Top Items:
Juli Weiner / Vanity Fair:
In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 — Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir …
Discussion:
Power Line, The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, Michelle Malkin, Catholic Bandita, Media Decoder, The Spectacle Blog, Datechguy's Blog, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Lonely Conservative, Big Journalism, FrumForum, neo-neocon, Hot Air, The Daily What, newsfeed.time.com, Outside the Beltway, Belmont Club, The American Mind, Balloon Juice, Little Green Footballs, Ed Driscoll, US Politics, Feministe, Wonkette, Naked Politics, BizzyBlog, Michael Totten, Taylor Marsh, Ace of Spades HQ and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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William Grimes / New York Times:
Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011: Christopher Hitchens Is Dead at 62 — Obituary — Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa …
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Writer Christopher Hitchens Dies At 62 — This graphic requires version 9 or higher of the Adobe Flash Player.Get the latest Flash Player. — Writer Christopher Hitchens was a critic of personalities, politicians and religious figures. — The influential writer and cultural critic …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Booman Tribune
Graydon Carter / Vanity Fair:
Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011: In Memoriam
Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011: In Memoriam
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Atlantic Online, Poynter and Truthdig, more at Mediagazer »
Anthony Boadle / Reuters:
Atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens dead at 62
Atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens dead at 62
Discussion:
CNN and The Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
Gingrich Duels With Challengers at Iowa Debate — SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The leading Republican presidential candidates largely shelved their contentious attacks on one another to deliver their closing arguments on Thursday night at the final debate before the nominating contests begin …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Caucus, Los Angeles Times, ABCNEWS, Wall Street Journal, Taylor Marsh, The Page and 2012 Decoded
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Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
GOP debate: Gingrich's electability at issue — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's (R-Ga.) electability against President Obama and authenticity as a conservative were in focus at the top of Thursday's Republican presidential debate in Iowa, the last such skirmish before the state's Jan. 3 caucuses.
Discussion:
CNN and The Politico
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
SIOUX CITY IOWA DEBATE TONIGHT
SIOUX CITY IOWA DEBATE TONIGHT
Discussion:
Althouse and Outside the Beltway
Jonathan Garthwaite / Townhall.com:
Gingrich wins Townhall/HotAir Primary; Conservatives still not completely sold that Gingrich is the last man standing
Gingrich wins Townhall/HotAir Primary; Conservatives still not completely sold that Gingrich is the last man standing
Discussion:
Hot Air
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest
Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Gallup, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, Iowa Caucuses, Firedoglake, CNN, Colorlines, RedState and Real Clear Politics
Chris Stirewalt / Fox News:
High Stakes, High Drama for Final Debate Before Voting Begins
High Stakes, High Drama for Final Debate Before Voting Begins
Discussion:
Fox News
Darren Samuelsohn / The Politico:
GOP wins light bulb fight — The shutdown-averting budget bill will block federal light bulb efficiency standards, giving a win to House Republicans fighting the so-called ban on incandescent light bulbs. — GOP and Democratic sources tell POLITICO the final omnibus bill includes …
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove, Outside the Beltway, Althouse and Instapundit
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Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Omnibus spending deal blocks funding for light bulb efficiency standards
Omnibus spending deal blocks funding for light bulb efficiency standards
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative
Washington Post:
Congressional leaders reach spending deal to avoid government shutdown — Congressional negotiators signed off Thursday evening on a $1 trillion spending agreement for federal agencies, just 28 hours before a deadline that would have led to a government shutdown.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, nation.foxnews.com and Bark Bark Woof Woof
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Larry Kudlow / National Review:
Keystone Blue-Collar Blues
Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Congress sends defense authorization bill to the White House
Congress sends defense authorization bill to the White House
Discussion:
The Politico
Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Air Force Vet Ron Paul Drops Bombs On Newt Gingrich for War Deferments — Air Force veteran and presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul. R-Texas, has opened up a new line of attack against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. — Interviewed by Megyn Kelly on Fox News Channel …
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Jeffrey Lord / American Spectator:
The Ron Paul Newsletters — Yesterday, during a discussion on Ron Paul with Sean Hannity on the latter's radio show, Hannity brought up with me the impossible-to-get around subject of the infamous Ron Paul Newsletters. — As Hannity quite correctly pointed out, with the other GOP candidates having received …
Discussion:
Catholic Bandita, American Power and Riehl World View
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Can Ron Paul win?
Can Ron Paul win?
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Political Mojo, Liberal Values and iOwnTheWorld.com
Darren Samuelsohn / The Politico:
Allen West: Goebbels would be proud of Democrats — Tea party favorite Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said Thursday that Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would be “very proud” of Democrats for shifting public sentiment against Republicans, and he blamed the press for helping spread their message.
Discussion:
The Buzz Florida Politics Feed and The Raw Story
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Josh Lederman / The Hill:
Tea Party leader arrested with gun at NY airport — A major leader in the Tea Party movement was arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday after he tried to check in for a flight while carrying a gun. — Prosecutors charged Mark Meckler, the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and CNN
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Steven Jiang / CNN:
‘Batman’ star Bale punched, stopped from visiting blind Chinese activist — DONGSHIGU VILLAGE, China (CNN) — As Christian Bale approached an impromptu checkpoint leading to this tiny village in eastern China, four men blocking the narrow path started marching toward him in menacing unison.
Discussion:
News Desk, Washington Post, msnbc.com, Guardian and The Daily What
Rebecca Evans / Daily Mail:
Saviour of 2,000 Afghans who saved a baby's life executed by the Taliban — Dr Karen Woo was with nine others in the Kuran Wa Munja district of Badakhshan when they were killed — A British doctor shot dead by the Taliban was part of a humanitarian mission that had helped 2,000 Afghans, an inquest heard yesterday.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Nikki Haley to endorse Romney — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, one of the most sought-after remaining Republican endorsements, will come out for Mitt Romney Friday morning, POLITICO has learned. — Haley will offer her formal endorsement on Fox and Friends, giving Romney an important boost ahead …
Discussion:
Reuters, GOP 12, CNN and Ricochet Conversations Feed
Byron Tau / The Politico:
POTUS on the GOP: 'Anything that Obama's for, we're against' — In an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters, President Obama accused Republicans of grinding the government to a halt over personal animosity toward him — as well as an inability to compromise.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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Devin Dwyer / Yahoo! News:
Obama faults Republican ‘lurch into extremes’ for DC gridlock
Obama faults Republican ‘lurch into extremes’ for DC gridlock
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Scott Peterson / Christian Science Monitor:
Exclusive: Iran hijacked US drone, says Iranian engineer — In an exclusive interview, an engineer working to unlock the secrets of the captured RQ-170 Sentinel says they exploited a known vulnerability and tricked the US drone into landing in Iran. — ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Discussion:
Tehran Times, CNN, The Lede, msnbc.com, Israel Matzav, Danger Room, Guardian and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, more at Techmeme »
Lymari Morales / Gallup:
Fewer Americans See U.S. Divided Into “Haves,” “Have Nots” — The majority would put themselves in the “haves” category if they had to choose — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are now less likely to see U.S. society as divided into the “haves” and “have nots” than they were in 2008, returning to their views prior to that point.
Discussion:
American Spectator, Campaign 2012 and Via Meadia
Jennie Rothenberg Gritz / The Atlantic Online:
Hitchens: ‘People Need Ritual, and Probably Particularly Funerals’ — A never-before-published excerpt from a 2007 interview. Read the rest of the interview here. — Reuters — You say that there's a harmony and beauty inherent in the laws of physics. Can you say more about that?