Top Items:
Rebecca Carr / Palm Beach Post:
STEVENS IS SMOKED OUT — After much speculation, a staffer to Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, admitted to Cox Newspapers today that the senator is the lawmaker who placed a "secret hold" on legislation that would open up the obscure world of government contracting to public scrutiny.
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CNN:
Sen. Stevens is 'the secret senator' — From Andrea Koppel, Ted Barrett and Abbi Tatton — Adjust font size: — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The identity of the blogosphere's "secret senator" has been revealed. — CNN has confirmed that Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska …
Discussion:
Suitably Flip, Beltway Blogroll, Inactivist, TPMmuckraker, Captain's Quarters, Porkbusters and Lost Remote
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Bill's Cost Troubled Me, Pork King Says — Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) held up a bill that would create a free, searchable database of government contracts and grants because he was worried about the proposal's price tag, his spokesman told me this afternoon. Its cost has been estimated at $15 million.
Discussion:
The Blotter, Wonkette, Dean's World, Daily Kos, Andrew Sullivan, The Bullwinkle Blog, Decision '08 and Ace of Spades HQ
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
"MASKED" BILL-BLOCKER REVEALS SELF — A spokesman for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) just confirmed his boss was the man behind the secret hold on the Coburn/Obama spending database bill, which has captivated a segment of the political blogging community in recent days.
Discussion:
Blog P.I., Think Progress, The Right Angle, The Political Pit Bull, PinkDome, HorsesAss.Org, The Carpetbagger Report, 1115.org, Wonkette and Facing South
Hindrocket / Power Line:
BILL FRIST FOR PRESIDENT? — I spent part of the day today with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He is, of course, a very impressive guy: a physician, a heart and lung transplant surgeon, an upstart politician, a hands-on doctor in places like Sudan and New Orleans, and one of the most powerful people in our government.
Associated Press:
CBS magazine slims down Couric in photo — NEW YORK - No, Katie Couric didn't suddenly lose 20 pounds. The incoming "CBS Evening News" anchor appears significantly thinner in a network promotional magazine photo thanks to digital airbrushing. — The touched-up photo of Couric dressed …
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Don Kaplan / New York Post:
WEIGHING ANCHOR — CBS PHOTO TRICKERY TAKES A LOAD OFF — 'SLIMMER' COURIC — Talk about a miracle diet - Katie Couric has become the Incredible Shrinking Anchorwoman. — Thanks to a computer "slight" of hand, the Tiffany network has made the new face of "CBS Evening News" instantly drop about 20 pounds.
Brian Williams / MSNBC:
President Bush talks to Brian Williams — An exclusive conversation on the one-year anniversary of Katrina landfall … BRIAN WILLIAMS: You have apologized for the damage, but what about the damage to your presidency? And Mr. President, here's what I mean, most call it your low point.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Carpetbagger Report, Wonkette, The Democratic Daily and The Huffington Post
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USA Today:
Gasoline prices could keep falling — Gasoline prices are falling fast and could keep dropping for months. — "The only place they have to go is down," says Fred Rozell, gasoline analyst at the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). "We'll be closer to $2 than $3 come Thanksgiving."
Chris Bowers / MyDD:
CT-Sen: Lieberman Views Campaign As Revenge For Party Democracy — Yet again, it is all about Lieberman: … I have watched the video, which is difficult to stomach and which I will not reproduce here since it is Faux News, and there seem to be two ways to read this quote.
Discussion:
Hartford Courant, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Balloon Juice, Middle Earth Journal and LamontBlog
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
NYT suckers KP by carving up Rumsfeld's speech — So I was over at Kirsten Powers's blog, pining away, when I stumbled upon this bit of unwarranted snarkiness. Emphases mine: … Yeah, it's not nice. It's also not what he said. Here's the transcript. Quote:
Discussion:
Political Animal, New York Times, Redstate, The News Blog, Early Warning, Democrats.com and The New Editor
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Tomlinson Cited For Abuses at Broadcast Board — CPB Ex-Chief Put Friend On Payroll, State Dept. Says — A year-long State Department investigation has found that the chairman of the agency that oversees Voice of America and other government broadcasting operations improperly used his office …
Discussion:
Cato-at-liberty, New York Times, TPMmuckraker, Media Blog, Lost Remote, Romenesko and All Spin Zone
Confederate Yankee:
Armored Vehicle Experts: Reuters News Vehicle Not Hit By Israeli Missile — There has been quite a bit of debate in the blogosphere surrounding this story (note: link has been deactivated) of several days ago: … Despite the Israeli acknowledgement that they did fire on a "suspicious vehicle …
Barney Frank / Boston Globe:
Afghanistan ignored — A WAR is missing. Sadly, it is not missing from the physical location in which it is taking place, and people continue to die as it is waged. But it has largely disappeared from our national debate, and that debate has been sorely distorted as a consequence.
Washington Post:
D.C. Suburbs Top List Of Richest Counties — Nationwide Data on Health Coverage Bleak — The three most prosperous large counties in the United States are in the Washington suburbs, according to census figures released yesterday, which show that the region has the second-highest income …
Jason Szep / Reuters:
Americans back anti-terrorism racial profiling: poll — BOSTON (Reuters) - Most Americans expect a terrorist attack on the United States in the next few months and support the screening of people who look "Middle Eastern" at airports and train stations, a poll showed on Tuesday.
Bruce Kluger / USA Today:
Lieberman, 'Snakes' and the seductive mythology of the blogosphere — If ever America needed a wake-up call about the mythology of blogging, we got it this month. — On Aug. 8, Connecticut businessman Ned Lamont defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary …
Mark Steyn / macleans.ca:
Call me crazy. I blame terrorists. — Who is A. K. Dewdney? He's an adjunct professor of biology at the University of Western Ontario, and he has pieced together the truth about what happened on 9/11. You may be familiar with the official version: "To account for the events of Sept. 11 …
Robin Wright / Washington Post:
Carter Agrees to Hold Talks With Khatami — Ex-President of Iran to Visit U.S. Amid Tensions Over Tehran's Nuclear Program — For an event that would turn a page in American history, former president Jimmy Carter has agreed in principle to host former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami …
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