The Commentariat -- January 22

Dan Eggen & T. W. Farnam of the Washington Post: "The new Republican leaders in the House have received millions of dollars in contributions from banks, health insurers and other major business interests, which are pressing for broad reversals of Democratic policies that affect corporations, according to disclosure records and interviews. Much of that money flowed to the GOP chairmen overseeing banking, energy and other key committees - leaders who will play a central role in setting the House agenda over the next two years." ...

... Chris Hayes does a really good job of explaining Republican fiscal policy:

... Dana Milbank: Republicans' "fiscal responsibility" is a cover for reinstituting Newt Gingrich's culture war. "Americans said they want economic recovery. Instead, you're talking about finding Jesus and losing Big Bird." ...

... AND Milbank has a welcome plan: "I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb. 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin -- in print, online or on television -- for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February." He invites you on the linked page to join him & pledge not to read or watch anything about Palin during the month of February. ...

... CW: I'm with Jim Newell of Gawker on the Palin hiatus: "Don't write about her if she does nothing worth writing about; do write about her if she does something worth writing about." It's what I've been doing for some while.

Kate Pickert of Time ticks off "The Five Most Outrageous Health Care Claims of the Week." The first four belong to Republicans; the 5th to the Obama Administration.

Michael Cooper of the New York Times: "These are hard times for cities, and the mood was grim as more than 200 mayors gathered here this week for the winter meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors. Many mayors have already raised taxes, cut services and laid off workers, even police and firefighters. Now they are girding themselves for more tough times, as falling home values are belatedly showing up in property tax assessments, and struggling states are threatening to cut aid to cities."

Perry Bacon, Jr., of the Washington Post: "Gun control advocates are urging the White House to embrace stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting in Tucson, calling for President Obama to talk about the issue in next week's State of the Union address." ...

... BUT. Jim White of Firedoglake: "Palmetto State Armory in South Carolina is 'honoring' Joe Wilson for his disruption of Obama’s health care address to a Joint Session of Congress in September, 2009 ... 'with the release of [a] new “You Lie” AR-15 lower receiver....' What is a 'lower reciever'? It’s a key component in assembling your own AR-15, one of the most popular semiautomatic rifles around." White posts a screenshot of Palmetto State's Website, featuring "Wilson endorsing the assault rifle component made in honor of his outburst." CW: the Website ad includes a shot of the Congressional seal, & Reader B.W., who directed me to the Firedoglake post, asks, "Is this legal?" Update: turns out Jim White has more on this. 18 U.S.C. §713 says, in part,

Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other likeness of the ... seal of the United States Congress, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any building, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

     ... CW: Palmetto State Armory has pulled down the page, but yeah, I'd say it was "calculated to convey the impression of sponsorship or approval," wouldn't you?

Erik Eckholm of the New York Times: "Newly energized by their success in November’s midterm elections, conservative legislators in dozens of states are mounting aggressive campaigns to limit abortions. The lawmakers are drafting, and some have already introduced, bills that would ban most abortions at 20 weeks after conception, push women considering abortions to view a live ultrasound of the fetus, or curb insurance coverage, among other proposals." With state-by-state map.

Kareem Fahim of the New York Times: how the martyrdom of a Sidi Bouzid fruit vendor led to the Tunisian revolution, & perhaps to more unrest beyond the country's borders. ...

... Here's a related story by Robert Worth in the Times' "Week in Review."

Ben Klayman of Reuters: "The National Football League prodded Toyota Motor Corp to edit a television commercial, removing an image of a helmet-to-helmet tackle at a time when the effects of concussions have come under heavy scrutiny, representatives of both sides said. The Japanese automaker, one of the largest corporate advertisers, changed the TV ad after the U.S. sports league complained and warned that the spot would not be allowed to air during its highly watched games." ...

... Here's a related story by Alan Schwarz of the New York Times. Here's the ad before the edit (not sure how long it will stay up):

News Items

Los Angeles Times: "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to report his wife's income from a conservative think tank on financial disclosure forms for at least five years, the watchdog group Common Cause said Friday. Between 2003 and 2007, Virginia Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, earned $686,589 from the Heritage Foundation, according to a Common Cause review of the foundation's IRS records. Thomas failed to note the income in his Supreme Court financial disclosure forms for those years, instead checking a box labeled 'none' where 'spousal noninvestment income' would be disclosed."

New York Times: "Frances Fox Piven, a City University of New York professor, has been a primary character in [Glenn] Beck’s warnings about a progressive take-down of America. Ms. Piven, Mr. Beck says, is responsible for a plan to 'intentionally collapse our economic system.' ... Some say [Beck] is endangering her life."

AP: "The U.S. government awarded a no-bid, $266 million contract for a lucrative electricity project in southern Afghanistan despite promising last year to seek competitive bids from other companies...."

New York Times: "The natural gas pipe that burst in San Bruno, Calif., on Sept. 9, killing nine people and destroying nearly 40 houses, had numerous flaws in its welds, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Friday."

New York Times: "Facebook announced on Friday that it had raised $1.5 billion in new financing led by Goldman Sachs. The investments include $500 million from Goldman Sachs and the Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, as well as $1 billion from wealthy Goldman clients based overseas."