Day's End Round-Up

FROM THE BLOGS:

Dems to offer spending cuts
The Plum Line's Greg Sargent reports that Democrats are planning to offer a sequester deal that includes "a mix" of additional revenues and spending cuts.

Guantánamo Bay will remain open
Kelly Vlahos of The American Conservative notes that the Obama administration announced last week that it is "shuttering" the office in charge of closing Guantánamo Bay.

Gun control could cost GOP women vote
Women who, historically, don't vote in midterm elections will likely come out in 2014 because of the issue of gun control, Evan McCmorris-Santoro of TPM explains.

Bloomberg seeks another soda ban
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) is now seeking a ban on syrofoam cups, Andrew Johnson of The Corner writes. 

OTHER NEWS SOURCES

Rep. Braley after Iowa Senate seat
Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) launched a bid for retiring Sen. Tom Harkin's seat (D-Iowa), The Hill's Cameron Joseph reports.

First lady to attend funeral of Chicago teen
First lady Michelle Obama will attend the funeral of a Chicago teen who performed at the 2013 presidential inauguration, The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Assassination rocks Tunisia
Commentary's Michael Rubin worries the so-called Arab Spring may not being going according to plan, using Tunisia as a recent example.  

Republicans hit Obama, Jack Lew for violating the law on Medicare 
The Weekly Standard's Jeffrey Anderson argues that the Obama administration broke the law by not outlining changes to increase Medicare's solvency.

Postal cuts are austerity on steroids
The Nation's John Nichols opines on why cutting funding for the United States Postal Service is a bad idea

Tim Geithner now a "distinguished fellow" at CFR
Slate's Matthew Yglesias offers his take on the former Treasury Secretary's next career move.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama to nominate REI chief executive Jewell for Interior Secretary
The Hill's Daniel Strauss and Ben Geman report on President Obama's latest cabinet appointee.  

Dems propose bill decriminalizing pot 
The Hill's Pete Kasperowicz reports on the Democrats' latest plan to deregulate the purchase and consumption of marijuana.  

FROM THE BLOGS:

Drones targeting Americans abroad raises questions
Hot Air's Ed Morrissey highlights an Obama administration memo arguing the legal case for drone strikes on Americans.

Obama will never please the 'Skeeters'
CNN contributor LZ Granderson says President Obama should stop trying to appease his critics with photographic evidence.

Fixing US foreign relations
Right Turn's Jennifer Rubin writes an open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry: "Republicans are rooting for you."

GOP Senators obstruct CFPB
Pat Garofalo of Think Progress notes that 43 senators signed a letter vowing opposition to any new nominee to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

OTHER NEWS SOURCES

White House playing defense
The Hill's Amie Parnes reports on White House press secretary Jay Carney's defense of the targeting of Americans with drone strikes as "fully consistent" with the Constitution.

Pentagon extends benefits to same-sex couples
The Pentagon will announce later this week that military same-sex spouses will receive some additional benefits. The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

With Scott Brown out, Massachusetts Republicans are getting desperate
New York Magazine's Margaret Hartmann says Republicans are trying to cast a broader net for the Republican nominee for Massachusetts Senator after Scott Brown bowed out.

In defense of political anger
The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses how former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) helped his cause by not engaging in back and forth during his confirmation hearing.

Is it time to get rid of the EPA?
The Daily Caller's Henry Miller argues the EPA has been an ineffective and burdening government agency.

Thank God for American Crossroads and the Conservative Victory Project
Red State's Erick Erickson celebrates Karl Rove's decision to change what type of primary candidates his super PACs support.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Ryan hits Obama for blowing past deadline for 2014 budget
The 2012 Vice-Presidential nominee criticizes the President for not submitting his budget to Congress on time, The Hill's Erik Wasson reports.

Kerry begins State Department tenure with pledge to fill Clinton's 'big heels'
The Hill's Julian Pecquet reports on Secretary of State John Kerry's address to State Department employees to mark the beginning of his new role in government.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The Senate-hearing circus is in session

Matthew Duss recaps yesterday's tumultuous confirmation hearing for former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) in The American Prospect. 

Is it getting better? Homophobia rocks super bowl
The Nation's Dave Zirin discusses the comments made about members of the LGBT community by certain San Francisco 49ers players.



Fleeing Harry Reid's Senate
Jennifer Rubin writes in The Washington Post why she believes more Democratic senators will retire and join the private sector.



Obama administration retreating on HHS contraception mandate?
Hot Air's Ed Morrissey on the Obama administration's decision to exclude certain religiously affiliated organizations from the HHS contraception mandate.



OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Economy adds 157,000 jobs, unemployment ticks up to 7.9 percent
The Hill's Vicki Needham reports on the January jobs report numbers.



Steven Chu stepping down as Obama's energy secretary
The Hill's Ben Geman reports on why the Noble Prize-winning scientist decided to not stay for a second term in the Obama administration.



FROM THE BLOGS:

Hagel's experience as a grunt
At War's Don Gomez wonders if Chuck Hagel's experience as a sergeant in Vietnam gives him enough experience to lead the Pentagon.

NRA loses congressional supporter
Huffington Post's Chelsea Klene reports former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.) is backing away from the NRA and is supporting President Obama's gun-control proposals.

GOP gets Tech-savvy 
Red State's Ned Ryun says conservatives are giving themselves a more technologically competitive edge to muster votes in 2014.

A big thank you to Israel
According to the New York Post's editorial board, the White House owes Israel a big thank you for their air strike in Syria this morning.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Chuck Hagel comes under fire at hearing
Former colleagues of Sen. Hagel demand answers to tough questios on the former Senator's past votes and remarks, The Hill's Jeremy Herb reports.

House GOP want answers
House Republicans are drafting a bill that will force President Obama to estimate when federal budget will be balanced, The Hill's Pete Kasperowicz reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

GDP falls in the fourth quarter
The Daily Beast's Megan McArdle discusses the surprising news that, for the first time since 2009, the national GDP contracted.

Why it won't be Barney Frank
Steve Kornacki of Salon.com explains why Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) won't (and actually didn't) pick former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to serve in the Senate on an interim basis.

Will the foreign policy version of "fast & furious" ever end?
The Washington Monthly's Ed Kilgore compares Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) intense focus on the attacks in Benghazi to the focus on DOJ's Operation Fast and Furious in the House.

Valentines for Hagel were posted from Tehran
Kenneth R. Timmermanin The Washington Times writes how the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to be secretary of Defense sends the wrong message to Iran.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Giffords to panel: 'You must act'
The Hill's Mike Lillis reports on ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's (D-Ariz.) emotional testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of new gun control measures.

Sen. Cochran becomes first Republican to back Hagel to lead Pentagon
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) supports Hagel's nomination for secretary of Defense, The Hill's Jeremy Herb reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Catering to both sides on immigration reform
The Plum Line's Greg Sargent asks why the current $18 billion border security budget is not enough.

Sandy Relief Bill still gets 'no' votes in the Senate
ThinkProgress's Josh Israel breaks down 31 senators who voted 'no' to a Hurricane Sandy relief bill after requesting disaster relief for their own states.

Gang of Eight's immigration reform remains questionable
The Daily Caller's Mickey Kaus says "Washington fakery" is at work regarding amnesty in the new Senate proposals for 11 million illegal immigrants.

A fond farewell
"I did not belong at CNN," Erick Erickson said as he bid goodbye to three years at CNN.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES

NRA chief to call for arming schools
Wayne LaPierre, the vice president of the National Rifle Association, will call for strengthening current gun laws and mental health care at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, The Hill's Mike Lillis reports.

Sen. Graham to withhold Hagel nomination
Until Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta testifies on the Benghazi attack, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is threatening to block former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) nomination to succeed the outgoing Defense secretary, according to The Hill's Jeremy Herb.

FROM THE BLOGS:


World's leaders aren't doing their jobs
CNN contributor David Frum thinks the first step to obtaining a secure global financial system is for participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos to admit that they screwed up.

Moving beyond Roe: How can we find our way out of the desert?
National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez writes on how the anti-abortion-rights movement can refashion itself.

The Senate immigration plan isn't terrible — it's just unworkable
Adam Serwer of Mother Jones writes that the Senate's "gang of eight" immigration proposal is too vague to properly implement.


The 'fiscal cliff' bill is not what it seems
Lynn Forester de Rothschild outlines in the Huffington Post how many earmarks were included in the "fiscal cliff" bill.  

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Boehner pledge to committee chairmen could cause logistical problems
Speaker John Boehner's promise to give committee chairmen more power will allow members to have more input on policies going forward, though possibly at the expense of influence from Republican leadership, The Hill's Molly K. Hooper reports.



Rep. Markey's mettle to be tested in Massachusetts Senate special election
Rep. Edward Markey (D) will have to show good campaigning skills and acumen if he hopes to defeat Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) in the Democratic primary to become the next senator from Massachusetts, The Hill's Alexandra Jaffe reports. 



FROM THE BLOGS:

Ineffective on the inequality gap
The New York Times’s David Brooks argues that Democratic policies will not help solve the inequality gap they’re intended to fix.

Bobby Jindal on minorities and the GOP
The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart agreed with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) call for Republicans to change their policies toward ethnic and cultural minorities. 

Common core standards ignore English and history
Michelle Malkin writes in Townhall how federal "common core" education standards have deemphasized the value of studying English and history.

No love lost for Geithner
Wonkette’s Rebecca Schoenkopf says goodbye and good riddance to outgoing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on his last day.


OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama recess appointments to labor board ruled unconstitutional
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board are unconstitutional, The Hill’s Kevin Bogardus reports.

McDonough named new White House chief of staff
President Obama today named Denis McDonough to replace outgoing Chief of Staff Jack Lew amid a larger West Wing personnel shakeup, according to The Hill’s Amie Parnes.