Top Items:
Peter Wehner / The Atlantic:
The Unbearable Weakness of Trump's Minions — Those hoping for a quick snapback to sanity for the Republican Party once Donald Trump is no longer president should temper those hopes. — The latest piece of evidence to suggest the enduring power of Trumpian unreality is yesterday's announcement …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Raw Story, New Republic, Boston.com, BuzzFeed News and CNN
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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Josh Hawley reminds us that the GOP is the sedition party — The Republican Party yet again provides us with reason for its own demise. The Post reports: “Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced Wednesday that he would object next week when Congress convenes to certify the electoral college vote …
Discussion:
Mediaite, MSNBC, Crooks and Liars, Rolling Stone, The National Interest, Associated Press, Fortune and The Hill
Politico:
McConnell: House's $2,000 stimulus checks are ‘socialism for rich’ — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dubbed the effort to increase direct payments to $2,000 “socialism for rich people,” eliciting an incredulous reaction from Sen. Bernie Sanders as the GOP Senate continued to decline to take up the matter on Thursday.
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Hill, The Week, Raw Story, The Sun, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Dot, Conservative News Today and New York Times, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
Sen. Sasse calls effort to overturn electoral college vote a ‘dangerous ploy’ — Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Thursday called the effort in Congress to reverse President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college victory a “dangerous ploy,” underscoring the challenge President Trump faces in persuading even members of his own party to join it.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Orlando Sentinel, UPI, NBC News, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Big League Politics, IJR, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Election Law Blog
Christal Hayes / USA Today:
‘Socialism for rich people’: McConnell attacks $2,000 stimulus checks, all but ensuring bill won't pass
‘Socialism for rich people’: McConnell attacks $2,000 stimulus checks, all but ensuring bill won't pass
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, UPI, Washington Times, Real America's Voice and WRIC-TV
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Elizabeth Warren's next chapter
The Daily Poster:
Senate Democrats' Motion To Concede On $2,000 Checks
Senate Democrats' Motion To Concede On $2,000 Checks
Discussion:
The Daily Dot, republicanleader.senate.gov, Regular Order, Raw Story, CNN and The Guardian
Tyler Olson / Fox News:
McConnell again blocks quick vote on $2,000 stimulus checks, slams ‘socialism for rich people’
McConnell again blocks quick vote on $2,000 stimulus checks, slams ‘socialism for rich people’
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA, IJR, abc7NY and Raw Story
Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Sasse: “Ambitious” Republicans objecting to Electoral College “are playing with fire”
Sasse: “Ambitious” Republicans objecting to Electoral College “are playing with fire”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Times, The Week and The Intellectualist
Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
Josh Hawley Is Madison Cawthorn Is Marjorie Taylor Greene
Josh Hawley Is Madison Cawthorn Is Marjorie Taylor Greene
Discussion:
Fox News and Business Insider
New York Times:
‘Covid, Covid, Covid’: In Trump's Final Chapter, a Failure to Rise to the Moment — As the U.S. confronted a new wave of infection and death through the summer and fall, the president's approach to the pandemic came down to a single question: What would it mean for him?
Los Angeles Times:
Some healthcare workers refuse to take COVID-19 vaccine, even with priority access — They are front-line workers with top priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are refusing to take it. — At St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, fewer than half …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Soumya Karlamangla / Los Angeles Times:
Bodies pile up, patient care falters as COVID-19 devastates L.A. County hospitals — Los Angeles County's healthcare system was buckling Wednesday under the unprecedented surge of COVID-19 patients, with bodies piling up at morgues and medical professionals resorting to increasingly desperate measures …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Associated Press
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Microsoft says Russians hacked its network, viewing source code — Russian government hackers engaged in a sweeping series of breaches of government and private-sector networks have been able to penetrate deeper into Microsoft's systems than previously known, gaining access …
Discussion:
Microsoft Security …, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and CyberScoop, more at Techmeme »
Kevin Stankiewicz / CNBC:
Axios' Mike Allen: Some Republicans think Trump is trying to sabotage GOP in Georgia Senate races — “There's a big strain of thought among Republicans that President Trump is sabotaging” the Georgia Senate runoffs, Axios co-founder Mike Allen told CNBC. — Allen said Trump has …
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Hannah Miao / CNBC:
Often overlooked, Asian American Christian voters could be key in Georgia Senate runoffs
Often overlooked, Asian American Christian voters could be key in Georgia Senate runoffs
Discussion:
The American Independent and Vox
Steve Inskeep / NPR:
Biden's Incoming Press Secretary: Briefings Won't Be A Platform For Right-Wing Spin — Toggle more options — President-elect Joe Biden's choice for White House press secretary says she will restore a tradition. Unlike her immediate predecessors in the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Forbes and Al Jazeera, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Embarrassing Electoral College Hustle — It is doomed to fail but would still set a destructive precedent. — By The Editorial Board — President Trump's last and worst shot at overturning the 2020 election will come on Jan. 6, as the new Congress meets in joint session to tally the votes from the Electoral College.
Discussion:
IJR, The Hill, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Townhall, The New Arab, Fox News, Florida Politics, CNBC, ABC News, Breitbart, Politico and New York Times
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CNN:
Trump returns to Washington early ahead of Republican plan to disrupt certification of Biden's win
Trump returns to Washington early ahead of Republican plan to disrupt certification of Biden's win
Discussion:
Weasel Words of Wisdom, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Hill, Politico, CNBC, Washington Post, The Week, Florida Politics, Towleroad Gay News, Denver Post, WTOP, The US Sun, susiemadrak.com and Mediaite
Dominique Vidalon / Reuters:
British PM Johnson's father applying for French citizenship — PARIS (Reuters) - The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit.
Discussion:
Orange County Register, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Business Insider and The US Sun
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Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Trump Fears That His Influence Is Waning — The president is plotting retribution. Not just because he's mad about his election loss. But because he wants to keep folks in line. — As his days in office come to a close, President Donald Trump has hinted to those close to him that he's worried …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
Robert Burns / Associated Press:
US to move aircraft carrier out of Mideast amid Iran tension — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has decided to send home the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, a move that would reduce U.S. firepower in the region amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said Thursday.
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Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
Security firms say suspicious object on oil tanker off Iraq
Security firms say suspicious object on oil tanker off Iraq
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Hill, The Daily Caller and The Iran Project
Zeynep Tufekci / The Atlantic:
The Mutated Virus Is a Ticking Time Bomb — There is much we don't know about the new COVID-19 variant—but everything we know so far suggests a huge danger. … A new variant of the coronavirus is spreading across the globe. It was first identified in the United Kingdom …
Discussion:
New York Times
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
West Virginia clinic gave 42 people an antibody treatment instead of the coronavirus vaccine — Forty-two people in West Virginia received an antibody treatment rather than Moderna's coronavirus vaccine in an error Wednesday at a vaccination clinic hosted by a county health department.
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC and WV MetroNews
Jordan Davidson / The Federalist:
WANNABE ‘JEOPARDY!’ HOST KEN JENNINGS IS A BRETT KAVANAUGH RAPE TRUTHER WHO HATES REPUBLICANS — “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings is attempting to backtrack on years of insults hurled at conservatives and others on his Twitter feed in what some have speculated is a bid for the popular game show's open host position.
Discussion:
EW.com, Conservative News Today, RedState, Deseret News and Twitchy
Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller / Des Moines Register:
Joni Ernst receiving vaccine so quickly rankles the health care providers she insulted — Most of the doctors who answered my informal survey said they have earned less income in 2020 as a direct result of the pandemic. — View Comments — I felt a sting of disbelief when Sen. Joni Ernst's photo flooded the media.
Billie Kanfer / Data For Progress:
Republicans Don't Know Anything About Their Party. That's Very Bad for American Democracy. — By Ethan Winter — While the packaging of Republican Party politics has evolved since 2000, what remains unaltered is a bedrock commitment to regressive tax cuts, a sharp curtailment of worker power …
Oliver Traldi / Arc Digital:
Nobody Reads — People who pretend to read as a status symbol are certainly obnoxious — but are they on to something? — When you first hear about a store called “Books by the Foot,” you might think: The name tells me they've got a whole lot of books to sell me.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Trump Appointee Seeks Lasting Control Over Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia — Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad — including Voice of America — appears to be coming to a close. Yet President Trump's appointee …
Discussion:
Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
John F. Harris / Politico:
2020 Shatters the Myth of American Exceptionalism — 2020 will go down for me as the year I did not travel to Minnesota. — Strictly speaking, it is more accurate to say this was the year when I did not travel to my version of Minnesota. — My Minnesota is a crisp morning stroll in Northfield …
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Biden inaugural activities to include memorial service for covid victims — President-elect Joe Biden's scaled-back inaugural activities will include a nationwide memorial service ahead of his swearing-in to honor the lives lost to the coronavirus, the committee planning the events announced Thursday.
Discussion:
Axios, Associated Press, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week and NECN
Alex Yablon / New Republic:
This Year's Underground Sensation: Modern Monetary Theory — At the close of 2020, it's hard to think of another year in living memory that has forced such a radical rethinking of our politics and social life. The Covid-19 pandemic will be remembered as a dire time in American life …
Nancy Cook / Bloomberg:
Trump Budget Chief Hampers Biden Transition With Ban on Meetings — Agency director Russ Vought wants focus on last-minute rules — Biden has complained OMB, Pentagon are hampering transition — President Donald Trump's budget office is blocking Joe Biden's transition team …
Discussion:
New York Post, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Politico
Lauren Egan / NBC News:
Congresswoman-elect Salazar to miss swearing-in ceremony due to Covid diagnosis — Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar of Florida announced Thursday that she will miss the swearing-in ceremony for new members of Congress on Sunday in Washington after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller and CNN
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Biden's Team Tells Senate Democrats To Send Him Judicial Nominees ASAP — The president-elect wants recommendations for all existing district court vacancies by Jan. 19, says his incoming White House counsel. — President-elect Joe Biden is signaling that he's ready to move quickly with nominating judges once he's sworn into office.
Discussion:
The Hill, Reason, Crooks and Liars, CNN and Political Wire
Bethany Barnes / Tampa Bay Times:
Federal agency knew Garda was “really bad” at safety. It took little action. — Three more people have died since the Times revealed safety problems at the Florida-based armored truck company. — By the time Johnathon Lue burned alive in the back of a GardaWorld armored truck in May …
Jill Lawrence / USA Today:
A Republican in Joe Biden's Cabinet? The president-elect should just say no. — Naming a Republican is bad messaging and not necessary. And it wouldn't signal strength or produce an envoy with persuasive powers over the opposition. — The doors may be closing on the chances of a Republican …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and Associated Press