Top Items:
Iowa Caucuses:
The Des Moines Register's GOP caucus endorsement: Mitt Romney is best to lead — Sobriety, wisdom and judgment. — Those are qualities Mitt Romney said he looks for in a leader. Those are qualities Romney himself has demonstrated in his career in business, public service and government.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Politico, ThinkProgress, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Outside the Beltway, The Iowa Republican, Fox News, ABCNEWS, Scared Monkeys, New York Times, The Caucus, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, americanthinker.com, Pirate's Cove, The Moderate Voice, Washington Wire, Washington Post, 2012 Decoded, Ballot Box, Campaign 2012, National Review, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and NewsBusters.org
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Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
10 factors that could determine Newt Gingrich's fate in Iowa — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, greet audience members at the Republican presidential debate in Sioux City on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) — The novelty of a Newt Gingrich presidency …
Discussion:
The Politico, Swampland and Boston Globe
Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:
Mitt Romney has tame return to Sunday roster — After avoiding Sunday morning interview shows for nearly two years, Mitt Romney spent half an hour with “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace largely repeating his campaign talking points and mini-stump speeches.
Discussion:
CNN
A.Killough / CNN:
Des Moines Register endorses Romney
Des Moines Register endorses Romney
Discussion:
The Politico, USA Today, Iowa Caucuses and Los Angeles Times
Associated Press:
Vaclav Havel, Dissident Playwright Who Led Czechoslovakia, Dead at 75 — PRAGUE — Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who wove theater into politics to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia and become a hero of the epic struggle that ended the Cold War, has died. He was 75.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, The Talking Dog and Booman Tribune
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Ted Mann / The Atlantic Wire:
Vaclav Havel is Dead — Vaclav Havel, the former president of Czechoslovakia and leader of its peaceful anti-Communist revolution, died this weekend at 75, according to an official statement. — Havel, a playwright and essayist by trade, rose to prominence with a band of liberal reformers …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily What, emptywheel and The Incidental Economist
J.Y. Smith / Washington Post:
Vaclav Havel, dissident playwright and former Czech president, dies
Vaclav Havel, dissident playwright and former Czech president, dies
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Michael Winfrey / Reuters:
Vaclav Havel, leader of “Velvet Revolution,” dies
Vaclav Havel, leader of “Velvet Revolution,” dies
Discussion:
americanthinker.com
Russell Berman / The Hill:
White House backs Senate payroll bill over House objections — The White House is throwing its weight behind a Senate compromise for a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut, despite strong objections from House Republicans that could unravel the deal. — The director of the National …
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico and RedState
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Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Keystone climbdown leaves Obama supporters scratching their heads — President Obama put two conditions in end-game talks on extending the payroll tax holiday. — He wanted to pay for the extension with a surtax on millionaires, and he made clear that the Keystone XL oil pipeline should be kept out of the legislation.
Discussion:
The Politico, Roll Call, The Huffington Post, CNN and New York Times
Jonathan Allenand Jake Sherman / The Politico:
House GOP revolts on payroll deal — House Republicans are in full revolt in the wake of Senate passage of a two-month payroll tax holiday package, casting serious doubt on the fate of a bill that already has President Barack Obama's approval. — In a private conference call on Saturday afternoon …
Discussion:
CNN, americanthinker.com, Power Line, Booman Tribune, The Other McCain, Don Surber and The Enterprise Blog
Max Fisher / The Atlantic Online:
A Photo That Encapsulates the Horror of Egypt's Crackdown — Three soldiers beat a defenseless woman, pull off her abaya, and drag her down a Cairo street — The above photo shows Egyptian army soldiers beating a young woman in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Saturday, the second straight …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah and Newshoggers.com
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David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Egyptian Soldiers Chase and Beat Unarmed Civilians in Cairo
Egyptian Soldiers Chase and Beat Unarmed Civilians in Cairo
Discussion:
americanthinker.com
New York Times:
Last Convoy of American Troops Leaves Iraq, Marking an End to the War — BAGHDAD — The last convoy of American troops to leave Iraq drove into Kuwait on Sunday morning, marking the end of the nearly nine-year war. — The convoy's departure, which included about 110 vehicles and 500 soldiers …
Discussion:
Reuters, ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, The Daily What and Washington Monthly
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
Minnesota Republican Resigns Post Over Allegation of ‘Inappropriate’ Relationship — This news was a shock to me, involving allegations — and we must stress that these are only allegations at this point — against a female politician whom I have actually met: … (Via TPM and Memorandum.)
Discussion:
Don Surber, MinnPost, Daily Pundit and Firedoglake
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Allysia Finley / Wall Street Journal:
The Chicago Expulsion Act of 2011 — Windy City pols are bankrupting Illinois with bailouts for their hometown. Now downstate legislators are fighting back. — 'Why would anyone want to live in Illinois? " So muses Curt Wooters, who works for the state and helps his dad run …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and Instapundit
Blue Yeti / Ricochet Conversations Feed:
When Events Collide: An “Uncommon Knowledge” from July, 2002 with Hitchens and Gingrich — A few days ago as part of his remembrance of Christopher Hitchens, Rob posted an episode of Uncommon Knowledge from 1998 with Hitchens and William F. Buckley. Almost immediately …