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Schumer: Dems Have Their 8th — At a briefing for the Washington, D.C. political press corps today, DSCC chair Chuck Schumer was in a mood to marvel and brag. Last night, with the victory of Jim Webb, Democrats finally found their eighth competitive Senate contest.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Firedoglake, Don Surber, The Left Coaster, AMERICAblog, Greg's Opinion, Tom Watson, Wizbang, DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos, The Agonist, Blue Crab Boulevard and LamontBlog
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Susan Haigh / Associated Press:
Lieberman weighing run as independent — HARTFORD, Conn. - Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, warily watching his primary challenger advance in the polls, must soon decide whether to start collecting signatures for a possible independent bid this November. — Lieberman's campaign contends …
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
In Connecticut, Lamont Closes the Gap
In Connecticut, Lamont Closes the Gap
Discussion:
Hit and Run, Daily Kos, RedState, ConnecticutBLOG, Firedoglake, Blog for America, Swing State Project and LamontBlog
Editor and Publisher:
EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon Orders U.S. Reporters to Exit Guantanamo — NEW YORK In the aftermath of the three suicides at the notorious Guantanamo prison facility in Cuba last Saturday, reporters with the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald were ordered by the office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to leave the island today.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Liberty Street, Mark in Mexico, Amygdala, Hit and Run, Media Blog on National …, The Democratic Daily and FP Passport
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David Ignatius / Washington Post:
A Prison We Need to Escape — When I hear U.S. officials describe the suicides of three Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay last Saturday as "asymmetric warfare" and "a good PR move," I know it's time to close that camp — not just because of what it's doing to the prisoners but because of how it is dehumanizing the American captors.
Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:
Reporter On 'Suicide Watch' at Gitmo
Reporter On 'Suicide Watch' at Gitmo
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Hotline On Call:
Boehner On The Contrasts GOPers Will Try To Draw With Dems — House Maj. Leader John Boehner (R-OH), in a "confidential" memo to his caucus, previews the distinctions GOPers will draw with Dems as the debate over Iraq gets underway. The House will consider a resolution equating the war in Iraq with the broader war on terror.
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Agence France Presse:
Democrats in disarray as Bush basks in glow of Iraq trip — US President George W. Bush's triumphant return from his unannounced visit in Iraq found opposition Democrats more divided than ever on US policy in the wartorn country, and how best to capitalize on administration missteps there.
sunlightfoundation.com:
Dennis Hastert's Real Estate Investments — Written by Bill Allison on June 14, 2006 - 2:16pm. — House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has used an Illinois trust to invest in real estate near the proposed route of the Prairie Parkway, a highway project for which he's secured $207 million in earmarked appropriations.
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Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
House panel approves line-item veto bill — WASHINGTON - Congress is moving to give President Bush and his successors greater power to try to weed bills of certain spending, though the new power would pale compared with the line-item veto law struck down by the Supreme Court in 1998.
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: Bill Frist proposes "bold structural reform" to stop over-spending:
PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: Bill Frist proposes "bold structural reform" to stop over-spending:
Discussion:
chicagoboyz.net
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Top Bush Adviser to Step Down — Michael J. Gerson, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers and author of nearly all of his most famous public words during the past seven years, plans to step down in the next couple weeks in a decision that colleagues believe will leave a huge hole in the White House at a critical period.
William A. Niskanen / Cato-at-liberty:
House Faces the Dumbest Bill of the Year (So Far): A $2.10 Increase in the Minimum Wage — House Republicans have one last chance to demonstrate that they have any remaining intelligence or principles. On June 13, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would increase …
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USA Today:
'New Direction' is new theme for Democratic plan — WASHINGTON — Democratic House and Senate leaders are planning to reduce the cost of student loans and prescription drugs, raise the minimum wage and launch an effort to develop alternative fuels if they win back control of Congress.
NY Daily News:
It's 'Putdown With Keith Olbermann' — Now that Dan Abrams has given up his MSNBC show to run the third-place cable news outlet, he might want to focus on the rising tensions between two of his prime-time personalities: Keith Olbermann and Rita Cosby. — Olbermann, whose …
Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:
Bombing kills 4 amid Baghdad crackdown — BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb killed four people and clashes broke out in two Sunni Arab strongholds Wednesday after tens of thousands of Iraqi troops fanned out across Baghdad in a major security crackdown aimed at ending the violence that has devastated the capital.
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White House:
Press Conference of the President — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Thank you. I've just returned from Baghdad, and I was inspired to be able to visit the capital of a free and democratic Iraq. — It was a pleasure to meet face-to-face with the Prime Minister.
Discussion:
Think Progress, NewsBusters.org, New York Times, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report, The Horse's Mouth, StrategyPage, Angry Bear, PSoTD and Gateway Pundit
Sean Aqui / Donklephant:
Flag-burning amendment on the front burner? — The Senate is one vote away from passing a Constitutional amendment outlawing desecration of the flag. — I'm appalled. I didn't much care about this when it stood little chance of passing, considering it yet another wedge issue designed to distract us from actual important things.
David Zucchino / Los Angeles Times:
An English-Only Beef in a Cheesesteak Joint? Comin' Right Up — PHILADELPHIA — The sign contains just eight words and is hardly big enough to wrap around a cheesesteak. But here in South Philadelphia, home of the cheesesteak, the sign that Joey Vento posted at Geno's Steaks speaks volumes.
Discussion:
Crooked Timber, The Washington Monthly, Public Eye, Blue Crab Boulevard and Alternate Brain
Juan / Informed Comment:
Bush Sneaks In and Out of Baghdad Again — 24 Dead in Kirkuk Bombings — Iraq's civil war claimed at least 55 lives on Tuesday. Guerrillas detonated a coordinated set of car bombs in Kirkuk on Tuesday, killing 24 persons and wounding nearly 50. Among the targets were senior police officers …
Andrew Ryan / Associated Press:
ICE Arrests About 2,000 Illegal Immigrants — A swarm of federal immigration agents sped silently, headlights off, down a Boston side street early Wednesday and surrounded an apartment house. — "Police! Policia! Police!" yelled Daniel Monico, a deportation officer …