memeorandum: How It Happens — FYI, here's a brief history of Medicare: (Digby/Hullabaloo)

11:45 PM ET, July 1, 2009

Top Items:

Inhofe says climate change bill will be “dead in the water” in Senate — WASHINGTON — U.S. Jim Inhofe, who earlier said a criminal investigation “probably should be” conducted into allegations the EPA suppressed a climate change report, conceded Tuesday he is not qualified to make that determination.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Raw Story, Don Surber, The Atlantic Politics Channel, City Pages, Conservative Political Report, The Awl, Michelle Malkin and Gateway Pundit

Media Matters for America:

Fox hosts on Franken victory: “in denial”; Franken and nation crazy; Coleman originally won — SUMMARY: Several Fox News hosts have expressed bewilderment, disappointment, and denial about Al Franken's victory in the Minnesota Senate race. — After Norm Coleman conceded the 2008 Minnesota Senate race …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Crooks and Liars

Wall Street Journal:

The ‘Absentee’ Senator — Franken wins by changing the rules. — Printer — Friendly — The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of last year's disputed Senate race, and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman's gracious concession at least spares the state any further legal combat.

Discussion: TPMDC, Law Blog, The Fix, Never Yet Melted, BitsBlog, Flopping Aces, Minnesota Independent, NewsBusters.org, Moonbattery, BizzyBlog and Washington Post

DealBook:
Another View: In Praise of Law Firm Layoffs

Discussion: Law Blog

John Feehery / CNN: Commentary: Franken victory is not funny

Ncarlile / Think Progress:
Inhofe: No disrespect, but Franken's a ‘clown.’

Discussion: Gawker and TPMDC

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Franken's New Capitol Hill Office Seals Final Victory Over Coleman

Discussion: City Pages

The State:

New sex revelations fuel calls for resignation — Latest details tip scales for many — Six of 27 members of the conservative Senate Republican Caucus Tuesday night issued a letter calling on Gov. Mark Sanford to resign. — Two additional senators considered among Sanford's staunchest allies …

Peter Hamby / CNN:

Call for Sanford resignation grows louder — COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — South Carolina Republican Party Chairwoman Karen Floyd seemed to suggest Wednesday that the time had come for GOP Gov. Mark Sanford to consider resigning from office. — “For the past two days …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Politico, Newsweek Blogs, TPMDC, Connecting.the.Dots, Eye on 2010, Don Surber and Truthdig

Michael Barone / AMERICAN.COM:

The GOP's Real Problems for 2012 — The Ensign and Sanford scandals are beside the point. The Republican Party is going to have a hard time coming up with a strong presidential nominee in 2012. — The conventional wisdom, as recorded in the New York Times, is that the Republican party …

Discussion: The Other McCain and The Corner

Peter Hamby / CNN:
Details of Sanford book deal to come this week

Discussion: The Palmetto Scoop and Wonkette

The Politico:
S.C. GOP: Sanford must go

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, The Fix, Ben Smith's Blog, The Palmetto Scoop, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Salon, The Page, Daily Kos, GOP 12 and DownWithTyranny!

Reid Wilson / The Hill:
In affair, Sanford loses closest ally: his wife

Discussion: Hot Air

US News:
Family Values Groups Still Silent on Mark Sanford

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Right Wing Watch, GOP 12 and CNN

Associated Press:
Sanford backs out of promise to release records

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Associated Press and Daily Kos

CNSNews:

Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama — (CNSNews.com) - Following a testy exchange during today's briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control …

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Political Byline, Raw Story, The Confluence, Hot Air and NewsBusters.org

RealClearPolitics Video Log:

CBS, Helen Thomas Challenge Gibbs On “Controlled” Town Hall Meeting — CBS' Chip Reid and Helen Thomas double teamed Robert Gibbs today at the daily press briefing on the “tightly controlled” town hall meeting President Obama will hold on health care. Gibbs kept saying lets have this discussion AFTER the meeting.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politics Daily, Riehl World View and Townhall.com

Macon Phillips / WhiteHouse.gov Blog:
Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff

Discussion: Washington Post and TPMDC

Mark Hemingway / The Corner:

Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign? — The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign. At issue is a question that was never resolved following McCain's loss in November: Who in the McCain campaign was secretly trashing Sarah Palin to the press?

Discussion: Power Line, The washington times Blogs, Hot Air, Eunomia, Texas for Sarah Palin, AmSpecBlog and Conservatives4Palin.com

Moe Lane / Moe_Lane's blog:
A friendly suggestion to former McCain campaign staffers.

Discussion: ConsiderThisNews, Conservatives4Palin.com, GayPatriot, The New Republic, Hot Air, The Daily Dish and Texas for Sarah Palin

John_Merritt / CBS News:
Palin E-mails Show Infighting With Staff

Discussion: Texas for Sarah Palin, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Politics Daily and The Moderate Voice

Matt Walker / BBC:

Ant mega-colony takes over world — A queen and worker Argentine ant have many, many relatives — A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered. — Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same interrelated colony …

Discussion: Pharyngula

Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:

Bush's ‘Town Halls’ vs. Obama's Town Halls — The New York Times is covering President Obama's health care town hall-style meeting today in Northern Virginia rather credulously. This is the orchestrated political event that will feature a hand-picked audience and pre-screened questions about Obama's health care plan for the nation.

Discussion: The Caucus, JustOneMinute, Washington Wire and Sister Toldjah

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Blue on blue: Helen Thomas hammers Gibbs on Obama's phony town hall

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Anchoress, NewsBusters.org and The Campaign Spot

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Just Go Be With Her! — In part two of his leave-no-rock-unturned interview with the Associated Press, Mark Sanford says that at least he will “be able to die knowing I had met my soul mate,” as David noted below. And if that's not enough, he says that for all the grief his affair has caused …

Discussion: Dependable Renegade, Comments from Left Field and D-Day

Megan McArdle:

Wal-Mart and Health Insurance: The Theories of the Case — I find it hard to believe that none of the liberal commentators breathlessly celebrating Wal-Mart's “capitulation” on national health care have even entertained the most parsimonious explanation: that Wal-Mart is in favor …

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Guardian and The Treatment

Michael F. Cannon / Cato @ Liberty:
Why Wal-Mart Supports an Employer Mandate

Discussion: Forbes, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Outside The Beltway, Wall Street Journal, Townhall.com, The Foundry, TPMDC, James Pethokoukis, On Politics and Michelle Malkin

Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:

U.S. Marines Launch Major Operation in Afghanistan — Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday morning, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

Discussion: BBC, Jules Crittenden, The Strata-Sphere, Registan.net, Raw Story and The Page

Robert Zubrin / Roll Call:

The Costs of the Cap-and-Trade Bill — On June 25, the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate stabilization act, which would institute a cap-and-trade system to restrict Americans' carbon emissions. While proponents of the bill have sought to argue that the costs of such a system would be negligible …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, BitsBlog, Gateway Pundit and Transterrestrial Musings

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Hands Off Honduras — The Obama administration's actions towards Honduras continue to defy logic. On the one hand, Obama states that he is for the rule of law. Yet Obama meddles in the worst possible way in Hondurans' attempt to protect their country from a Chavez-style tyranny.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post and Let's Get It Right

Ginger Thompson / New York Times:
Compromise Is Sought to Honduras Standoff

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Associated Press, democracyarsenal.org, Gateway Pundit, Alterdestiny, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Fausta's Blog, Air America Media blogs, The Corner, National Review and The Hill

Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:

Joe the Plumber won't run for office: “You know, I talked to God about that and he was like, ‘No.’” — Last year at the height of his “fame,” Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — aka “Joe the Plumber” — said that he was considering a run for public office. “I'd be up for it,” he said.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Awl, Balloon Juice, Wonkette and MoJo Blog Posts

Chelsea Schilling / WorldNetDaily:
He's back! Guess who's coming to tea parties

Discussion: Shakesville, Wilson County News, News-Gazette, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and Think Progress

Dan Savage / Slog | The Stranger:

Fort Worth Police Chief: That Faggot Had It Coming — Most residents of Fort Worth have never even seen the inside of a gay bar. Fort Worth's police chief Jeff Halstead is counting on that fact—counting on the average person's ignorance about gay bars and certain stereotypes about gay men …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Bilerico Project, WFAA-TV, #gay, Pam's House Blend, Instant Tea, AMERICAblog News and Joe. My. God.

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

We're Getting A Bad Feeling About Our Food — Editor's Note: Gut Check is a new biweekly column on the politics of food. — “Does for the supermarket what ‘Jaws’ did for the beach,” says Variety's John Anderson. “Everyone should see ‘Food, Inc.,’ ” enthuses this newspaper.

Discussion: pandagon.net, D-Day and Ezra Klein

David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:

Michael Scheuer on Fox: America's only hope is for another terrorist attack — You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player! — DOWNLOADS: (909) — PLAYS: (3582) — Good God. They really are wishing and hoping for a terrorist attack.

Discussion: WhiteHouse.gov Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Amygdala, D-Day and The Impolitic

Rasmussen Reports:

Public Support for Sotomayor Falls After Supreme Court Reversal — A heavily publicized U.S. Supreme Court reversal of an appeals court ruling by Judge Sonia Sotomayor has at least temporarily diminished public support for President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee.

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Examiner, Hot Air, Don Surber, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Weekly Standard

Los Angeles Times:

Schwarzenegger orders third furlough day, proposes new cuts — The governor calls lawmakers' inaction on the budget ‘inexecusable’ and orders a special emergency session of the Legislature to deal with the deficit, which he says has now swelled to $26.3 billion.

Discussion: Washington Post, Calitics, Opinion L.A., D-Day and Patterico's Pontifications