Top Items:
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:
Michelle Nichols / Reuters:
Labor protests draw thousands across U.S. — (Reuters) - Thousands of people rallied in cities across the United States on Saturday against a Wisconsin plan to curb the power of public sector unions that has sparked similar government efforts in other states.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Political Carnival, www2.timesdispatch.com, New York Magazine and Gawker
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:
New Deal 2.0, The Raw Story, Guardian and Prairie Weather
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 …
Discussion:
Althouse, The Lonely Conservative and The Political Carnival
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.
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Swopa / Firedoglake:
Late Night: You'll Never Eat Dinner in This Town Again
Late Night: You'll Never Eat Dinner in This Town Again
Discussion:
Althouse, American Power and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Long Bread Lines and Barricades in Libya's Capital — TRIPOLI, Libya — A bold play 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.
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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, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, The Hill and CBS Chicago
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Budget Battles Without 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: earmarks have disappeared from the budgetary landscape.
Discussion:
GayPatriot
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Tom Diemer / Politics Daily:
Obama: Government Shutdown Must Be Avoided For ‘Sake of Our People’
Obama: Government Shutdown Must Be Avoided For ‘Sake of Our People’
Discussion:
The White House and Washington Post
Tom Diemer / Politics Daily:
Ireland's Ruling Party Crushed at Polls in Fallout From Failed Economy … No luck for Ireland's ruling party. The government in power paid a price Friday for presiding over an economy that went through the floor when a housing bubble burst, strapping the banks that made the loans and forcing …
RELATED:
Sarah Lyall / New York Times:
Ireland's Ruling Party Headed for Crushing Defeat, Early Poll Shows
Ireland's Ruling Party Headed for Crushing Defeat, Early Poll Shows
Discussion:
The Confluence and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
James Marson / Wall Street Journal:
Gadhafi's Nurse Says She's Going Home — KIEV, Ukraine—Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is set to be deserted by another close ally after his Ukrainian nurse said she was heading home. — Galyna Kolotnytska, described in a diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks as a “voluptuous blond” …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs and Weasel Zippers
Joe Nocera / New York Times:
Biggest Fish Face Little Risk of Being Caught — So much for Angelo Mozilo taking the fall for the financial crisis. — Late last week, word leaked out that Mr. Mozilo, who had co-founded Countrywide Financial in 1969 — and, for nearly 40 years, presided over its astonishing rise …
Discussion:
naked capitalism
Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
To Tea Party, Pawlenty on Obama: ‘What planet is he from?’ — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty accused President Obama and Democrats of “coddling” unions and applauded the Tea Party movement as “modern-day Paul Reveres.” — Speaking to a convention of Tea Party activists in Phoenix on Saturday …
Discussion:
The Politico
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:
Guardian, New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion 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
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 and American Power
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
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:
Daily Kos, Ezra Klein and Balloon Juice