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Tnrstaff / The Plank:
A Scott Beauchamp Update — Since our last statement on "Shock Troops," a Diarist by Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp that we published in our July 23 issue, we have continued our investigation into the article's veracity. On Wednesday, for a brief period, The Drudge Report posted several documents …
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CNN Political Ticker:
FEMA under fire for 'faking' news conference — WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House scolded the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday for staging a phony news conference about assistance to victims of wildfires in southern California. — The agency — much maligned for its sluggish response …
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Al Kamen / Washington Post:
FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA — FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically. For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.
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Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
First Read: A look behind FEMA's fake newser — From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell — On Tuesday, FEMA held what was called a "news briefing" on the California fires, but the questions asked did not come from reporters. They were asked instead by FEMA staffers.
Andrew / stat.columbia.edu:
Some cool graphs of rich states and poor states — I'll take advantage of Paul Krugman's recent link to our paper on income and voting by putting up some cool scatterplots that we made recently. It started with our maps of which states Bush and Kerry would've won if only the votes of the poor, middle-income, and rich were counted:
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CNN:
Freed Wilson's next ambition — to succeed — ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Genarlow Wilson was released from prison Friday, after spending more than two years behind bars for a teen sex conviction. — "At times I dealt with adversity ... my family and myself, we finally get to deal with happiness now …
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Jack and Jill Politics, Chuck Adkins, Truthdig, Corrente, Comments from Left Field, Unqualified Offerings and Macsmind
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Brenda Goodman / New York Times:
Georgia Court Orders Man Freed in Sex Case
Georgia Court Orders Man Freed in Sex Case
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Concurring Opinions, Prairie Weather, About.com U.S. Politics and The Great American Blog
John Edwards for President:
Edwards Introduces Bold Proposals For Restoring Corporate Responsibility And Strengthening Retirement Security For The Middle Class And Working Families — As part of seven-day "Stand Strong" campaign, Edwards calls for updating the social compact with hard-working Americans to protect them from abuse by corporations
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Punditry
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Washington Wire:
Edwards Gets Tough on Business — Susan Davis reports on the presidential race. — John Edwards s targeting Corporate America and what he argues are its corrupt and greedy practices. In a speech today in Des Moines, Iowa, he is outlining his plan to renew the "social contract" between business and government if elected president.
Satyam / Think Progress:
Right Wing Enraged: Laura Bush Is A 'Butt-Kisser' For Wearing Headscarf In Mideast — When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wore a headscarf while visiting the Umayyad mosque in Damascus in April, the right wing pounced on her, attacking her as "subservient" and calling the act "disgust[ing]."
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
GOP LUNACY....Ron Brownstein looks at the ongoing Republican interest group panderfest from a slightly different angle: … Every two years the losing party has this exact same conversation: (a) move to the center to appeal more to swing voters, or (b) move left (right) in order to stay true …
Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
Patriots Stand Up — Sen. Chris Dodd gave a great statement on the floor of the Senate this morning. You can watch video here on his Senate website. I asked for a written copy of the remarks, because there wasn't a transcript available, and am reprinting them here with permission because I've had several e-mails asking for this.
Robert Reich / Salon:
Why Democrats are afraid to raise taxes on the rich — New data from the Internal Revenue Service show that income inequality continues to widen. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans earn more than 21 percent of all income. That's a postwar record. The bottom 50 percent of all Americans …
Discussion:
The Van Der Galiën Gazette
Tony Barber / Financial Times:
Putin invokes Cuban missile crisis — Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, on Friday compared US plans to build a missile defence shield near Russia's borders to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. — Mr Putin quickly qualified his remarks …
Discussion:
On Deadline
LiveLeak.com:
Bill Clinton Takes On 9/11 Conspiracy Protesters — Bill Clinton addressed a crowd in Minneapolis, Minnesota at a fundraiser for his wife's campaign on Tuesday. — Clinton's 50-minute speech, which started about an hour behind schedule, was derailed briefly by several hecklers in the audience …