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CNN:
Sen. Kerry calls for filibuster of Alito — Unclear if Massachusetts Democrat has votes needed to block nominee — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. John Kerry has decided to support a filibuster to block the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, CNN's Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry reported Thursday.
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU, RedState, The Democratic Daily Blog, protein wisdom, Democrats.com, Hullabaloo, Michelle Malkin, Centerfield, The Left Coaster, MichaelMoore.com, QandO, Bench Memos …, Making Light, GOP Bloggers, The Washington Monthly, Pardon My English, Elephants in Academia, PC Free Zone, Democracy Cell Project-Blog, Althouse, The Truth Laid Bear, Below The Beltway, AMERICAblog, JunkYardBlog, TalkLeft and Sadly, No!
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Bob Fertik / Democrats.com:
BREAKING: KERRY WILL LEAD FILIBUSTER!!!!! — Bush & Co. are trying to transform the US government into a dictatorship. The least the Senate opposition can do is mount a filibuster against the confirmation of Alito to the SC. — Presently, the US public is not paying attention to the issues posed by Alito's pending confirmation.
Emanuele Ottolenghi / National Review:
Hamas Without Veils — Contrary to initial responses, Hamas's projected victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections is a positive development. Not, as its apologists claim, because the proximity of power will favor a process of cooptation into parliamentary politics, and therefore strengthen the pragmatic wing of Hamas.
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Etgar Lefkovits / Jerusalem Post:
Carter calls for funding Palestinians — A day after Hamas swept to an upset victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, former US President Jimmy Carter on Thursday said that Wednesday's voting had been orderly and fair. — "The elections were completely honest, completely fair …
BBC:Hamas sweeps to election victory
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, The Huffington Post, The Duck of Minerva, The Counterterrorism Blog, Andrew Sullivan and Stygius
Sarah El Deeb / Associated Press:Hamas Victory Stuns Palestinian Pols
Discussion:
Israel news and commentary …
David Donnelly / THE DAILY DELAY:
Photograph Company President that "scrubbed" Abramoff photo with Bush gave to Bush — Josh has a post in which he interviews the President of Reflections Photography on why their photos of Abramoff and Bush are no longer available. From his post: … Business decision. Yeah, I bet.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Inflatable Dartboard, The Heretik, Democrat Taylor Marsh … and MoxieGrrrl.com
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White House:
Press Conference of the President — THE PRESIDENT: Sorry to interrupt. (Laughter.) Thank you all very much. I look forward to answering some of your questions here in a minute. I'm also looking forward to going up to Capitol Hill next Tuesday to give my State of the Union address.
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Washington Post:
President Bush Holds a White House Press Conference — SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES — BUSH: I thank you all very much. Look forward to answering some of your questions here in a minute. — I'm also looking forward to going up to Capitol Hill next Tuesday to give my State of the Union address.
Michelle Malkin:
THE CHINA-GOOGLE PROTEST LOGO ALBUM — I'm collecting photoshopped/altered Google logos by bloggers and others in response to the search engine company's decision to kowtow to China. Let a thousand protest icons bloom! — Here was mine: — Murdoc: — Pam at Atlas Shrugs, who's calling on you to divest from Google:
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David Johnston / New York Times:
Defense Lawyers Seek Prosecution Data on Reporters in Leak Case — WASHINGTON, Jan 26 — Lawyers for Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff asked a federal judge on Thursday to order the prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case to turn over all documents in his possession related …
Discussion:
firedoglake
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Edward Wyatt / New York Times:
Oprah Calls Defense of Author 'a Mistake' — In an extraordinary reversal of her strident defense of the author whose book she catapulted to the top of the best-seller list, Oprah Winfrey said today she believed that the author James Frey "betrayed millions of readers" by making up elements …
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Jacob Weisberg / Slate:
The Power-Madness of King George — Is Bush turning America into an elective dictatorship? — It's tempting to dismiss the debate about the National Security Agency spying on Americans as a technical conflict about procedural rights. President Bush believes he has the legal authority …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Power Line, The Mahablog, PoliPundit.com, The American Street and PBD
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
The significance of the Administration's July, 2002 statements about FISA — The Administration has tried to explain away its opposition to the DeWine legislation which would have loosened eavesdropping requirements under FISA by claiming that the DeWine standard of "reasonable suspicion" …
Discussion:
Think Progress, JustOneMinute, Decision '08, The Carpetbagger Report, rubber hose, protein wisdom, Balloon Juice and Amygdala
Ira Stoll / New York Sun:
Iraq's WMD Secreted in Syria, Sada Says — The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.
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Opinion Journal:
Hard Line State — Big Labor's war on Wal-Mart claims casualties among poor Marylanders. — BALTIMORE—In Big Labor's war against Wal-Mart, "collateral damage"—in the form of lost jobs and income for the poor—is starting to add up. Of course, since the unions and their legislative allies claim …
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BizzyBlog.com
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Leslie Baldacci / Chicago Sun Times:Thousands apply for jobs at new Wal-Mart
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Outside The Beltway
Maeve Reston / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Santorum denies ties to 'K Street Project' — WASHINGTON — With Democrats comparing his ties to lobbyists with "organized crime," Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., yesterday swung back, saying the Democratic criticism amounted to libel and unequivocally denying that he helped shape the GOP's controversial "K Street Project."
Discussion:
Washington Post, Sirotablog, The Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report and Balloon Juice
William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush: Hamas Must Alter Stance on Israel to Be 'Partner in Peace' — President Calls on Abbas to Stay in Office — President Bush today said elections in the Palestinian territories delivered a needed "wakeup call to the leadership" there, but he warned that the apparent winners …
canada.com:
Gore accuses big oil of bankrolling Tories — Election laws only allow $1,000 corporate donations — Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore has accused the oil industry of financially backing the Tories and their "ultra-conservative leader" to protect its stake in Alberta's lucrative oilsands.
Fox News:
Vt. Judge Ups Controversial Sentence for Sex Offender — BURLINGTON, Vt. — A controversial ruling for a sex offender in Vermont was changed Thursday from 60 days to 3 to 10 years after a judge received pressure to extend the punishment. — When Judge Edward Cashman sentenced Mark Hulett …
Tracy Jan / Boston Globe:
Schoolboy's bias suit — Argues system is favoring girls — At Milton High School, girls outnumber boys by almost 2 to 1 on the honor roll. In Advanced Placement classes, almost 60 percent of the students are female. — It's not that girls are smarter than boys, said Doug Anglin, a 17-year-old senior at the high school.
Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post:
The Fix-It Myth — Almost everyone agrees that we ought to "fix the health care system" — a completely meaningless phrase despite its popularity with politicians, pundits and "experts." Indeed, it is popular precisely because it is meaningless. The people who proclaim it rarely tell you the discomforting choices it might involve.
Discussion:
TAPPED, Catallarchy, The Next Hurrah, MaxSpeak, SCSUScholars, Hit and Run, Below The Beltway and EconLog
Michelle Malkin:
SEN. BYRD: THE PEOPLE WERE APPALLED (VIDEO) — Sen. Robert Byrd took to the Senate floor earlier today to criticize the manner in which the Alito hearings were conducted. Watch this and file it under "Even a broken clock is right twice a day." — Download the video (.wmv file)
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Gentleman's Agreement — Maureen Dowd is the Queen Bee of the Kewl Kidz. And she is one of those most responsible for the media's current narrative of American Politics: Republicans are jocks, Democrats are nerds. — Here's Dowd's nasty and dangerous little sideswipe today:
