Emanuel team — Transition aide quits after ethics violation revealed — A veteran politician Rahm Emanuel named to his mayoral transition team resigned her high-level state job last summer and paid a fine for conducting political business on state time, according to a newly filed ethics report.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Weasel Zippers and CBS Chicago
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
A PARTISAN WAR ON TWO FRONTS.... To pay even passing attention to American politics is to notice that contemporary congressional Republicans are as right-wing as they've ever been. The GOP caucuses in both chambers have embraced a hysterical, borderline-nihilist worldview, which is often terrifying in its scope and severity.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Balloon Juice and Mother Jones
RELATED:
David Catanese / The Politico:
Perry reluctant to back Walker's plan
Perry reluctant to back Walker's plan
Discussion:
Teamster Nation, Daily Kos and FrumForum
Steven Hayward / Power Line:
The “Ventriloquist Journalism” Beat — Kudos to John for staying after Eric Lipton's fast one, which is a classic in the genre of what I call “ventriloquist journalism”—the highly refined technique by which “news” reporters seek out a source to confirm their preconceived story line with a specific quote.
Discussion:
HazZzMat
James Wolcott / Vanity Fair:
To Baldly Go Where Everyone Has Gone Before — Until a few days ago, RightNetwork, launched with much fanfare a few months ago by its spokesmodel Kelsey Grammer, appeared to be doing a dead man's float. — Nothing new being added by its original contributors, rumors that those blogger contributers …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, rubber hose and Roger Ailes
Steyn Online:
STATES OF THE UNIONS — Steyn on America — The Democrat palace guard of America's dying monodailies are doing a grand job in reporting the current stand-off in Wisconsin. A headline in The New York Times sums up the media's bizarre enthusiasm for sacrificing what remains of their reputations in order to protect the cause:
Discussion:
Power Line
Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
The G.O.P.'s Abandoned Babies — Republicans need to figure out where they stand on children's welfare. They can't be “pro-life” when the “child” is in the womb but indifferent when it's in the world. Allow me to illustrate just how schizophrenic their position has become through the prism of premature babies.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
How Budget Battles Go Without the Earmarks — WASHINGTON — The fact that Congress remains a spending disagreement or two away from shutting down the government no doubt strikes some as remarkable. But there is another extraordinary aspect to the fiscal clash unfolding on Capitol Hill …
Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
FLASHBACK: Ronald Reagan Called Union Membership ‘One Of The Most Elemental Human Rights’ — As the Main Street Movement of students, workers, and other middle class Americans erupts across America, many conservatives have invoked the legacy of former president Ronald Reagan to demand …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Balloon Juice, The Impolitic, JammieWearingFool and Wonk Room
New York Times:
Iran Reports a Major Setback at a Nuclear Power Plant — Iran told atomic inspectors this week that it had run into a serious problem at a newly completed nuclear reactor that was supposed to start feeding electricity into the national grid this month, raising questions about whether the trouble …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and FrumForum
Peter Gorenstein / Yahoo! Finance:
AFL-CIO Chief: Raising Taxes Will Create Jobs — What's the best way to get Americans back to work? — Raise taxes, according to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Specifically, he wants to raise the federal gas tax as a means to fund infrastructure spending.
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, Doug Ross, Weasel Zippers and Michelle Malkin
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
DNC chairman: 'We're going to play for the big win' in 2012 election — President Obama isn't playing for a narrow victory in his 2012 reelection effort, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tim Kaine promised Saturday. — Kaine, speaking to party members in Washington at the DNC's Winter Meeting …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Liam Stack / New York Times:
Egyptian Military Cracks Down on New Protest — CAIRO — Tens of thousands of protesters returned Friday to Tahrir Square, the site of demonstrations that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak two weeks ago, to keep up the pressure on Egypt's military-led transitional government.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera Blogs, Firedoglake and The Jawa Report
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Labor secretary: GOP govs asking workers to give up their rights — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is trying to force workers in his state to give up their rights, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Saturday. — Solis, speaking at the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Winter Meeting …
NewsMax.com:
Gingrich: If Palin Took Obama Actions, There Would Be Calls for Impeachment — In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV Friday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Barack Obama's decision not to fully enforce the Defense of Marriage law eventually could lead to a constitutional crisis …
RELATED:
Paul Bedard / US News:
Newt Gingrich: Obama Could Be Impeached Over Gay Marriage Reversal
Newt Gingrich: Obama Could Be Impeached Over Gay Marriage Reversal
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice and Washington Post