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31 Jan 2011 13:40

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Politics: Jimmy Carter thinks Mubarak will leave, Suleiman is more honest

  • If I want to know what is going on in the Middle East, I talk to Suleiman. And as far as I know, he has always told me the truth.
  • Former President Jimmy Carter • Never fearful to weigh in on current events, Carter claimed that he’s had more useful interactions with the newly-appointed Vice President of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, than with his boss, saying that Hosni Mubarak talks “like a politician.” Carter also guessed that Mubarak “will have to leave,” a sentiment that might be a cold comfort for the Egyptians who want neither Mubarak, Suleiman, nor anybody positioned in the current regime to be left in power.  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 12:52

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Politics: Speaker Boehner pushes back on anti-debt ceiling talk

  • That would be a financial disaster not only for our country, but for the worldwide economy.
  • Speaker Of The House John Boehner • Appearing on Fox News Sunday, the Speaker waded into the debt ceiling issue, seeming to suggest that to his mind, failure to raise the limit would be unthinkable. The nature of Boehner’s unabashed candor is very surprising, considering the Republican voices who have recently toyed with the idea of voting against raising the ceiling. This may be an early example of the internal struggle between establishment Republicanism and their new Tea Party cohorts. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 11:30

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Politics: Obama’s China ambassador Jon Huntsman plots his resignation

Just a couple weeks after rumors started circulating about a 2012 presidential run, Obama’s ambassador to China is stepping down soonish. Coincidence? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 23:05

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Politics: Max Headroom: TweetDeck an unofficial “Meet the Press” panelist

  • The TweetDeck in the room: For their Egypt roundtable today, Meet the Press decided to take a cue from the CNN playbook and stick social media on a giant TV screen within plain sight. Surprisingly, Chuck Todd, Harold Ford and company weren’t completely distracted by this and had something pretty intelligent to say about Egypt. David Gregory’s intro was a weeeeeeeee bit forced, though. Next time, leave the innovative gimmicks to Jake Tapper … oh wait, he doesn’t have a show anymore. 🙁 Carry on.
  • Egypt: An excuse to drill in the gulf Look, it’s understandable that you feel that oil drilling should be allowed in the Gulf Coast, Rep. Jeff Landry of Louisiana. It was the first thing we thought of, too. But, you know, think this can wait a week? Maybe two? This is so close to the edge of the crisis that it seems a little insensitive.
  • Behind the scenes of al-Jazeera Commotion. Guy futzing with non-working cell phone. Hard work to ensure that al-Jazeera doesn’t go off the air in Egypt. What might surprise is that even they sound surprised at how strong the protests in Egypt were – and Ayman Gaballah, the guy talking, says they had word that this might go down!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 21:54

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Politics: Koch Brothers hold party in Palm Springs, people get arrested

  • 25 protesters jailed at a retreat loaded with righty donors source
  • » Anyone have a tinfoil hat we can borrow? The multi-day conference, put on by billionaire Tea Party-backing brothers David and Charles Koch, is loaded with people with lots of money and lots of influence. We bet Hank Scorpio was there, personally throwing cans of tear gas at the lefty protesters, who were mostly peaceful, but found themselves in trouble after a couple got a tiny bit too close to the shindig and ran into riot police. Supervillans need backup.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 20:09

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Politics: The Guardian: Assessing the diplomatic damage in Egypt

  • The revolution threatens not only Hosni Mubarak’s regime but the strategy the US and Britain have constructed in the Middle East. The hesitancy with which President Mubarak reacted last night was matched only by the perceptible shift in the emphasis of the statements by the U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.
  • An editorial by The Guardian regarding Egypt • In an editorial about Egypt which we thinks relates well to a question we just answered on Tumblr not that long ago. The Guardian makes their point pretty well, we’d say: “Faced with the conflicting needs to keep an Arab partner of Israel afloat and to respond to demands for democratic reform, the U.S. would choose the first every time.” The Guardian makes three points: First, a regime change would possibly damage long-term diplomatic goals; second, if Mubarak has any chance of leaving office peacefully, he’s going to have to free Mohamed ElBaradei and other prisoners, and open up the Interwebs; and finally, this juggernaut may be too difficult to stop at this point. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 21:48

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Politics: It’s decision time: Prospective 2012 candidates start making choices

  • no Rep. Mike Pence has announced that he won’t run for President in 2012, as many had speculated. Instead, he’ll have a run at the Indiana Governorship.
  • maybe Sen. John Thune of South Dakota is close to deciding whether or not to throw his hat in the 2012 ring, telling Politico that he’ll “fish or cut bait soon.”
  • yes?The big shocker is that Jon Huntsman, Obama’s Ambassador to China, is reportedly “leaning” towards a run. We’ll believe it when we see it. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 Jan 2011 13:21

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Politics: Jerry Brown’s tax pitch to Californians may pay off

  • 54% of California likely voters are okay with raising taxes source
  • » New polling from the California Public Policy Institute: A surprising and heartening result, in light of Governor Brown’s rhetoric about tough choices and shared sacrifice. Staring down a state in dire fiscal crisis, Brown has proposed broad, painful spending cuts, as well as a special election to seek voter approval on a package of new taxes and fees. Say what you will about the strategy, but Brown’s candor and honesty about his cuts have been impressive, and it seems voters may reward him with that rarest of the rare: a voter approved tax increase.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 12:54

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Politics: Montel Williams implores Delaware to approve medical marijuana

  • Marijuana may not work for everyone, but what it has done for me is it’s given me my life back.
  • Former talk show host Montel Williams • Speaking to Delaware lawmakers, Williams made an emotional and full-throated appeal for medicinal marijuana legalization. He claims that nothing else still works to ease his severe neuropathic pain from multiple sclerosis, with which he was diagnosed in 1999. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 12:24

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Politics: Ex-McCain staffer Mark Salter behind anonymous Obama book “O”

Step One: Write an anonymous novel about your ex-boss’ former opponent. Name it “O” Step Two: ??? Step Three: Profit! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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