OPINIONS: Where are all the federal judges? Why 90 empty seats threaten American justice

• Morning Vid: Glenn Beck Uses Google to Explain Mystery of Mass Bird Deaths

  The Atlantic Wire – 1 hr 25 mins ago

  WASHINGTON, DC – “I’m not an animal expert. I have no idea why fish are washing up dead and birds are falling out of the sky,” says Glenn Beck on Thursday evening’s show. But, luckily, the Fox Host knows how to use properly use “Google” (his air quote marks included). And he demonstrates this to his audience by doing an “internet search” (again with air quotes) to find out about massive bird and fish deaths in Arkansas. “When you read [Google search results], you start to realize that mass fish deaths aren’t all that unprecedented,” says Beck, citing a U.S. Geological survey that pinpointed such bird deaths occurring “a little more than one every other year” for the past three decades.See? That wasn’t so hard! That’s the message of the clip. “I had thought [the bird deaths] never happened before because some faceless basement blogger says freak out, and I have to go to the newspapers or the media to find out because they have so much credibility,” Beck remarks incredulously. Full Story »

The Other New Chicago Crony Chief of Staff

Michelle Malkin

The new chief of staff stalking the corridors of the East Wing is another figure who has blown in from the Windy City…

Today’s Hot Topics

We choose, you peruse.

1. Explosions hit two government buildings in U.S. (AP)

2. Daley chosen as new White House chief of staff (WA PO)

3. Pentagon to cut spending by $78 billion, reduce troop strength (WA PO)

4. Iberia and the Muslims — Down a Deadly Path (AT)

5. Constitutionalism (CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER)

6. Constitution read for first time, but not in its entirety (WT)

7. The Cross Is Unconstitutional, Again (ROGER HEDGECOCK)

8. Taliban Singles Out Sen. Lindsey Graham Over Comment on U.S. Bases in Afghanistan (FOX)

9. Security threat level for London raised to ‘severe’ (CNN)

10. Ex-CIA officer charged with leak to Times reporter (YAHOO)

• 5 Best Friday Columns

  The Atlantic Wire – 1 hr 34 mins ago

  Full Story »

• Can Democrats Defend Health Care From Repeal Campaign?

  The Atlantic Wire – Fri Jan 7, 7:49 am ET

  WASHINGTON, DC – It’s no secret that the new Republican Congress has made a top priority of repealing the health care reform law passed last year. House Republicans, who have a controlling majority, are even scheduling votes to roll back the measure. On January 12, the House will vote on “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.” But can they really succeed? Should they? Now that the New York Times says Democrats are working “on all fronts” to defend health care reform’s popularity, it would seem at least an acknowledgment that the challenge is, or could be, somewhat serious. Here’s what observers are saying today about the brewing war. Full Story »

• Rejecting Extremism

  Linda Chavez – Fri Jan 7, 3:00 am ET

  Creators Syndicate – Americans abhor extremism. It is the reason our democracy has lasted for more than 200 years and why we have rejected both socialism and right-wing radicalism. Full Story »

• Doritos and Pepsi Mock God

  Brent Bozell III – Fri Jan 7, 3:00 am ET

  Creators Syndicate – The Super Bowl is more than just a huge day for professional football fans. Part of the game’s massive audience is there for the chance to see how mega-corporations creatively spend millions of dollars for one Super Bowl commercial. Some Super Bowl ads are brilliant and successful. Budweiser knows it has hit one out of the park when its ad is Monday’s water-cooler talk. Full Story »

• Bill Daley

  Susan Estrich – Fri Jan 7, 3:00 am ET

  Creators Syndicate – For a while there, I was worried that Barack Obama might actually be content to be a one-term president so long as he could say he accomplished what he set out to do. Full Story »

• The Other New Chicago Crony Chief of Staff

  Michelle Malkin – Fri Jan 7, 3:00 am ET

  Creators Syndicate – Fun fact: Bill Daley isn’t the only new chief of staff in the White House with longtime ties to the Chicago Way. Yep, it’s No Windy City Corporate Lawyer Left Behind Week in the nation’s capital. Full Story »

• Israel’s Enemies Within

  Mona Charen – Fri Jan 7, 3:00 am ET

  Creators Syndicate – The late Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan once coined a pithy test for whether you have landed in a free country or not. Full Story »

• Are the Deficits Forever?

  Pat Buchanan – Fri Jan 7, 3:00 am ET

  Creators Syndicate – “The success of a party means little except when the nation is using that party for a large and definite purpose,” said Woodrow Wilson in his first inaugural. “No one can mistake the purpose for which the nation now seeks to use the Democratic Party.” Full Story »

• The organ-grinder Congress

  The Week – Fri Jan 7, 1:40 am ET

  New York – With the Capitol transformed into a big top, Democrats can’t afford to be spectators Full Story »

A vaccine for cocaine addiction?

January 7, 2011, at 10:58 AMA new vaccine could immunize drug addicts from the high-inducing effects of specific narcotics

Trouble in the eurozone

January 7, 2011, at 10:45 AMThe 17-nation European currency union is fracturing, as the haves battle the have-nots

Health care reform: Is repealing it worth $230 billion?

January 7, 2011, at 10:28 AMA congressional agency says the GOP proposal to scrap the Affordable Care Act would add to the deficit. So are Republicans being hypocritical by pushing for repeal?

Tony Hiss’ 6 favorite travel reads

January 7, 2011, at 10:16 AMThe New Yorker writer selects his top “travel” tales — books that have taken him everywhere from Greece to a dystopian future

Google’s mass-animal-death map

January 7, 2011, at 8:00 AMThe search engine has been used to map all the mass deaths of birds, fish, and other creatures around the world—and the resulting picture isn’t pretty

The organ-grinder Congress

January 7, 2011, at 6:40 AMWith the Capitol transformed into a big top, Democrats can’t afford to be spectators

7 surprising uses for an iPad

January 7, 2011, at 6:30 AMApple’s popular gadget is being used everywhere from the House of Representatives to the sports world

Is the Doritos Super Bowl ad blasphemous?

January 6, 2011, at 5:42 PMA spot created for on online contest gently skewers Catholicism—and is causing a stir even though it will never air on TV

Top 5 ‘pay to play’ scandals rocking college football

January 6, 2011, at 4:24 PMMore and more NCAA players have broken the rules by taking money from agents or boosters. Is the system fundamentally broken?

The ‘True Grit’ Oscar dilemma

January 6, 2011, at 3:27 PMCritics have run out of ways to praise actress Hailee Steinfeld, the 14-year-old who anchors “True Grit,” but category confusion could cost her an Oscar

Why are critics turning on Kanye West?

January 6, 2011, at 3:10 PMHis new album was the consensus pick as the best of 2010. But now some critics are finding fault with West’s chart-topping success

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Delta Air Lines’ dead-dog problem

January 6, 2011, at 2:43 PMSeveral dogs have escaped or died (or both) while in Delta’s care over the past nine months. Is the airline being negligent with our pets?

6 Comments

China’s ‘showroom model’ stealth fighter jet

January 6, 2011, at 2:30 PMLeaked photos of China’s radar-evading J-20 have hit the internet, sparking debate about China’s rising military might

Linking autism and the MMR shot: Conclusively false?

January 6, 2011, at 2:16 PMThe original research that connected autism to a childhood vaccine was deliberately falsified, says the British Medical Journal. Will this finally silence the debate?

7 Comments