Top Items:
Politico:
Chuck Hagel blocked: Harry Reid says he doesn't have the votes — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Thursday that Republicans have told him that they plan to block Chuck Hagel's nomination to be the next secretary of Defense over demands for more information from the White House.
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David Weigel / Slate:
“Friends of Hamas”: The Scary-Sounding Pro-Hagel Group That Doesn't Actually Exist — Palestinian high school students show off their skills during a graduation ceremony from a military school course organized by the Hamas security forces and the Hamas Minister of Education on January 24, 2013 in Gaza City.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Little Green Footballs, The Week, The Maddow Blog, A plain blog about politics, The Dish and Daily Kos
Steve Kornacki / Salon:
When Republicans play with fire — Just how unprecedented is their filibuster of Chuck Hagel? In a word: Very — Whether they'll cop to it or not, Republicans are currently engaged in a filibuster of Chuck Hagel's nomination to be Defense secretary. — Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma's conservative …
Discussion:
Slate, The Plum Line, The Maddow Blog, Shakesville, JustOneMinute, The Dish, The Hill, ABCNEWS, Post Politics and National Review
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
McCain Satisfied With WH Benghazi Response, Ready To Press On With Hagel Vote — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Thursday that the White House's response to his and other Republican senators' questions on the September attack in Benghazi, Libya was satisfactory.
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security
Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Prospect and Politico
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Republicans Mounting Filibuster Against Chuck Hagel: Harry Reid [UPDATE]
Republicans Mounting Filibuster Against Chuck Hagel: Harry Reid [UPDATE]
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Maddow Blog and Daily Kos
Fox News:
Republicans vow to go to war with filibuster over Hagel
Republicans vow to go to war with filibuster over Hagel
Discussion:
Fox News Insider and The Right Scoop
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Friday showdown on Hagel
Friday showdown on Hagel
Discussion:
The Reaction, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, The Agonist, Associated Press and Hot Air
Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Dems lack 60 votes in Senate to confirm Hagel as Defense secretary
Dems lack 60 votes in Senate to confirm Hagel as Defense secretary
Discussion:
NPR, Weasel Zippers and Michelle Malkin
Robert Draper / New York Times:
Can the Republicans be Saved From Obsolescence? — One afternoon last month, I paid a visit to two young Republicans named Bret Jacobson and Ian Spencer, who work in a small office in Arlington, Va., situated above an antique store and adjacent to a Japanese auto shop.
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Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
The Cool Kids of the GOP Show the Christian Right the Door — Today's Big Read for those who are bored with the regular news (or lack thereof) is Robert Draper's very long piece in the New York Times Magazine about the difficulty the Republican Party is experiencing in keeping up with the Obamas.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and The Mahablog
Mike Allen / Politico:
VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION - EPIC 36 HOURS AHEAD: GOP TRIES FOR HAGEL DELAY - …
VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION - EPIC 36 HOURS AHEAD: GOP TRIES FOR HAGEL DELAY - …
Discussion:
National Review, Reuters, The Week and Israel Matzav
David Corn / Mother Jones:
FreedomWorks Made Video of Fake Giant Panda Having Sex With Fake Hillary Clinton — The investigation at the influential tea party group could get weird. — An internal investigation of FreedomWorks—the prominent conservative advocacy group and super-PAC—has focused on president Matt Kibbe's management …
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Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Report: FreedomWorks made fake Hillary Clinton sex video
Report: FreedomWorks made fake Hillary Clinton sex video
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly and The Other McCain
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Senate Dems unveil $110B sequester-replacement bill — Senate Democratic leaders unveiled a $110 billion sequester-replacement bill at a closed-door caucus meeting Thursday that would replace $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set for March 1. — The Senate Democratic package …
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation
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Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner challenges Senate Dems to take lead, pass Obama second-term agenda — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday challenged Senate Democrats to pass the agenda President Obama laid out in his State of the Union address, suggesting the president's progressive proposals lack support even within his own party.
Discussion:
Politico, The Plum Line, ABCNEWS, Post Politics, BuzzFeed, Speaker Mobile and National Review
Matt Friedman / New Jersey Online:
Lautenberg will not seek re-election next year — Photos: Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey — TRENTON — U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a pugnacious and plain-spoken Democrat who has represented New Jersey for three decades, will not seek re-election to a sixth term next year.
Discussion:
Roll Call, BuzzFeed, Firedoglake, LifeNews.com, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Post Politics and ViralRead
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Martin Peretz / Wall Street Journal:
The New New Republic — I don't recognize the magazine I used to own. We were liberal but not narrowly partisan. — Like many readers of the New Republic, I didn't at first recognize the most recent issue of the magazine. The stark white cover was unlike anything the New Republic ran during my 35 years as the owner.
Wayne LaPierre / The Daily Caller:
Stand and Fight — Before I tell you how the NRA and our members are going to Stand And Fight politically and in the courts, let's acknowledge that all over this country, tens of millions of Americans are already preparing to Stand And Fight to protect their families and homes.
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, Business Insider, msnbc.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, AMERICAblog, The Week, Twitchy, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, The Maddow Blog, The Raw Story, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Daily Kos, TheBlaze.com, Althouse and Talking Points Memo
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Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:
Report: Hagel Said State Department Controlled by Israel — Fox News Channel on Tuesday reported that secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel failed to disclose to the United States Senate speeches delivered to controversial groups such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee …
Discussion:
First Read, Politico, Power Line, Roll Call, National Review, BREITBART.COM, Right Turn, Weasel Zippers, Taegan Goddard's …, Prairie Weather, The PJ Tatler and Israel Matzav
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Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Hagel Spoke Of Cooperation With Iran In 2007 Speech
Hagel Spoke Of Cooperation With Iran In 2007 Speech
Discussion:
American Spectator, Washington Free Beacon, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Washington Examiner
Michael Tabb / Student Life:
Nate Silver talks politics to filled Graham Chapel — New York Times writer and statistician Nate Silver told a full Graham Chapel audience that he might stop writing his renowned blog should his analyses ever start affecting election results. — Silver spent an hour minimizing his achievements …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, Outside the Beltway, Politico and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Pistorius Charged With Murder in Shooting of Woman — The development stunned a nation that had elevated Mr. Pistorius to iconic status as a national sporting hero, an emblem of the ability to overcome acute adversity and a symbol of South Africa's ability to project achievements onto the world stage.
Discussion:
Deadspin, Telegraph, Reuters, NBCNews.com, News Desk, Addicting Info, Taylor Marsh, The Week, Gawker, Mashable!, alan.com and Outside the Beltway
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Godfrey Hodgson / Guardian:
Ronald Dworkin obituary — Brilliant philosopher of law who put human dignity at the centre of his moral system — Ronald Dworkin, who has died aged 81, was widely respected as the most original and powerful philosopher of law in the English-speaking world.
Discussion:
Crooked Timber and Althouse
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Elon Musk / Tesla Motors:
A Most Peculiar Test Drive — You may have heard recently about an article written by John Broder from The New York Times that makes numerous claims about the performance of the Model S. We are upset by this article because it does not factually represent Tesla technology …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Wired, New York Times, TechCrunch, Wonkblog, Guardian, Gawker, Mashable!, Brad DeLong, Balloon Juice and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
Missouri Democrats Introduce Legislation to Confiscate Firearms - Gives Gun Owners 90 Days to Turn in Weapons — Missouri Democrats introduced an anti-gun bill which would turn law-abiding firearm owners into criminals. They will have 90 days to turn in their guns if the legislation is passed.
Discussion:
protein wisdom, The PJ Tatler, The Right Scoop and NRA-ILA News
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Dana Radio / The Dana Show:
Missouri Democrats Introduce Gun-Grabbing Legislation
Missouri Democrats Introduce Gun-Grabbing Legislation
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers