Top Items:

On S&P, Downgrades, and Idiots — This is not going to be one of those posts that laments S&P's decision to downgrade the US, but then says that S&P was probably right about our oh-so-dysfunctional political system. — No, S&P was flat-out wrong — no caveats.
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior, Paul Krugman, Free exchange, AmSpecBlog, Felix Salmon, American Spectator, Wizbang, NewsBusters.org blogs and Politics
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Credibility, Chutzpah And Debt — To understand the furor over the decision by Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, to downgrade U.S. government debt, you have to hold in your mind two seemingly (but not actually) contradictory ideas. The first is that America is indeed no longer the stable, reliable country it once was.


VIDEO: Tea Partiers Cheer the Downgrade of America's Credit Rating — Is the tea party happy that Standard and Poor's, the credit rating agency, downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time ever? — You'd think that was the case if you were in the crowd at a tea party rally …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Bloomberg, The Heritage Foundation, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker, The Gateway Pundit and Mother Jones


S&P's History of Relentless Political Advocacy — I was tied up with other matters this weekend, so couldn't offer a take on S&P's downgrade decision. Jane has done most of the spade work here. But I wanted to make a few points. — First of all, if the rating agency's entire argument …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Hullabaloo, CNNMoney.com and Associated Press


No Chance of Default, US Can Print Money: Greenspan — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Sunday ruled out the chance of a US default following S&P's decision to downgrade America's credit rating. — “The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that.
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers and LewRockwell.com Blog

Aaauuuggghhh! Market Commentary Edition
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, TalkLeft and Economist's View

S.&P. Downgrade Is Seen as Adding Urgency to Debt-Cutting Panel
Discussion:
Online NewsHour, The Daily Dish, Suburban Guerrilla, GOP.com, Wake up America and Bankrupting America


S&P Seen Surrendering to Tea Party Costing U.S. Taxpayer
Discussion:
The Note and The Huffington Post


LEAP OF FAITH … - POLITICS - PROFILES - THE TALK OF THE TOWN - COMMENT - THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - THE FINANCIAL PAGE - NEWS DESK - THE POLITICAL SCENE
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Bachmann attends church service denouncing homosexuality — WAUKEE, IA — Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann yesterday attended a church here in Iowa, where the pastor called homosexuality “immoral” and “unnatural,” and later showed a testimonial video from a man who claimed …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay, TPMDC, Iowa Caucuses, Politics and Silenced Majority Portal


The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks — Sigh. Seriously, Tina Brown? — Yes, I'm talking about you, Oxford University-educated Newsweek/Daily Beast editor Tina Brown. — You've resorted to recycling bottom-of-the-barrel moonbat photo cliches …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, Big Journalism, Hot Air, Runnin' Scared and Althouse
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Michele Bachmann Looks, Um, Surprised to Be on Newsweek Cover
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, NewsBusters.org blogs and The New Civil Rights Movement

A Self-Fulfilling Euro Crisis? (Wonkish) — There will probably be big action in the euro zone tomorrow; so, some quick analytical notes. — The big question, I believe, is whether the Italian and maybe Spanish crises are the kind of thing that might be brought under control by ECB bond purchases.
RELATED:

Mission impossible: stop another recession
Discussion:
Economix, FT Alphaville and AMERICAN FUTURE


Axelrod Hits Romney, Calling Reaction to S&P Downgrade ‘Pathetic’ — David Axelrod, one of President Barack Obama's closest political advisers, had harsh words for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the GOP presidential field, who has criticized the debt deal …
Discussion:
Mitt Romney for President …
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Markets open low as White House pushes back on S&P downgrade
Discussion:
The Hill and The Reaction

“Tea Party Downgrade”? They Can't Possibly Sell That
Discussion:
The Caucus, Somewhat Reasonable, The Daily Caller, TPMDC, Weasel Zippers and Instapundit

Iowa Caucus: Bachmann, Romney and Paul on Top — In the Iowa caucus race for the Republican presidential nomination, five candidates are in double digits, and many voters are open to changing their mind before caucus day arrives. — The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Outside the Beltway, 2012 Campaign Trail Report and National Review
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Duncan to issue ‘No Child’ waivers — Seeing “no clear path” toward reauthorizing the “No Child Left Behind” education law, the Obama administration will unilaterally issue waivers to states, exempting them from some of the law's regulations. — “Today we're less than a month from the start …
Discussion:
New York Magazine
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Overriding a Key Education Law
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Eduwonk, Dropout Nation, American Spectator and Hot Air


Exclusive: S&P's flub-filled draft press release — Ahead of its downgrade of the U.S.'s AAA rating Friday night, Standard & Poor's sent a draft press release - obtained by POLITICO - to the Treasury Department that afternoon that included several numerical errors, setting off a heated …
Discussion:
New York Times, Daily Kos and Politics
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Rep. West: Geithner ‘should move on’ from Treasury job
Discussion:
The Politico and Weasel Zippers


Explosive Jackie O tapes ‘reveal how she believed Johnson killed JFK and had affair with movie star’ — Jackie Onassis believed that Lyndon B Johnson and a cabal of Texas tycoons were involved in the assassination of her husband John F Kennedy, ‘explosive’ recordings are set to reveal.

Moody's says it could also downgrade if Washington punts on dealing with debt — The nation could lose its top credit rating from yet another rater over the next year if policymakers lose their grip on fiscal discipline, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

Wis. Dem memo: Victory predictions “dangerous” — MADISON Wis. — Democrats on the ground here are increasingly confident they will pick-up two state Senate seats, but are warning that winning the third necessary for a takeover is a tenuous prospect. — Despite hype from some in the party apparatus …
Discussion:
Althouse and National Review

On Deck: Why I May Run for President — Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations that “the first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies, can be performed only by means of a military force.”
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, The Daily Caller and LewRockwell.com Blog


The Unappeasable Financial Markets — Looking back at Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address, perhaps the most insightful thing he says is to offer a diagnosis of what hadn't gone wrong in the early 1930s. “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment,” he conceded …
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior