Top Items:
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
THEY WANT TO FIRE ALBERTO GONZALES AND GIVE HIM NEW EAVESDROPPING POWERS? — Happy six-month anniversary, U.S. attorney scandal! (And what do you get for the scandal that has everything?) — The half-birthday of the purge scandal's explosion onto the front pages last February brings …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns and Money, Watching Those We Chose, American Thinker and Los Angeles Times
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Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
A Spy Chief's Political Education — Last Thursday evening, during the frantic endgame of a White House push to broaden its eavesdropping authorities, Democratic leaders from the House and the Senate gathered in the Capitol office of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House …
New York Times:
The Democratic Candidates Forum — The following is the transcript of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. candidates forum, as provided by Federal News Service. — PARTICIPANTS: — MODERATOR: KEITH OLBERMANN: These formalities out of the way, the lucky recipient of our first question has been determined by lottery.
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Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Obama and Clinton Take the Gloves Off In AFL-CIO Debate — Democratic Hopefuls Court Union Support — Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton came under sharp attack from their Democratic presidential rivals in a highly spirited debate here Tuesday night, with Obama rebuked …
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, The Politico, PrezVid, MSNBC, Sweetness & Light and CNN Political Ticker
Faiz / Think Progress:
A SiCKO moment in the debate. — Democratic presidential candidates fielded questions from audience members with powerful stories during Tuesday's AFL-CIO forum. The questioners included the wife of a Sago mine victim and an Iraq war veteran. But the most compelling moment of the debate …
John Stossel / Real Clear Politics:
Let Wisconsin Experiment with Socialized Medicine — "On, Wisconsin ... run the ball clear down the field!" — It's time to amend the Wisconsin football song so we can cheer on the Badger State's politicians as they move toward health-care socialism. — The Wall Street Journal editorial …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, ConsumerAffairs.com, QandO, Blue Crab Boulevard, Right On The Right, Betsy's Page and Club for Growth
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David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Free Lunch on Health? Think Again — The great hope of every health care reformer is that better care will mean cheaper care. — The three leading Democrats running for president have all put this idea at the center of their plans. Rudy Giuliani, the first Republican candidate to offer …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
Fred Thompson / Washington Post:
Reagan Vet to Head Thompson Effort — Fred Thompson tapped another veteran of the Reagan era to manage his soon-to-be-announced presidential campaign today, naming former Reagan aide Bill Lacy to replace the top adviser Thompson moved aside last month. — Lacy was a low-level campaign operative …
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Army Concludes Baghdad Diarist Accounts Untrue — Army investigators have concluded that the private whose dispatches for the New Republic accused his fellow soldiers of petty cruelties in Iraq was not telling the truth. — The finding, disclosed yesterday, came days after the Washington …
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Josh White / Washington Post:
General Blames Clerical Errors In the Case of Missing Arms — Bookkeeping deficiencies allowed thousands of weapons issued to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 to then go missing, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said yesterday. — "Some percentage" …
Janie McCauley / Associated Press:
Bonds Makes History With 756th Home Run — SAN FRANCISCO: Barry Bonds hit No. 756 to the deepest part of the ballpark Tuesday night, and hammered home the point: Like him or not, legitimate or not, he is baseball's new home run king. — Bonds broke Hank Aaron's storied record in the fifth inning …
Patrick Cockburn / The Independent:
Disaster looms as 'Saddam dam' struggles to hold back the Tigris — As world attention focuses on the daily slaughter in Iraq, a devastating disaster is impending in the north of the country, where the wall of a dam holding back the Tigris river north of Mosul city is in danger of imminent collapse.
Larry Thomas / The News and Tribune:
Clark County Republican leader elected to national post — Clark County's Republican Party chairman has been elected head of the Young Republican National Federation. — Glenn Murphy Jr., a 33-year-old from Utica, was elected to the chairman's post July 7 in Hollywood, Fla. …
Discussion:
Community for Gay …, taking down words, Wonkette, Pam's House Blend, DownWithTyranny! and Shakespeare's Sister
Julia Preston / New York Times:
U.S. Set for a Crackdown on Illegal Hiring — In a new effort to crack down on illegal immigrants, federal authorities are expected to announce tough rules this week that would require employers to fire workers who use false Social Security numbers. — Officials said the rules would be backed …
Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
Romney speaks up for sons' decisions — BETTENDORF, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."
Anchorage Daily News:
Friendly crowd welcomes Stevens — BACK HOME: Senator defends earmarks, is mum on investigation. — U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, on his first trip back to Alaska since FBI agents searched his Girdwood home last week, vigorously defended controversial budget earmarks on Tuesday before a large and welcoming hometown crowd.