Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Poll Finds Support Lacking for Entitlement Reductions — WASHINGTON— Less than a quarter of Americans support making significant cuts to Social Security or Medicare to tackle the country's mounting deficit, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, illustrating the challenge facing lawmakers …
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Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:
WSJ/NBC Poll: Strong Support for Bargaining Rights — Americans strongly oppose efforts to strip unionized government workers of their rights to collectively bargain, even as they want public employees to contribute more money to their retirement and health-care benefits, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blog, The New Republic, Weekly Standard, Riehl World View, FrumForum and The Caucus
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC/WSJ poll: 62% against stripping public employees' bargaining rights
NBC/WSJ poll: 62% against stripping public employees' bargaining rights
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Daily Kos and Quinnipiac University
Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:
WSJ/NBC Poll: Hands Off Medicare, Social Security
WSJ/NBC Poll: Hands Off Medicare, Social Security
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Justin Elliott / Salon:
Sarah Palin's bizarre view of the First Amendment — Sarah Palin, who has more than once invoked the First Amendment when she or her allies faced criticism, today denounced the Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling allowing the Westboro Baptist Church to protest outside soldiers' funerals with signs reading ""God Hates Fags" and the like.
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Justices Rule for Protesters at Military Funerals — WASHINGTON — The First Amendment protects hateful protests at military funerals, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in an 8-1 decision. — “Speech is powerful,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority.
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
Alito's Empathy. — Earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled …
Alito's Empathy. — Earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled …
Discussion:
Washington Post, A plain blog about politics, The Raw Story and New York Magazine
Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
Westboro Baptist Church to ‘Quadruple’ Funeral Protests After Ruling
Westboro Baptist Church to ‘Quadruple’ Funeral Protests After Ruling
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, CNN, Runnin' Scared, The Daily Caller and HotAirPundit
Adam Serwer / The Plum Line:
No, it's not okay to traffic in pure fiction about Obama's heritage — Ben Smith writes that my criticism of Mike Huckabee is unfair: … Right, but Huckabee didn't “look at his personal education.” Huckabee created an entirely fictional one. It's one thing to tie Obama's politics …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Salon and Ben Smith's Blog
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Kyle / Right Wing Watch:
Huckabee And Fischer Agree That Obama's Childhood Instilled “Fundamentally Anti-American Ideas” In Him
Huckabee And Fischer Agree That Obama's Childhood Instilled “Fundamentally Anti-American Ideas” In Him
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Huck Fink — As Jay Newton-Small and Amy Sullivan reported yesterday …
Huck Fink — As Jay Newton-Small and Amy Sullivan reported yesterday …
Discussion:
Ballot Box and No More Mister Nice Blog
Mark Kleiman / The Reality-Based Community:
Mike Huckabee and the Balinese Mau Mau
Mike Huckabee and the Balinese Mau Mau
Discussion:
Yglesias, Fact Checker, Huck PAC, GOP 12 and Grasping Reality …
Derrick DePledge / Honolulu Star-Advertiser:
AKAKA WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2012 — U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka announced today that he will not run for re-election in 2012. — Akaka, 86, has served in the Senate since 1990. He previously served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. — “After months of thinking …
Discussion:
Roll Call, Hot Air, The Political Carnival, National Review and Taegan Goddard's …
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David Catanese / The Politico:
Akaka retiring — Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka announced late Wednesday he will retire next year, becoming the seventh senator and fifth Democrat to forgo another term in 2012. — “After months of thinking about my political future, I am announcing today that I have decided not to run for reelection in 2012.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Hotline On Call and Joe. My. God.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Breaking: Wisconsin Dems throw their weight behind drive to recall GOP Senators — The Wisconsin Democratic Party has decided to throw its weight behind a nascent grassroots drive to recall a number of GOP state senators, a move that will considerably increase the pressure on them to break …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, Weasel Zippers, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Daily Kos and The Maddow Blog
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Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Wisconsin Voters Launch Recall Campaign Against Eight GOP State Senators
BREAKING: Wisconsin Voters Launch Recall Campaign Against Eight GOP State Senators
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Wisconsin Democrats Launch Recall Effort Against GOP Senators
Wisconsin Democrats Launch Recall Effort Against GOP Senators
Discussion:
FrumForum and AMERICAblog News
Matea Gold / Los Angeles Times:
Fox News pulls Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum off the air because of their interest in running for president — Fox News suspends the contracts of political contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum because both have demonstrated that they are seriously considering running for president.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Cubachi, Media Decoder, New York Times, The Note, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, USA Today, Washington Monthly, Right Wing Watch, The Hill, Liberty Pundits Blog, Swampland, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Taegan Goddard's …, Political Insider, Joe. My. God., National Review, Riehl World View and Connecting.the.Dots, more at Mediagazer »
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama strong in Virginia
Obama strong in Virginia
Discussion:
Donklephant, GOP 12 and The Daily Dish
ABCNEWS:
Gunman Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ Kills 2 US Airmen in Germany — Obama Says U.S. Will Spare No Efforts in Investigating Killings — A gunman shouting “Allahu Akbar” opened fire on a bus carrying U.S. airmen in Frankfurt, Germany, killing two and wounding two others before his gun jammed and he was subdued, officials said.
Discussion:
Guardian, Gates of Vienna, Atlas Shrugs, Jihad Watch, Wizbang, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Lonely Conservative, theblogprof and American Power
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New York Times:
Shooting at Germany Airport Kills 2 U.S. Airmen
Shooting at Germany Airport Kills 2 U.S. Airmen
Discussion:
Sky News, BBC, Hot Air, CNN, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, UNCOVERAGE.net, AOL News, The Hill, Jihad Watch and Gates of Vienna
Matt Negrin / The Politico:
Inquiry promised on airmen attack
Inquiry promised on airmen attack
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Fox Nation
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Buddy Roemer sees glimmer of White House hope — The GOP's white-bread presidential primary is about to get a dash of Tabasco. — Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer will announce Thursday in Baton Rouge that he is forming an exploratory committee, he told POLITICO.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Magazine, Gawker and Outside the Beltway
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Former Louisiana Governor To Announce White House Bid
Former Louisiana Governor To Announce White House Bid
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Lonely Conservative, Reuters, The Daily Caller, The Page and The Caucus
Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
No, Fox News Did Not Lie With “Wisconsin Palm Tree” Violent Protest Video — The Internet is abuzz this morning with a story that Fox News has “lied” in showing a video of an angry union protester from California while claiming its from Wisconsin. The “Palm Tree lie” (described …
Discussion:
FOK News Channel, The Raw Story, TPMDC, The UpTake and Washington Monthly
Shariah 4 America:
The Islamic Demolition of the Statue of Liberty — One of the founding principles of the Islamic constitution is to ensure that all sovereignty and supremacy belongs solely to God; the Shari'ah is a practical manifestation of this sovereignty and supremacy because it seeks to establish His command in society.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and Moonbattery
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620WTMJ:
Capitol Chaos: Resolution Passed To Fine ‘Wisconsin 14’ — MADISON - The 14 Wisconsin state Senate Democrats who left the state two weeks ago will now face fines of $100 for each day they miss, if they miss two or more days. — Republicans remaining in the Senate approved the daily fine …
Discussion:
The Hill, Cubachi, Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Weasel Zippers, UrbanGrounds, Liberty Pundits Blog and Fire Andrea Mitchell!
New York Times:
Ohio Senate Approves Union Bill — COLUMBUS — Ohio took its first step Wednesday toward passing sweeping legislation that would curtail collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, banning strikes and putting the power of breaking labor impasses into the hands of town councils. .
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Just Balancing The Budget
Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:
Congressional bosses from Hell: Sheila Jackson Lee — A lot of politicians give nicknames to their aides. George W. Bush famously referred to his attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez, as “Fredo.” Mitch Daniels, then head of the Office of Management and Budget, was known as “The Blade.”
Discussion:
AOL News, YID With LID, The Lonely Conservative, Wonkette, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Moe Lane, Betsy's Page and The Other McCain
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Live from Apple's iPad 2 event (update: it's over!) — 11:14AM Thanks for reading! — 11:14AM Okay, hands-on time! — 11:13AM “I'd like the teams that worked on this to stand up — give them a round of applause. And as always, I'd like to thank everyone's families.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Hot Air and AOL News, more at Techmeme »
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Miguel Helft / Bits:
Live Blogging the iPad 2 Announcement
Live Blogging the iPad 2 Announcement
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Engadget and The Awl, more at Techmeme »
msnbc.com:
Manning faces new charges, possible death penalty — ‘Aiding the enemy’ is most serious of 22 new counts filed against private in WikiLeaks case — Below: — WASHINGTON — Following an intensive seven-month investigation, the Army on Wednesday filed 22 additional charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, BBC, McClatchy Washington Bureau, USA Today, Guardian, AOL News and Truthdig, more at Techmeme »
Farhad Manjoo / Slate:
The tedious, annoying complaints of public radio listeners. — On Valentine's Day, NPR's All Things Considered ran a two-and-a-half-minute segment about Justin Bieber fans gone wild. When the teen star lost at the Grammys to Esperanza Spalding, a few of Bieber's aggrieved minions defaced …
New York Times:
Nine Afghan Boys Collecting Firewood Killed by NATO Helicopters — KABUL, Afghanistan — Nine boys collecting firewood to heat their homes in the eastern Afghanistan mountains were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents, according to a statement on Wednesday by NATO, which apologized for the mistake.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, The Nation, News Desk, The Daily Dish and New Atlanticist
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Bachmann: Let there be (incandescent) light — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) this week introduced legislation that would eliminate federal light bulb standards passed in 2007 that are expected to have the effect of phasing out some incandescent bulbs in the next few years.