Top Items:
Camille Paglia / Salon:
Can Palin ever come back? — A closer look at the words of Obama, Depeche Mode and U2. Plus: Why do straight actresses make the best lesbo porn? — Dear Camille, — Just wondering. Do you still think Sarah Palin is ready for the big stage? — James L. Somers — Good question!
Discussion:
Riehl World View, Right Wing News, TBogg, Piece of Work In Progress, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and NewsBusters.org
John Fund / Wall Street Journal:
Why Palin Quit — Death by a Thousand FOIAs — People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor. The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives …
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Susan Page / USA Today:
Poll: Palin's support still strong among GOP — WASHINGTON — Sarah Palin's bombshell that she will resign as Alaska governor actually has boosted her a bit among Republicans, a nationwide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, though it also has dented her standing among Democrats and independents.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Politics Daily, The New Republic, Gawker, Obsidian Wings, Think Progress, The Page, The Strata-Sphere and Gallup
David Kahane / National Review:
I Still Hate You, Sarah Palin
I Still Hate You, Sarah Palin
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, Time, The Impolitic, Whiskey Fire, Chicago Boyz, Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Madigan Declines Senate, Gov Bids — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) will run for re-election to her current post in 2010, according to a Democratic source aware of the decision, ending months of speculation about whether she might make the leap to a Senate or gubernatorial bid.
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Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Kirk running for the Senate — Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is telling supporters that he will be running for President Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois, according to several GOP sources familiar with his conversations. — Since news broke that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) …
The Official Google Blog:
Introducing the Google Chrome OS — It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news …
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New York Times:
Health Deals Could Harbor Hidden Costs — WASHINGTON — The deals, trumpeted loudly by the White House, would each help pay for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system. — First, it was a broad consortium of health industry groups — doctors, hospitals, drug makers and insurers …
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Steven T. Dennis / Roll Call:
Emanuel Reassures Democrats on Public Insurance Option
Emanuel Reassures Democrats on Public Insurance Option
Discussion:
Think Progress, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, Liberal Values, D-Day, The Plum Line, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Truthdig and Shakesville
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Power of Stimulus Slow to Take Hold
Power of Stimulus Slow to Take Hold
Discussion:
The Note, Bloomberg, The Politico, Firedoglake, Hot Air, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Roll Call, msnbc.com, The Strata-Sphere and Chicago Sun Times
CNN:
Obama girls take Russia by storm — MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) — An unexpected visitor wandered into the bedroom of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in the wee hours of Tuesday morning — but the Secret Service wasn't worried about a security breach.
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Paul Krugman:
Unpersons — One of the mysteries of the way issues are covered in much of the news media is how certain views get ruled “out of the mainstream” and just don't get covered — even when many well-informed people hold those views. — The most notorious example was during the buildup to the Iraq war …
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The Obama justice system — Spencer Ackerman yesterday attended a Senate hearing at which the DOD's General Counsel, Jeh Johnson, testified. As Ackerman highlighted, Johnson actually said that even for those detainees to whom the Obama administration deigns to give a real trial in a real court …
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Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Henry Waxman: GOP ‘rooting against’ USA — Waxman: GOP ‘rooting against’ USA — Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who has had an eventful couple of weeks to say the least, believes House Republican opposition to climate change legislation and the stimulus indicates they're cheering against the good ol' US of A.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Sister Toldjah, And So it Goes in Shreveport, QandO, The New Editor and JammieWearingFool
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CNSNews:
Democratic Leader Laughs at Idea That House Members Would Actually Read Health-Care Bill Before Voting On It — Washington (CNSNews.com) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that the health-care reform bill now pending in Congress would garner very few votes if lawmakers actually …
Mike DeBonis / Washington City Paper:
The Barry Archives Voicemails reveal depths of councilmember's obsession with girlfriend. — Listen: Recorded voicemails left by Marion Barry for Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. (Transcripts) — Clip 1: — Get the Flash Player to see the podcast player. — Clip 2: — Clip 3: — Clip 4:
Reuters:
Obama makes pointed quip on Russian sale of Alaska — MOSCOW (Reuters) - Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama made a pointed quip Tuesday about Russia's sale of Alaska to the United States in the 19th century. — Referring to the long history of Russia-U.S. trade stretching back more than two centuries …
Emily Pierce / Roll Call:
Leaders Press Case for Unity — Democrats Face Reality of 60 — Senate Democratic leaders have stepped up the pressure on their rank and file to unify on procedural votes after finally gaining a filibuster-proof majority, but centrists who have long been headaches for the leadership are so far refusing to commit to the strategy.
Discussion:
Congress Matters, The Plum Line, Matthew Yglesias, Open Left, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Gawker, MyDD and TPMDC
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Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
What happened to those bad bank assets? So far, nothing — WASHINGTON — In March, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a Public-Private Investment Program in which the government and private firms would bid together to purchase toxic assets from banks, freeing them to increase lending and help revive the economy.
Alec MacGillis / Washington Post:
In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Set Limits? — The question came from a Colorado neurologist. “Mr. President,” he said at a recent forum, “what can you do to convince the American public that there actually are limits to what we can pay for with our American health-care system?
Peter Baker / New York Times:
G-8 Nations Fail to Agree on Climate Change Plan — L'AQUILA, Italy — The world's major industrial nations and emerging powers failed to agree Wednesday on significant cuts in heat-trapping gases by 2050, unraveling an effort to build a global consensus to fight climate change, according to people following the talks.
Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
GOP war-games Sotomayor hearings — Senate Republicans are finalizing their line of attack against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, casting the nominee as a biased, closed-minded judge who's on the wrong side of gun rights and affirmative action cases.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, TPMDC, Media Matters Action Network, Democracy in America and NPR Blogs
Jimmie Bise / AIP Blog:
If You Don't Hate the Cap and Trade Bill, Let Me Show You Section 304. — I bet you thought that if you bought a house, you actually own it and can, with reasonable exceptions, do with it what you want. You probably think that if you want to live in a log cabin, with wood stoves that belch smoke …
ABCNEWS:
‘Shocking’ Security Breaches at Federal Buildings — Government Investigators Smuggle in Bomb Parts, Find Guards Sleeping on the Job — It only took 27 seconds for him to smuggle live bomb components through security detail in a federal building. Later, he assembled a bomb in the restroom …
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
Lights, Camera, Lots of Action. Forget the Script. — The actress known as Savanna Samson once relished preparing for a role. “I couldn't wait to get my next script,” she said. — There's no reason to look at them anymore, she said, because her movies now call almost exclusively for action.
Matt Kelley / USA Today:
Report: States aren't using stimulus funds as intended — WASHINGTON — Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators.
Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Unemployment as Threshold Issue — I just wanted to flesh out a point I hinted at in my TNRtv segment yesterday but didn't get to elaborate on. My sense of the political relationship between unemployment and the deficit is as follows: Unemployment can be fairly high, but as long as it stays below …
Discussion:
James Pethokoukis