Coach Roy's Reading List for 1/7/2012

Saturday Edition - I thought I could delay this until Monday, but there's just too much good stuff here this morning...

[As usual my comments are in bold type surrounded by square brackets].

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Politics (as usual) Department:

Homework Assignment: Go Talk To Your Representative Or Senator About SOPA/PIPA

(techdirt.com) We've already discussed how things will work Hollywood and the bills' sponsors are spreading. at the end of the month when the Senate comes back into session and Harry Reid tries to put PIPA to a vote. However, as we noted, that only works if enough Senators are convinced to support a plan to move forward with PIPA and approve the first bill to allow an American internet blacklist to occur. That means there are just a few weeks to make sure that Senators are aware of the widespread outrage about these bills, and that they're not left falling for the lies that

Al Gore Comes Out Against SOPA/PIPA

Which Is Worse, SOPA Or PIPA? Answer: Both!

Steny Hoyer and the Revolving Door

(Red Maryland) The chart below (hat tip Conn Carroll at Beltway Confidential) shows that minority Steny Hoyer's former chief of staff Corey Alexander, was part of the revolving door at Fannie Mae during the time it was inflating the housing bubble that led to the crash of the housing market.

New briefs preview Supreme Court clash over health care

(Wash Times) President Obama’s administration and opponents of his health care law filed their first briefs on Friday, drawing the legal battle lines for a week of arguments in March in which the Supreme Court will scrutinize challenges to Mr. Obama’s signature legislative achievement.

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Presidential Election Department:

Ron Paul, Howard Dean, lots of out of state plates

(Wash Examiner) DURHAM, N.H. - In 2008, some commentators couldn't resist drawing parallels between Ron Paul's Republican presidential run that year and Howard Dean's Democratic challenge four years before.

HuffPost: Ron Paul Keeps Door Open for Third Party Run

Klein: For supporters, it’s Ron Paul or bust

(Wash Examiner) Margaret Winn Sandown of N.H., an ardent Rep. Ron Paul supporter, has a message for political journalists trying to press the Texas Republican on whether he’d run as a third party candidate if he doesn’t get the GOP nomination: you’re wasting your time.

Furchtgott-Roth: Obama moving imperial presidency to dangerous new level

(Wash Examiner) Under the Constitution, appointment of senior government officials is a power shared between the president and the Senate. Under President Obama, that power is no longer shared. It's all his.

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Law of Unintended Consequences:

New Law Requires ID To Buy Drain Cleaner...

CHICAGO (CBS) – A new state law requires those who buy drain cleaners and other caustic substances to provide photo identification and sign a log.

IS IT RACIST to require a photo ID to buy drain cleaner

(InstaPundit) Yes, and if there were right-wing public interest lawyers like there are left-wing public interest lawyers, someone would be suing. . . .

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The Media

Will anti-fat bias affect the 2012 election?

(Wash Times) As if Newt Gingrich doesn’t have enough problems after his disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses under a barrage of blistering attack ads, here’s one more to consider: his weight.

Police Memo Warns Of Boozing, Flirty Journalists

(The Jane Dough.com) British police officers received a shocking memo this week: they were told to be wary of reporters trying to get stories by “flirting.” Those journalists, always batting their eyelashes and pouting their lips and trying to deceive the police! Oh god. What is this, a decades-old comic book?

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World View

Guest Post: Has Italy Gone Fascist?

(Zero Hedge) In August this year, CLSA’s Russell Napier wrote: “Italy is scary – yields will rise when governments chose to take money from their savers – what Russell calls THE GREAT THEFT - Expect massive capital flight”.  Yet while Russell was commenting on Italy’s opening move in repressing private capital by raising the capital gains tax, but not on gains of government debt, the situation has moved with such speed over the past 5 months that the emergence of the first Fascist regime following the 2008 crisis can probably now be associated with the new Monti government.

Hamas Chief: “Islamic Spring”; Brotherhood Chief: Caliphate Soon; Western Media: Islamists Moderate, Israel Bad

(PJ Media) A 27-year-old American-Israeli law school student decides he’s going to go to Egypt and talk to Egyptians. He gets arrested by the authorities there as a spy, then is released in the prisoner exchange. He then brags that the mere charm of his magical persuasion convinced a hardened Muslim Brotherhood cadre not to be anti-Israel any more. So there’s nothing to worry about!

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Global What?

[& The Environmental Wackos]

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Popular Culture, etc.:

W.H. pushes back against Kantor

(Politico) The White House pushed back Friday night against author Jodi Kantor's leaked book "The Obamas" — a book that contains juicy details about both the First Couple and the West Wing staff.

Book: FLOTUS battled W.H. advisers

Seasons in Hell: The Brutality of America's Modern Day Slave Trade

(PJ Media) Nineteen-year-old Carina Saunders of Mustang, Oklahoma, was reported missing on September 28 of 2011 though investigators found reports of people seeing her alive and well in early October. On October 13, animal welfare workers looking for feral cats found the decapitated and mutilated body of Carina in a duffel bag behind a grocery store. It is believed the corpse was there several days before the gruesome discovery. Police had to initially look at her tattoos to determine an identity.

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Business

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Military Stuff

Thousands of US troops land in Israel. Aircraft carrier coming soon (DEBKA File) The first of 9,000 incoming US troops have arrived in Israel – not just for the joint Austere Challenge 12 exercise but for a longer stay. They are part of the joint US-Israel deployment ready for a military engagement with Iran and its possible escalation into a regional conflict. A US aircraft carrier will soon arrive for joint missions with the Israeli Air Force. Most of the US arrivals are airmen, missile interceptor teams, marines, seamen, technicians and intelligence officers.

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And the rest of the stuff:

The Weather in Lower Slower Delaware

U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices

Latest NewsBusted

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