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By Joe Conason Complaints about President Obama’s State of the Union address on both sides of the political divide (which was obscured but not obliterated by the evening’s novel seating arrangements) seemed to miss its point and purpose. Related Entries January 26, 2011 Barack Obama: Paradoxical Whig January 26, 2011 ‘Daily Show’: Rahm’s Residency Rumble

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America’s Freshmen Are Really Stressed Out

Wedged between past years of standardized testing and fixating on applications and a future of paying off hefty loans with no guarantees of gainful employment, first-year college students around the country are registering higher levels of stress and poorer emotional health, according to a long-standing survey out of UCLA.

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The media couldn't pin the Gabrielle Giffords shooting on conservatives, but that doesn't mean they've stopped trolling for proof that conservatives are racist and violent. In California, a liberal state senator running for Mayor of San Francisco named Leland Yee received an indirect death threat after he attacked Rush Limbaugh. Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Tony Beard said he and the California Highway Patrol are looking into the letter, which includes a drawing of a noose. The

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Open Thread / Caption this photo

enlarge Ah, in happier times. Time to play caption this photo, and as usual, C&Lers, keep it classy, keep it clean. Open thread below….

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Genre: The Louvin Brothers Title: If I Could Only Win Your Love Country legend Charlie Louvin died today at 83 from pancreatic cancer. Charlie’s music was influential across time and genres, and The Louvin Brothers were one of the greatest duos in country music history. Charlie continued to record and tour after the tragic death of his brother Ira in 1965, and his cancer diagnosis did not diminish his work ethic. He played shows as recently as December and was booked for future dates. He will truly be missed here in Nashville and across the world.

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January 25, 1951 – There Was Korea To Think About.

enlarge Even in 1951 people were sick of hearing about it . Click here to view this media News on this day in 1951 was mostly about the economy, partly about wage and price controls and pretty much all about the Korean War and what was going on, or not going on. In this broadcast of Edward R. Murrow And The News from January 25, 1951, Murrow lays it out how the public was feeling: Edward R.Murrow: “In this reporters opinion, there has been considerable time for clear thinking. It has been just about two months since General MacArthur, announcing the arrival of massive Chinese formations in Korea said ‘the United Nations forces now face a totally new war’. Generally, a new war involves a new policy and some change in grand strategy. If there has been any change in policy or grand strategy it has escaped our notice. There mere labeling of China as an aggressor, even if we’re able to bring that off at the U.N. isn’t a policy, it’s a gesture. Meanwhile, we have the testimony of General Marshall that we require replacements at the rate of 15,000 a month for Korea. It is important to understand that this does not mean reinforcements. It means 15,000 bodies to replace those who have, in one way or another been consumed by the fires of war. We have at the same time increasing evidence in public opinion surveys and in the mail to Congressmen that the American public believes that we should get out of Korea. It is also clear beyond doubt that the majority of the free world will not participate in effective steps to repulse Chinese aggression in Korea. I have seen this whole situation no better put than by Walter Lippman in his column of today where he says; ‘our people feel that it is intolerable that American soldiers should be suffering in a war which can no longer be won, which can no longer achieve the aims for which it was begun yet, a war which was undertaken, not for a national purpose but for a principle. They feel, continues Mr. Lippman, naturally and rightly that there is something decisive that should be done about it all. What the decisive something is, they do not know. They cannot be expected to know. They have a right to expect their government to tell them what it is. Their government tells them nothing. Day after day the casualties continue and the young men are called up to replace them’. That’s the end of the quotation from Walter Lippman’s column of today. Two months ago we were confronted with what General MacArthur called a ‘wholly new war’. The record does not show that we’ve expounded or adopted new strategy or new policy. Mister Truman says today, obviously this is no time for rash or unwise action. This is a time for clear thinking and firmness. Admirable sentiments with which most of us would agree. But two months of firmness and clear thinking ought to produce, perhaps not a solution, but at least a new policy to meet a new situation. We cannot fight todays wars with tomorrows weapons. And we cannot pursue in a new war the old policies.” And some things just never change.

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Mary Matalin Prefers the Victim Card to Fact Checking Michele Bachmann

Click here to view this media CNN’s John King asks his guests James Carville and Mary Matalin to fact check these statements by Michele Bachmann in her response to the State of the Union address yesterday. BACHMANN: Well, what did we buy? Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that now tells us which lightbulbs to buy and which may put 16,500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama’s health care bill. King actually bothers to start pointing out that her statement about the IRS agents is just not true and when he asks Matalin to weigh in, she pulls out the pity card for Bachmann and claims that liberals are attacking her because they just want to shut her up. She also asserts that it’s the Democrats that are propping her up on some equal footing with the president. Sorry Lady McCheney, but it’s the tea partiers and your network that decided to do that when airing her response. I agree with your husband, keep her crazy ass out there talking. They also never bothered to point out that it was George Bush, not Barack Obama that signed the energy bill that changed the standard on lightbulbs . Matalin was too busy pulling out the victim card for Bachmann.

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Imus Criticizes Maddow as ‘Gutless, Sniveling Worm’ for Her Initial Tepid Reaction to Olbermann Leaving MSNBC

So much for any scintillating future chit-chat between Rachel Maddow and Don Imus. Imus cut loose with a withering broadside today against Maddow for what he perceived as her disloyal initial response to news of colleague and mentor Keith Olbermann's abrupt departure from MSNBC — Having nothing to do with her politics, she is a gutless coward and I'll tell you why. Because everybody knew what the situation was with Olbermann at MSNBC. We used to work there. Tom Bowman, who's our producer, Elisha who's one of our producers, they both worked with me at MSNBC. They left there to come with me, by the way, don't look for any of Olbermann's producers to go any place with him. However, so we all know people, we still know everybody who's at MSNBC. So, everybody knew what was going on with Keith. Everybody knew what was going to happen to him. For this woman, who owed her job to him, she's live there with Bill Maher, a lot of people watch that terribly influential program, not to offer a defense of Olbermann, in spite of what you think about Olbermann, is unconscionable. [Video after page break]

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Clarence Thomas Did Not Disclose Wife’s Income From Conservative Groups

While ruling on cases near and dear to the hearts of his wife’s clients, for 13 years Justice Clarence Thomas failed to report spousal income from conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation because, he claims, he misunderstood the disclosure forms. Politico: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has amended 13 years’ worth of disclosure reports to include details of wife Virginia Thomas’s sources of income, documents released on Monday show. The documents indicate that Thomas’s wife, who goes by Ginni, had worked for Hillsdale College in Michigan, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, among other entities. Like all federal judges, Thomas must file annual disclosure reports on his personal finances, but he had omitted details of his wife’s earnings in what he wrote was a “misunderstanding of the filing instructions.” He also had checked a box marking no spousal income. Read more Related Entries January 25, 2011 Rahm Emanuel Catches a Break in Mayoral Race January 24, 2011 Vermont Weighs Constitutional Amendment to Ban Corporate Personhood

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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. Be ready for the paradoxical phase of Barack Obama’s presidency. Many things will not be exactly as they appear. Related Entries January 25, 2011 Rahm Emanuel Catches a Break in Mayoral Race January 24, 2011 Vermont Weighs Constitutional Amendment to Ban Corporate Personhood

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