Top Items:
New York Times:
Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector Unions — As labor battles erupt in state capitals around the nation, a majority of Americans say they oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions and are also against cutting the pay or benefits …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Power, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Federal Eye, TPMDC, The Gateway Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, Prairie Weather, The Future of Capitalism, JSOnline, Paul Krugman, Sky Dancing, Politicususa, AlterNet, WisPolitics Budget Blog, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Political Carnival, Taegan Goddard's …, The Caucus, Pajamas Media and The Mahablog
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Do over? — We'll have our full poll on the Wisconsin conflict out tomorrow but here's the most interesting finding: if voters in the state could do it over today they'd support defeated Democratic nominee Tom Barrett over Scott Walker by a a 52-45 margin. — The difference between how folks …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, No More Mister Nice Blog, Da Techguy's Blog, Sky Dancing, The Politico, Mother Jones, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Nation, FOK News Channel, Comments from Left Field, The Raw Story, The Plum Line, Swing State Project, WisPolitics Budget Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AOL News, Politics Daily and JSOnline
People-Press.org:
More Side with Wisconsin Unions than Governor — Obama, GOP Leaders Would Share Blame in Gov't Shutdown — By a modest margin, more say they back Wisconsin's public employee unions rather than the state's governor in their continuing dispute over collective bargaining rights.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, JSOnline and The Page
JSOnline:
Walker responds to Obama — By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel — Gov. Scott Walker on Monday afternoon responded to comments President Barack Obama made earlier in the day about the protests in Madison: — Walker's office issued this statement:
Discussion:
Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, Pundit & Pundette, UNCOVERAGE.net, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative
Jordan Ellenberg / The Atlantic Online:
Gov. Scott Walker's Secret Weapon: The Wisconsin Veto
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Wall Street Journal
Charles G. Koch / Wall Street Journal:
Why Koch Industries Is Speaking Out — Crony capitalism and bloated government prevent entrepreneurs from producing the products and services that make people's lives better. — Years of tremendous overspending by federal, state and local governments have brought us face-to-face with an economic crisis.
Discussion:
The Politico, Power Line, The Lonely Conservative and Ben Smith's Blog
Wall Street Journal:
The Democrats' Collective Bargain — What happens when a political party disconnects from the economy's productive sector. — Beneath a grayish Michigan sky, before a frozen crowd standing in the snow, a MoveOn-organized protest aims to rally support for government workers in Wisconsin.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
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JSOnline:
Missing senators rely heavily on union campaign dollars
Discussion:
Maggie's Notebook, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, GayPatriot and The Lonely Conservative
David Bailey / Reuters:
Wisconsin's Walker to absent Democrats: 24 hours to return
Discussion:
Cubachi, Doug Ross, Moe Lane, Liberty Pundits Blog, Joanne Jacobs, AlterNet and The Gateway Pundit
David Shepardson / Detroit News:
Consumer Reports: GM's Volt 'doesn't really make a lot of sense' — Washington — Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.'s flagship vehicle makes economic “sense.” The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Michelle Malkin and UNCOVERAGE.net
Richard White / The Sun:
Film of Galliano's racist rant in bar — FASHION guru John Galliano was filmed having a vile racist rant during which he declared: “I love Hitler.” — The British designer - an alleged Jew hater - then tells a horrified woman: “People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be f****** gassed.”
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San Francisco Chronicle:
Low-flow toilets cause a stink in SF — San Francisco's big push for low-flow toilets has turned into a multimillion-dollar plumbing stink. — Skimping on toilet water has resulted in more sludge backing up inside the sewer pipes, said Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the city Public Utilities Commission.
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove, This Just In, Scared Monkeys, Pajamas Media and Sister Toldjah
The Politico:
Darrell Issa probes staff; spokesman Kurt Bardella at center of controversy — Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has launched an inquiry into whether spokesman Kurt Bardella improperly shared e-mails from other reporters …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Magazine, 2chambers, FishbowlDC and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
Obama offers states more flexibility in health-care law — President Obama sought to defuse criticism of the new health-care overhaul Monday by saying he is willing to give states an earlier opportunity to opt out of certain key requirements - but only if they can find their own ways to accomplish the law's goals.
Discussion:
The Politico and Prairie Weather
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The Hill:
Obama backtracks on health mandate, wants opt-out from start
Discussion:
The Note, Associated Press, Hot Air and FrumForum
Fhardingj / CNN:
GOP governors remain skeptical after Obama meeting
Discussion:
GOP 12, The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, Taylor Marsh, The Incidental Economist and FrumForum
thenorthwestern.com:
State Rep. Gordon Hintz apologizes for comments made on Assembly floor following budget repair bill vote — An Oshkosh Assemblyman issued a second public apology in as many weeks Monday, the latest for comments he made on the floor of the Assembly following a vote on a contentious budget repair bill.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
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Michelle Hunter / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Southern Decadence protest leader booked with masturbating at Metairie park — The Rev. Grant Storms, the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested on a charge of masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon.
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay, AOL News and The Political Carnival
BBC:
German Defence Minister Guttenberg resigns over thesis — Mr Guttenberg said he was not able to defend himself any further — German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has stepped down after he was found to have copied large parts of his 2006 university doctorate thesis.
Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Rep. Holt beats Watson the super-computer at ‘Jeopardy!’ — There are a lot of smart people on Capitol Hill. But none of them can claim quite the same brainy bragging rights as Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.). — On Monday, Holt beat IBM's super-computer, known as Watson, at a round of “Jeopardy! …
Discussion:
CNN
Cindy Boren / The Early Lead:
Iran threatens to boycott 2012 London Olympics because of logo — Iran is threatening to boycott the 2012 Olympic Games in London because of the Games' logo. — According to an Iranian official, the logo, with its blocky, abstract rendering of “2012,” is racist because it appears to spell the word …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, TigerHawk and The Moderate Voice
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
GOP spending plan would cost 700,000 jobs, new report says — A Republican plan to sharply cut federal spending this year would destroy 700,000 jobs through 2012, according to an independent economic analysis set for release Monday. — The report, by Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Economics One, Wonk Room, The Plum Line, TPMDC, Firedoglake, 2chambers, National Review, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, AMERICAblog News, Weigel, UrbanGrounds, MoveOn.Org, No More Mister Nice Blog, PERRspectives, The Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, The New Republic, Swampland, The Caucus, Grasping Reality … and Balloon Juice
Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:
In Wisconsin, Flinging Blame and Citing Deadlines — MADISON, Wis. — Time may or may not be running out to make some crucial decisions in the Wisconsin fight over labor unions and budgets. But the blame game is definitely coming to a boil. — In his two-week-long standoff with Democrats …
Discussion:
Econbrowser, Hot Air, FrumForum, Althouse and JSOnline
Alexis Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:
Revealing the Man Behind @MayorEmanuel — It was the best fake Twitter account ever, deftly satirizing Rahm Emanuel, and elevating the Tweet and the f-word to the level of literature. But the mystery writer was never revealed - until now. — There were many storylines in Rahm Emanuel's romp …
Daily Mail:
Christian couple lose High Court battle to foster children because they are against homosexuality — A Christian couple morally opposed to homosexuality today lost a High Court battle over the right to become foster carers. — Eunice and Owen Johns, aged 62 and 65, from Oakwood, Derby …
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT, Right Wing News, Pharyngula and Vox Popoli
Hendrik Hertzberg / New Yorker:
UNION BLUES — “Fifteen million Americans bring you Edward P. Morgan and the news.” From 1955 to 1967, that line, heard on the ABC radio network every weeknight at 7 P.M., heralded the nation's best news broadcast. Those fifteen million Americans were the members of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Weigel and News Desk
Scout Prime / First Draft:
This is what Dedication looks like — Today the Capitol was closed down to most people. (see A's post below) — There were people protesting outside however. — I was able to enter today and by my count late in the afternoon, there were about 50 protesters still inside.
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Poll shows support for organized labor — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — As debate rages in Wisconsin and other states over limiting the power of unions, a new CBS News/New York Times survey finds …
David Brooks / New York Times:
The New Normal — We're going to be doing a lot of deficit cutting over the next several years. The country's future greatness will be shaped by whether we cut wisely or stupidly. So we should probably come up with a few sensible principles to guide us as we cut.
Discussion:
Eschaton
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Black lawmakers blast budget plan as step back for civil rights — Black lawmakers on Monday said GOP-proposed budget cuts would move the country in the opposite direction of the civil rights movement. — The lawmakers, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus, used …
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