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, Nation Now, TBogg, emptywheel, Hullabaloo, GetReligion, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, CatholicVote.org, Wonkette, LifeSiteNews.com Latest …, Daily Kos, Right Wing Watch, Firedoglake, Poynter, Crooks and Liars, Weasel Zippers, msnbc.com, Wake up America, Outside the Beltway, The Scoop, The Lonely Conservative, The Raw Story, Political Mojo, The Agonist, Runnin' Scared and Capital New York, 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, Reuters, The Lede, Mediaite, This Just In, Salon, The Atlantic Online, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, New York Times, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Political Mojo, Datechguy's Blog, Washington Post, Hot Air, The Impolitic, Taylor Marsh, AlterNet, Daily Kos, Gawker, Jammie Wearing Fools, Feministing, The Mahablog, The Loyal Opposition, The Raw Story, Democracy in America, Little Green Footballs, Balloon Juice, Campaign 2012, Shakesville, Los Angeles Times, NewsBusters.org blogs, Jezebel, Outside the Beltway, Pirate's Cove, LifeNews.com, Flopping Aces, Business Insider and NewsBusters.org
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE: Ari Fleischer Secretly Helped Guide Komen Strategy On Planned Parenthood — Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, secretly helped guide Komen Foundation's disastrous strategy regarding Planned Parenthood.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, The Atlantic Online and Roger Ailes
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, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Politico, Booman Tribune and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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:
The Huffington Post, Planned Parenthood, New York Times, Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, southernstudies.org, Washington Post, blogs.wsj.com, National Review, Nation Now, CBS Philly, Gothamist, Big Government, Epicenter, The Mahablog, Guardian, Mashable!, TIME Ideas, The Daily Caller, LifeSiteNews.com Latest …, TBogg, The New Republic, Colorlines, JustOneMinute, Pundit & Pundette and American Power
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.
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
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:
ThinkProgress, Gothamist, CBS Seattle, Gawker, Religion Dispatches, The Moderate Voice, Runnin' Scared and Daily Kos
Jill Lepore / New Yorker:
DAILY COMMENT — [Update: On Friday, Susan G. Komen …
DAILY COMMENT — [Update: On Friday, Susan G. Komen …
Discussion:
pandagon.net, Hullabaloo and Mediaite
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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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 — The January jobs report is out and it seems pretty strong, at least superficially. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent, the lowest rate since February 2009.
Discussion:
RedState and Weasel Zippers
Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge:
Implied Unemployment Rate Rises To 11.5%, Spread To Propaganda Number Surges To 30 Year High
Implied Unemployment Rate Rises To 11.5%, Spread To Propaganda Number Surges To 30 Year High
Discussion:
Doug Ross, The Spectacle Blog, ThinkProgress, Vodkapundit and Don Surber
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, Truthdig, ThinkProgress, The Page and Gothamist
Peter Whoriskey / Washington Post:
U.S. adds 243K jobs in January; unemployment rate drops to 8.3%
U.S. adds 243K jobs in January; unemployment rate drops to 8.3%
Discussion:
Felix Salmon, The Democratic Daily, blogs.wsj.com, Brad DeLong, National Review, Booman Tribune and Political Mojo
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Employment Jumps; Rate 8.3%, 243,000 New Jobs Created
Employment Jumps; Rate 8.3%, 243,000 New Jobs Created
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Questions and Observations, Outside the Beltway and The Lonely Conservative
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.
Discussion:
CNN, Campaign 2012, Politico and KLAS-TV 8 News Now
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Newt Gingrich / CNN:
Gingrich: Romney didn't deserve congrats — Pointing to Romney's post-South Carolina campaign strategy, which turned noticeably negative against the former House speaker, Gingrich said Romney didn't earn any kudos. — Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
Discussion:
Washington Wire
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, Shakesville, A plain blog about politics, The Maddow Blog, Riehl World View, Political Mojo and The Hill
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Adam Serwer / Political Mojo:
Conservative Super-PACs Make It Rain — With the Federal Election Commission filings in, it's clear that conservatives are decisively winning the 2012 super-PAC race—at least so far. Republican-leaning super-PACs focused on the presidential race or backing a particular candidate raised …
Discussion:
ProPublica and Hullabaloo
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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:
Politico, 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
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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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
Politico:
Mitt Romney splits with Brett O'Donnell — A GOP operative who won plaudits for bolstering Mitt Romney's recent debate performances is not being retained by the frontrunner's campaign, an apparent victim of internal tensions over staff receiving too much credit for the candidate's comeback, POLITICO has learned.
Discussion:
CNN, Naked Politics, Reuters, Taylor Marsh and The Huffington Post
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.
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:
Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Business Insider and TalkLeft
Eric Berman / Indy's News Center:
Santorum Fails to Qualify for Indiana Ballot — Election officials still tallying signatures for Gingrich — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has failed to qualify for the Indiana ballot. — Listen: — Presidential candidates need 500 signatures in each of Indiana's nine congressional districts.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, The Hill, The Caucus and HotAirPundit
Andy Pierrotti / WBBH-TV:
NBC2 Investigates: Voter fraud — Two elections supervisors are taking action after an NBC2 investigation uncovers flawed record keeping and human error allowing people who are not citizens of the United States to vote. — No one knows how widespread this problem is …
Discussion:
Pat Dollard, The Volokh Conspiracy and UrbanGrounds
Kathryn Jean Lopez / National Review:
Army Silenced Chaplains Last Sunday — In Catholic Churches across the country, parishioners were read letters from the pulpit this weekend from bishops in their diocese about the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services giving Catholics a year before they'll be required …
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed
Alan Colmes' Liberaland:
Anti-Abortion Komen VP Also Anti-Gay — Karen Handel had some choice words for gays when she ran last year for Governor of Georgia, from this interview with the Jim Galloway at the AJC. — KH: I've been very clear. And you know, as a Christian, marriage is between a man and a woman.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Gay Politics and US Politics
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
The 2016 Election, Already Upon Us — DISTANT as it may now seem, with the Republican race dominating the news and President Obama sitting in the White House, the Democrats are not all that far from the tumult of another nominating contest themselves. — No matter what happens on Election …
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
Neil Genzlinger / New York Times:
Ben Gazzara, a Risk-Taking Actor of Stage and Screen, Dies at 81 — Ben Gazzara, an intense actor whose long career included playing Brick in the original “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway, roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors …
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Big Hollywood