Top Items:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Key Reason Palin Gave For Quitting May Be False — One of the chief reasons Sarah Palin has given for resigning as Governor of Alaska is that her state's taxpayers are being forced to spend money defending her government against ethics complaints that would otherwise fund teachers, cops, and road repair.
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Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Only Three Palin Ethics Complaints Were Still Pending
Only Three Palin Ethics Complaints Were Still Pending
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Karen Araiza / NBC Philadelphia:
Pool Boots Kids Who Might “Change the Complexion” — Campers sent packing after first visit to swim club — More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason. — “I heard this lady, she was like …
Richard Lawson / Gawker:
Brian Kilmeade Would Like Species and ‘Ethnics’ to Remain Pure — To stave off dementia! Yes, today the befuddled screech owls on Fox & Friends were discussing a study that states that those that stay married fend off Alzheimer's and dementia better than lonely divorcees. Brian Kilmeade took issue with this.
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Alex Koppelman / Salon:
Quote of the day — Watching Fox News' morning show, “Fox and Friends,” is a little bit like watching the aftermath of a particularly nasty car crash. Yeah, it's awful, but you just have to keep looking, because, well, who knows what mangled body parts they'll pull from the wreckage next?
Associated Press:
Sarah Palin is not attractive to Chris Christie's N.J. Gov campaign — New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie's campaign has no interest in help from Sarah Palin after the former vice presidential candidate stepped down as governor of Alaska, in part to help Republican candidates across the country.
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Charles Franklin / Pollster.com:
Palin's Problem Outside the Base
Palin's Problem Outside the Base
Discussion:
Washington Post, Balloon Juice, The Monkey Cage, Hotline On Call and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
White House spells Obama's name wrong — Someone might want to look into whether an impostor took President Obama's place during his trip to Russia — In a release touting an agreement between Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev over how to craft a follow-up to the START arms reduction treaty …
Daryl Lang / PDNPulse:
New York Times Magazine Withdraws Altered Photo Essay — UPDATE, 5:57 p.m. ET: The New York Times has published a new editors' note about the altered photo essay that was published in Sunday's Times Magazine. The newspaper says “most of the images did not wholly reflect the reality they purported to show.”
J. Patrick Coolican / Las Vegas Sun:
Hampton speaks publicly, says Ensign paid severance — Doug Hampton spoke publicly for the first time today about the affair his wife had with Sen. John Ensign, saying the Nevada Republican continued his pursuit even after intermediaries tried to get him to stop.
Discussion:
The Politico, TPMMuckraker, Wonkette, Gawker, Emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, The Political Carnival and The Washington Independent
Emily Bazelon / New York Times:
The Place of Women on the Court — In late February, three weeks after she had an operation for a recurrence of cancer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg went to Barack Obama's first address to Congress. Given the circumstances, it wasn't an event anyone expected her to attend.
Discussion:
The Confluence, MyDD, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Politics Daily, The Volokh Conspiracy and Hotline On Call
Scott Shane / New York Times:
Democrats Say C.I.A. Deceived Congress for Years — WASHINGTON — The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, has told the House Intelligence Committee in closed-door testimony that the C.I.A. concealed “significant actions” from Congress from 2001 until late last month, seven Democratic committee members said.
Discussion:
Balkinization
Bloomberg:
Morgan Stanley Plans to Turn Downgraded Loan CDO Into AAA Bonds — Morgan Stanley plans to repackage a downgraded collateralized debt obligation backed by leveraged loans into new securities with AAA ratings in the first transaction of its kind, said two people familiar with the sale.
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Glad He Cleared That Up — We've gotten an explanation from Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for why he was the lone vote against acknowledging the role of slaves in building the U.S. Capitol. He did it to protest “a several year effort by liberals in Congress to scrub references to America's Christian heritage from our nation's Capitol”:
Discussion:
TPMDC
Patrik Jonsson / Christian Science Monitor:
Risking Israel's ire, US takes 1,350 Palestinian refugees — The US is generally reluctant to resettle Palestinians, but these are refugees from Iraq who have been targeted since the invasion. — ATLANTA - — The State Department confirmed today that as many as 1,350 Iraqi Palestinians …
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Washington Post:
Group of 8 Agrees On a Ceiling for Temperature Rise — L'AQUILA, Italy, July 8 — The world's leading industrial nations tentatively agreed Wednesday to try to prevent global temperatures from rising above a fixed level, after a more far-reaching proposal to slash production of greenhouse gases fizzled …
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
Poorer Nations Reject a Target on Emission Cut
Poorer Nations Reject a Target on Emission Cut
Discussion:
Watts Up With That?, The New Republic, Climate Progress, DealBook, Blogs and Stories, QandO, MoJo Blog Posts and Sweetness & Light
Tucker Carlson / Esquire:
Jeb Bush: The Future of the Republican Party — With no obvious candidate to lead the Republican party (and one having just stepped down), some are looking to Jeb Bush. Which is news to him. — Jeb Bush interview, Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida. … I'm waiting for the next iteration.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Under Pressure, Blanche Lincoln Shifts On Public Plan — Looks like pressure from the left might be getting results, albeit limited ones, in the case of “centrist” Dem Senator Blanche Lincoln, who has been resisting any commitment to backing a public health care option.
Martin Finucane / Boston Globe:
Mass. challenges federal Defense of Marriage Act — Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, has become the first to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, saying Congress intruded into a matter that should be left to individual states.
Discussion:
Law Dork, 2.0, Pam's House Blend, Reuters, Law Blog, The Bilerico Project, #gay, MyDD, The Daily Dish and Ben Smith's Blog
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 …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Daley Gator, Weekly Standard, Stop The ACLU, Betsy's Page, Right Wing News, Michelle Malkin, Townhall.com, YID With LID and The Foundry
Thomas H. Maugh II / Los Angeles Times:
Genome project leader is selected to head NIH — Dr. Francis Collins is named to run vast research agency. He guided the government's drive to map the human genetic code. — Dr. Francis S. Collins, the geneticist who discovered the causes of half a dozen diseases, oversaw the government's efforts …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Jules Crittenden:
Countdown to 12:34:56 7/8/9 — Shortly after half-past noon today. Be there. I predict the end of the world, with gnashing of teeth, rending of garments, gnawing of tongues for pain, emergence of many-headed beasts, horsemen, plus final determinations on wickedness vs. righteousness, etc.
Wall Street Journal:
White House Ponders Bernanke's Future — As the White House begins to ponder whether to reappoint or replace Ben Bernanke when his term expires in January, the Federal Reserve chairman's standing on Wall Street is on the rise while attacks on him from Congress mount.
Matthew Benjamin / Bloomberg:
Democrats Split on Stimulus as Job Losses Mount, Deficit Soars — Democrats who control the levers of power in Washington are divided over whether to push for more deficit spending to end the recession and stem job losses, complicating the possibility of a second stimulus bill.
Ed Kilgore / Democratic Strategist:
Cloture and Party Unity — One of the more profound changes in American governance in recent years has been the normalization of the Senate filibuster—or, to be more precise, the threat of a Senate filibuster, since actual filibusters rarely occur. To make a very long story short …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Congress Matters, The New Republic, TPMDC, Salon and Top Stories from CQ
David M. Drucker / Roll Call:
Reid Reassures Finance Panel Republicans — Senate Finance Committee Republicans emerged Wednesday afternoon from a meeting with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) saying the sides had agreed to continue bipartisan health reform talks within the committee — and that the negotiations would not be subject to artificial timelines.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Socialized Medicine — Here's some historical data on female life expectancy in Russia: — My understanding is that the post-Soviet collapse had more to do with lifestyle factors (vodka got cheaper) than problems in the health care system. But the point, broadly speaking …
Discussion:
Liberal Values
The Investigative Project on Terrorism:
“Mainstream” Islamist Convention Features Hate Speech and Hezbollah Defense — A top aide to President Barack Obama provided a keynote address at last weekend's 46th Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) national convention, a gathering that attracted thousands of people and also featured anti-Semitic …
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:
Discussion:
Washington Post, Salon, Gawker, Runnin' Scared, The New Republic, Joe. My. God. and The Awl
John Derbyshire / The Corner:
Vandalism! — The Left never forgets a defeat and never forgives an enemy. In the salons of Manhattan, they are still whining about Alger Hiss and Joe McCarthy. And then, Chile. When the Castroite Salvador Allende was overthrown by a military coup in 1973, thus probably forestalling …
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Rep. Murphy attempts to repeal military ban on gays — Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has taken up the mantle as the chief opponent of “Don't ask, don't tell” in Congress, and he's confident the policy banning gays from serving openly in the military will get its first full committee hearing in a decade and a half this session.
Rebiya Kadeer / Wall Street Journal:
The Real Uighur Story — Chinese propaganda obscures what sparked Sunday's riots. — Printer — Friendly — When the Chinese government, with the comfort of hindsight, looks back on its handling of the unrest in Urumqi and East Turkestan this week, it will most likely tell the world …
Discussion:
BBC, New York Times, The Huffington Post, Forbes, D-Day, The Foundry and Michael J. Totten