Top Items:
Joseph Curl / Press Association:
Bush takes swipes at Obama policies — Defends interrogations — Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector not government will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Think Progress, DISSENTING JUSTICE, QandO, Gawker, Fox News, Taegan Goddard's …, Wolf Howling, Raw Story, msnbc.com, Political Punch and Gateway Pundit
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New York Times:
Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care — A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Atlantic Business Channel, Reuters, msnbc.com, CBS News, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, No Sheeples Here!, Taegan Goddard's …, Cato @ Liberty, Pundit & Pundette, Outside The Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, Scared Monkeys, The Foundry, The Strata-Sphere, Philly.com, The Swamp, WSJ.com, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, American Thinker, The Campaign Spot and The Caucus
Laura Meckler / Wall Street Journal:
Public Wary of Deficit, Economic Intervention — WASHINGTON — After a fairly smooth opening, President Barack Obama faces new concerns among the American public about the budget deficit and government intervention in the economy as he works to enact ambitious health and energy legislation …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HE ALMOST MADE IT FIVE MONTHS.... In March, George W. Bush had a chance to criticize his successor, but he took a pass. “I'm not going to spend my time criticizing him,” Bush said. “There are plenty of critics in the arena. He deserves my silence.” — It was a good move.
Discussion:
Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
U.S. Struggling for Right Response to Iran — Obama Seeks Way to Acknowledge Protesters Without Alienating Ayatollah — The political unrest in Iran presents the Obama administration with a dilemma: keep quiet to pursue a nuclear deal with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader …
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John Kerry / New York Times:
With Iran, Think Before You Speak — THE grass-roots protests that have engulfed Iran since its presidential election last week have grabbed America's attention and captured headlines — unfortunately, so has the clamor from neoconservatives urging President Obama to denounce the voting …
Chicago Tribune:
Senator questions firing of 3 inspectors general — Removal of 2 inspectors general prompts questions — WASHINGTON - — He was appointed with fanfare as the public watchdog over the government's multi-billion dollar bailout of the nation's financial system.
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Dan / Riehl World View:
Not Just Walpin - 3 IG Firings Being Questioned — (Just a note — Why are we reading about this in the Chicago Tribune? Perhaps his local paper doesn't have an Oba-worship problem?) Just a thought. — Update: Moe Lane with a little more background. — This is interesting.
Discussion:
Washington Times, Moe_Lane's blog, Fausta's Blog, AmSpecBlog, Not Tucker Carlson, Political Punch and Moe Lane
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
White House refuses to answer Senate questions on AmeriCorps IG firing
White House refuses to answer Senate questions on AmeriCorps IG firing
Juan Cole / Informed Comment:
Day of Mourning, Protests, Called by Mousavi on Thursday — Mir-Hosain Mousavi, who maintains he won last Friday's presidential election despite official assertions that he lost 2 to 1 to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is calling for another rally Thursday, this time in part to honor the persons killed …
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Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Outcry on Federal Same-Sex Benefits — WASHINGTON — The package of domestic partnership benefits that President Obama established for federal workers on Wednesday drew the loudest protests from some of those it was intended to help, gay men and lesbians who criticized the move as too timid.
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Politics in Minnesota:
Two sources: Supreme Court ruling on U.S. Senate race to arrive tomorrow! — PIM has now heard from two sources on different sides of the Minnesota U.S. Senate race recount scene that the final Minnesota Supreme Court ruling is expected to arrive tomorrow, Thursday, June 18th.
Kirit Radia / ABCNEWS:
Hillary Clinton Fractures Her Elbow — The Secretary of State will undergo surgery to repair the damage next week — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fell down on her way to the White House late Wednesday afternoon, fracturing her right elbow, her Counselor and Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills …
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Hillary Rodham Clinton / US Department of State:
Remarks With Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman — Treaty Room — Washington, DC — SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to welcome Foreign Minister Lieberman to the State Department today for his first official visit to Washington in his new role.
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John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
Barney Frank throws us under the bus. Lauds incest brief. Says language was appropriate. — Well, it seems a trip to the Oval Office is all openly gay congressman Barney Frank needs to stab his community in the back. After criticizing the DOJ's anti-gay DOMA brief this morning …
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Christopher Beam / Slate:
Why are Iranian police markings written in English? — Post-election protests continued in Tehran for the fifth day on Wednesday. In many photos, riot police wear uniforms with the English word police on them. Ambulances, too, bear the word ambulance in English.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Manu Raju / The Politico:
John Ensign resigns leadership post — The departure of Ensign — a one-time rising star with his eye on the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 — creates a domino effect in the GOP hierarchy. — Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), currently the vice chairman of the conference …
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Court rejects DNA access claim — Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an individual whose criminal conviction has become final does not have a constitutional right to gain access to evidence so that it can be subjected to DNA testing to try to prove innocence.
Discussion:
The Agitator
Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture:
Bailout Costs vs Big Historical Events — It is exceedingly difficult to convey exactly how much we are spending on all these bailouts. Whenever I start talking trillions (versus mere billions), I get puzzled looks from people. Humans have a hard time conceptualizing any number that large.
Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Months After Ted Stevens Debacle, Justice Department Corruption Unit in Disarray — Two months after prosecutors abandoned the criminal conviction of former senator Ted Stevens, the Justice Department unit that polices public corruption remains in chaos, coping with newly discovered evidence …
Discussion:
Law Blog
Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Demands Answers on Voter Intimidation Case Dismissal — As was commented upon here at CONTENTIONS, and widely reported and remarked upon elsewhere, the Obama Justice Department took the unusual action last month of dismissing a default judgment …
Discussion:
Riehl World View