Top Items:
The State:
Gov. Sanford not heard from since Thursday — The whereabouts of Gov. Mark Sanford have been unknown to state officials since Thursday, and some state leaders are questioning who is in charge of the executive office. — Neither the governor's office nor the State Law Enforcement Division …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Talking Points Memo, WMBF News, The Swamp, Salon, Weekly Standard, The Sundries Shack, Gawker, Washington Wire, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Politics Channel, pandagon.net, Hot Air, The Note, Say Anything, Don Surber, The Awl, Daily Kos, MoJo Blog Posts, PoliBlog and Wonkette
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Where in the World is Mark Sanford? — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford hasn't been heard from in days. Brett Flashnick — AP — UPDATE, 5:05 p.m.: Mark Sanford told his staff where he would be and that he would be “difficult to reach” before setting out last Thursday night to points unknown …
Wcbd / Local News for WCBD:
UPDATE #5: Where is Governor Mark Sanford? First Lady, Lt. Governor don't know. — A representative for Governor Mark Sanford says the governor is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the last legislative session.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Health Care Showdown — America's political scene has changed immensely since the last time a Democratic president tried to reform health care. So has the health care picture: with costs soaring and insurance dwindling, nobody can now say with a straight face that the U.S. health care system …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, The Washington Independent, The Huffington Post, Examiner, The Fix, About.com US Liberal Politics, The Confluence, Marginal Revolution, Paul Krugman, PoliGazette, BuzzFlash.org, Reason, AmSpecBlog, CNN, Latest Open Salon Blog, theblogprof, The Treatment, Concurring Opinions, Balkinization, DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos, First Draft, Open Left, Left in the West, John Stossel's Take, NOW! Blog, Balloon Juice, The Impolitic, Washington Monthly, White House Watch, Jack & Jill Politics, Buck Naked Politics and Firedoglake
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Babooph / CBS News:
Democrats May Unite On Public Health Plan — Emboldened By Apparent Public Backing For “Public Option”, Democrats May Drop Attempt To Compromise — (CBS/AP) Emboldened by polls that show public backing for a government health insurance plan, Democrats are moving to make it a politically defining issue …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, The Huffington Post, Open Congress and No More Mister Nice Blog
Lee Fang / Think Progress:
Under Misspelled Banner, Buchanan And White Nationalist Brimelow Argue For English-Only Initiatives — On Saturday, Pat Buchanan hosted a conference to discuss how Republicans can regain a majority in America. During one discussion, panelists suggested supporting English-only initiatives …
New York Times:
Iranian Rally Is Dispersed as Voting Errors Are Admitted — TEHRAN — Hours after a warning from the powerful Revolutionary Guards not to return to the streets, about a thousand protesters defiantly gathered in central Tehran on Monday and were quickly dispersed in an overwhelming show of force by police who used clubs and tear gas.
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Borzou Daragahi / Los Angeles Times:
Family, friends mourn Iranian woman whose death was caught on video
Family, friends mourn Iranian woman whose death was caught on video
CNN:
Iranian protester pleads for U.S., world to intervene — An Iranian student protester in Tehran made a passionate plea for help from the world community this morning in a phone call to CNN's “American Morning.” — For safety reasons, CNN can only identify the student by his first name, Mohammad.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, QandO, Israel Matzav, Jeffrey Goldberg, Gateway Pundit, AmSpecBlog and Nice Deb
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Section 5 survives — With only one Justice voting to strike down Congress's 25-year extension of the Voting Rights Act's controversial Section 5, the Supreme Court on Monday interpreted the law in a way that saves it. The Court said that all local units of government must be given the option …
Discussion:
New York Times, Ben Smith's Blog, How Appealing, DISSENTING JUSTICE, ACS Blog, Facing South and The Swamp
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Chris Dodd / U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd:
Rights, Responsibilities and Love — On Sunday, The Meriden Record-Journal published the following op-ed by Senator Chris Dodd — Public officials aren't supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it's important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting …
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Hard Part — There was one small consolation for Republicans amid last November's shellacking. For at least four years, their opponents would enjoy the dubious pleasure of trying to govern the United States of America. Late on election night, while the confetti swirled in Blue America …
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Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Health Care 2009 = Social Security 2005?
Health Care 2009 = Social Security 2005?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Agence France Presse:
US says hot dog diplomacy still on with Iran — WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters. — President Barack Obama's administration …
St. Petersburg Times:
Scientology: The Truth Rundown, Part 1 of 3 in a special report on the Church of Scientology — After L. Ron Hubbard died, David Miscavige became Scientology's leader. Former church executives say Miscavige beat his staff. Church officials say the defectors are lying. — Reuters/Corbis (2006)]
Christina Hoff Sommers / Weekly Standard:
No Country for Burly Men — How feminist groups skewed the Obama stimulus plan towards women's jobs. — A “man-cession.” That's what some economists are starting to call it. Of the 5.7 million jobs Americans lost between December 2007 and May 2009, nearly 80 percent had been held by men.
Associated Press:
Sarkozy says burqas are ‘not welcome’ in France … PARIS (AP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy lashed out Monday at the practice of wearing the Muslim burqa, insisting the full-body religious gown is a sign of the “debasement” of women and that it won't be welcome in France.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
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The Politico:
Obama's poll numbers start to wilt — Eroding confidence in President Barack Obama's handling of the economy and ability to control on spending have caused his approval ratings to wilt to their lowest levels since taking office, according to a spate of recent polls, a sign of political weakness …
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John Cook / Gawker:
Gawker Says ‘Hi’ to Fox News Stalker; He Drives Away Like a Coward — We finally met Bill O'Reilly's stalker-producer Jesse Watters on Saturday. It was a fleeting and civil encounter—jovial, even—but ultimately unsatisfying. We asked him some questions about his stalking, and then he drove away, because he's a coward.
Andy McCarthy / The Corner:
Understanding Obama on Iran — Call me thick, but I continue to be baffled by a lot of the commentary, cited by Rich and others, which gives as the rationale for President Obama's diffidence his purported determination to preserve the opportunity to negotiate with the mullahs on their nuclear program.
Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
White House Changes the Terms of a Campaign Pledge About Posting Bills Online — During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that once a bill was passed by Congress, the White House would post it online for five days before he signed it. — “When there's a bill that ends …
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Shep Smith responds to right-wing critics: ‘I do belong here’ at Fox News. — On June 10, Fox News anchor Shep Smith made headlines with his response to the shooting by a white supremacist at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. He said the incident showed that the much-maligned DHS report on violent …
RELATED:
Rasmussen Reports:
39% Now Blame Bad Economy on Obama's Policies — While most U.S. voters still blame the Bush Administration for the nation's economic problems, a growing number are inclined to blame President Barack Obama. — A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 39% of voters …
Reuters:
President Obama accepts invitation to World Cup — U.S. President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup finals in South Africa next year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Monday. — President Obama, whose late father was Kenyan …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Fouad Ajami / Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Persian Tutorial — The president has to choose between the regime and the people in the streets. — Printer — Friendly — President Barack Obama did not “lose” Iran. This is not a Jimmy Carter moment. But the foreign-policy education of America's 44th president has just begun.
Ron Williams / delawareonline:
Republicans are trying to shoot their own feet — What in name of Pierre S. duPont IV do the Republicans in the State Legislature think they are doing? It's got to be the most ludicrous political strategy ever conceived, certainly in this state. — Republicans want to spare every teacher …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Reza Pahlavi — The man who was once in line to run Iran — but who has been mentioned little in the domestic turmoil there — spoke at the National Press Club this morning: — A movement was born on the 22nd of Khordad in my calendar, the 12th of June in yours.
Deborah Yao / Associated Press:
FTC plans to monitor blogs for claims, payments — Savvy consumers often go online for independent consumer reviews of products and services, scouring through comments from everyday Joes and Janes to help them find a gem or shun a lemon. — What some fail to realize, though …
Philip Messing / New York Post:
RANGEL COP ‘NIECE’ EYED IN PERP BOOST — SECOND PROBE HITS PA POLICE LIEUTENANT — A Port Authority police lieutenant who officials believe is the niece of Rep. Charles Rangel helped spring a trio of suspected pot smugglers from jail — just a month after trying to get a mentally ill …