Top Items:
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Komen caved. Or did it? — As you may have heard, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation just announced that it was reversing its decision to ban Planned Parenthood from applying for grants to cover breast cancer screenings — after a massive outcry that spread from women's groups to social media to Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, The Atlantic Online, TBogg, Firedoglake, GetReligion, emptywheel, Little Green Footballs, Nation Now, LifeSiteNews.com Latest …, CatholicVote.org, Wonkette, Crooks and Liars, Poynter, Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, Right Wing Watch, Wake up America, Outside the Beltway, The Scoop, The Raw Story, Roger Ailes, The Agonist, Runnin' Scared, Capital New York, The Reid Report, Wall Street Journal, Feministe and The Lede, more at Mediagazer »
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Tom Benning / The Scoop:
Komen apologizes for ‘recent decisions,’ pledges to continue funding Planned Parenthood — UPDATE, 12:32 p.m.Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said during a Friday conference call that her understanding of Komen's announcement is that it's a complete reversal of the decision to bar funding to her group.
Discussion:
American Prospect, Washington Monthly, The Lede, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, This Just In, Little Green Footballs, New York Times, Datechguy's Blog, Political Mojo, Hot Air, Business Insider, Associated Press, Washington Post, The Impolitic, Balloon Juice, Jammie Wearing Fools, Democracy in America, Los Angeles Times, The Loyal Opposition, Taylor Marsh, AlterNet, Daily Kos, Feministing, The Raw Story, Campaign 2012, Shakesville, The Mahablog, NewsBusters.org blogs, Jezebel, Pirate's Cove, LifeNews.com, Flopping Aces, NewsBusters.org and The Huffington Post
Susan G. Komen for the Cure:
Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker — We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives. The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters …
Discussion:
New York Times, Planned Parenthood, Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nation Now, Politico, Mashable!, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, LifeSiteNews.com Latest …, blogs.wsj.com, JustOneMinute, Guardian, Epicenter, The New Republic, CBS Philly, Gothamist, Big Government, The Mahablog, Firedoglake and Pundit & Pundette
Simon Maloy / Media Matters for America:
National Review Sees “Gangsterism” Behind Komen's Planned Parenthood Shift — Earlier today the Susan G. Komen Foundation released a statement “apologizing” for their decision earlier this week to cease grants to Planned Parenthood to pay for breast cancer screenings.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Daniel Foster / National Review:
You Should Find the Anti-Komen Backlash Disgusting, Even If You're Pro-Choice — It's official. The Komen Foundation has “apologized” for its Planned Parenthood decision and appears set to reinstate the funding, thus making our editorial this morning both premature and, in a more profound sense, too late.
Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Susan G. Komen Foundation Says It Is Not Connected To Pink ‘Hope’ Handgun [UPDATE]
Susan G. Komen Foundation Says It Is Not Connected To Pink ‘Hope’ Handgun [UPDATE]
Discussion:
Gothamist, CBS Seattle, Runnin' Scared, Religion Dispatches, Business Insider and Daily Kos
Jill Lepore / New Yorker:
DAILY COMMENT — [Update: On Friday, Susan G. Komen …
DAILY COMMENT — [Update: On Friday, Susan G. Komen …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Hullabaloo
Angus Johnston / Student Activism:
Komen Statement on Planned Parenthood is a PR Move, Not A Policy Reversal
Komen Statement on Planned Parenthood is a PR Move, Not A Policy Reversal
Discussion:
US Politics, Live Action News & Opinion, ThinkProgress, LifeNews.com and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Komen Board Member: Haven't Caved on Planned Parenthood Funding
Komen Board Member: Haven't Caved on Planned Parenthood Funding
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and Nation Now
Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge:
Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low — A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%.
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Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Employment Jumps; Rate 8.3%, 243,000 New Jobs Created — The pace of job creation surged in January, with the US economy generating 243,000 new positions while the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, according to government data released Friday. — Both numbers were far better than consensus …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway, Questions and Observations and The Lonely Conservative
James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:
Why the official 8.3 percent unemployment rate is a phony number—and what it means for Obama's reelection
Why the official 8.3 percent unemployment rate is a phony number—and what it means for Obama's reelection
Discussion:
RedState and Weasel Zippers
Bob Willis / Bloomberg:
Unemployment Drops to 8.3%; Payrolls in U.S. Jump 243,000
Unemployment Drops to 8.3%; Payrolls in U.S. Jump 243,000
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Impolitic, ThinkProgress, Gothamist and The Page
Ginger Gibson / Reuters:
Newt Gingrich's Nevada campaign unraveling — LAS VEGAS — Newt Gingrich is not on TV here. His daily events have slowed to a trickle. He's got a barebones staff working in a tiny space rented just 2 weeks ago. — The most attention he's received since arriving in Nevada came with his snub of the state's popular governor.
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Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog:
Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Ron Paul and the ‘Hope America Fails’ Republicans have a problem: Jobs
Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Ron Paul and the ‘Hope America Fails’ Republicans have a problem: Jobs
Discussion:
Politico, Daily Kos and PERRspectives
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Faced with good news about economy, Romney dissolves into incoherence — Since Mitt Romney announced his candidacy last June, he has continually made two core claims about Obama's economic record, each of which contradicts the other. Depending on the moment, Romney has said either:
Discussion:
The Hill, A plain blog about politics, Riehl World View, The Maddow Blog and Political Mojo
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Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Economic Pessimism Is Still Romney's Best Bet
Vicki Needham / The Hill:
Reid: This year's budget is done — Senate Democratic leaders said they don't expect a fiscal 2013 budget to reach the floor this year because spending levels were set last summer under the debt-ceiling agreement. — “We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year — it's done …
Discussion:
Campaign 2012 and The Daily Caller
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Tina Korbe / Hot Air:
Reid: No, I don't plan to bring a budget to the floor this year
Reid: No, I don't plan to bring a budget to the floor this year
Discussion:
Daily Pundit
OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL:
A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN ANNOUNCES MAJOR LAWSUIT AGAINST NATION'S LARGEST BANKS FOR DECEPTIVE & FRAUDULENT USE OF ELECTRONIC MORTGAGE REGISTRY — Complaint Charges Use Of MERS By Bank Of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, And Wells Fargo Resulted In Fraudulent Foreclosure Filings
Discussion:
Daily Kos, TalkLeft and Business Insider
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Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker walked out on Obama's speech at National Prayer Breakfast — Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey (Ga.) walked out of President Obama's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, his spokesman confirmed to The Hill. — Jen Talaber said the five-term lawmaker “left quietly” in the middle of the president's remarks.
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch, Weasel Zippers and Randy's Roundtable
Dave Levinthal / Politico:
What super PAC filings left out — About the only thing more notable than the donor information super PACs this week revealed is the information they didn't. — Super PACs filed reports with the Federal Election Commission that outlined what they raised — and from whom — in the last six months of 2011.
Discussion:
CNN and United Republic
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Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Senate Republicans to challenge recess appointments in court — Republican senators announced Friday that they plan to challenge President Obama's recent controversial appointments in court. — Thirty-nine GOP senators have signed onto a letter announcing their intention to file …
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Politics:
Mitt Romney Was A Democrat — It may only have been for a few minutes in 1992. But this is a little-known, true fact: The likely GOP nominee is a former Democrat. — Mitt Romney's 1992 Democratic Primary vote for Paul Tsongas — a technocratic modernizer and reformer, but very much a Democrat …
Discussion:
Mediaite, RedState and Saint Petersblog
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Santorum To Gay Man: You Don't Deserve ‘Privilege’ Of Marriage Because Gay Unions Don't ‘Benefit Society’ — Rick Santorum told a gay man in Fulton, Missouri Friday afternoon that he didn't deserve the “privilege” of marriage because his same-sex relationship does not “benefit” society in the same way that opposite-sex marriage does.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Obama's Magic Number? 150,000 Jobs Per Month — The unemployment report on Friday will give us the most tangible read to date on how the economy is performing in 2012. It might also represent the most important number yet for President Obama's prospects of winning re-election.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Prospect, Washington Post, Political Mojo and Jay Bookman
Shelby Steele / Time:
Q: What does a conservative believe? — I believe that freedom of the individual — as opposed to good works or “social justice” — is by far the highest goal any society can strive for. I became a conservative precisely to deal with my fate as a black American born into a segregated society.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and National Review