Top Items:
Washington Wire:
Sotomayor Surprises Sessions — Jess Bravin reports on Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing. — Ouch! — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), seeking to discredit Judge Sonia Sotomayor's judicial philosophy, cited her 2001 “wise Latina” speech, and contrasted the view that ethnicity …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Wonk Room, The Confluence, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and Zandar Versus The Stupid
RELATED:
John / Power Line:
Sotomayor's Nose Grows Longer — Pat Leahy opened the questioning of Judge Sonia Sotomayor by asking her some softball questions about her controversial speeches and decisions. In response, Sotomayor's characterization of her “wise Latina” speech was strikingly disingenuous:
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, Reason, Michelle Malkin, Time, Hot Air, Fausta's Blog, Outside The Beltway, Gateway Pundit and NewsBusters.org
The New Republic:
Great Moments In Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings — From the WSJ: … Sometimes life actually is like Annie Hall: —Jason Zengerle
Anill / Think Progress:
Sen. Jeff Sessions Slams Sotomayor For Not Voting Like Other Puerto Ricans — This morning, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) castigated Sotomayor for not ruling with her fellow Puerto Rican colleague, conservative Judge José A. Cabranes, when she decided to deny an en banc appeal in Ricci v. DeStefano …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Respecting Precedent, or Settled Law, Unless It's Not Settled
Respecting Precedent, or Settled Law, Unless It's Not Settled
Discussion:
The Politico
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Revisiting the Judges of Yore With Republican Senators
Revisiting the Judges of Yore With Republican Senators
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns and Money
edlabor.house.gov:
America's Affordable Health Choices Act — The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensive health care reform legislation on July 14 that will reduce out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance plans …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Matthew Yglesias, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, AmSpecBlog, Blog entry, AMERICAblog News, MoJo Blog Posts, Angry Bear and TPMDC
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Ezra Klein:
The House Releases Its Health-Care Reform Bill — On first glance, it looks good. A few thoughts: — The Process Is the Message: Three separate committees — Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor — have come together on one bill. This is an incredible achievement.
Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
House Democrats' Health Reform Proposal: Preliminary Analysis of Major Provisions Related to Insurance Coverage — CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) worked together to produce a preliminary analysis of the major provisions related to health insurance coverage …
Pilgrim / Say Anything:
Hilarious: HuffPo Says Sarah Palin Had No Authority To Write An Op-Ed In The Washington Post — My, my, my. — In what is without a doubt the best foot stomping, squealing, hold-your-breath-until-you-turn- purple fit I've seen in quite some time, and it's all because Sarah Palin had the gall …
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Dan / Riehl World View:
Meet Political Pundit, Mr. Ricky Hollywood — A reliable source confirms that when you call Levi Johnston's phone number, you're now officially greeted by his new marketing identity in long, loud, boldly-exaggerated phrasing, YOU'VE REACHED R-I-C-K-Y ... H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D!!!
Sarah Palin / Washington Post:
The ‘Cap And Tax’ Dead End — There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America's unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won't bring jobs.
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Huffington Post, The Daily Dish, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Reaction, Climate Progress, Think Progress, Hot Air, Get Energy Smart!, The Fix, Conservatives4Palin.com, Wonk Room, BuzzFlash.org, PERRspectives, NO QUARTER, Right Wing News, Newsweek Blogs, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Chicago Boyz, Daily Kos, Wonkette, msnbc.com, Boston Globe, Grasping Reality …, Wake up America, PoliGazette, Redhot, The Politico, The Daley Gator, Classical Values, The Atlantic Business Channel, Balloon Juice, Moe Lane, Latest Open Salon Blog, Democratic Strategist, Zandar Versus The Stupid, YID With LID, The Strata-Sphere, Washington Wire, No More Mister Nice Blog, Liberal Values, The Note, Stop The ACLU, Ezra Klein and Gawker
The State:
Sanford's office couldn't locate missing governor — E-mails, phone calls outline efforts to contact, cover for AWOL leader — Gov. Mark Sanford's chief of staff, Scott English, called the governor's cell phones 15 times during the governor's secret trip to Argentina to visit his lover last month.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Wonkette, Daily Kos, Raw Story, MoJo Blog Posts, Michael Calderone's Blog, Democracy in America, Gawker, GOP 12 and Hotline On Call
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Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Great Call: In Emails To Sanford's Office, Right-Wing Media …
Great Call: In Emails To Sanford's Office, Right-Wing Media …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Ben Smith's Blog, Daily Kos and Romenesko
Newsweek:
The CIA's kill teams were modeled on Israel's hit squads — 1972: German police officers outside the building where Palestinian terrorists held Israeli athletes — A ferocious dispute between the CIA and congressional Democrats centers on an ultrasecret effort launched by agency officials …
RELATED:
Bil Browning / The Huffington Post:
Steele: GOP woos blacks with “fried chicken and potato salad” — The Young Republicans convention was held in Indianapolis last weekend and their election of a racist, middle-aged woman as President isn't the only controversial item to come out of the GOP gathering.
Discussion:
HoosierAccess, Shakesville, The Bilerico Project, The Political Carnival, Hotline On Call and Real Clear Politics
RELATED:
Rachel Slajda / Talking Points Memo:
Steele Says He'll Attract Diversity to GOP With “Fried Chicken and Potato Salad”
Steele Says He'll Attract Diversity to GOP With “Fried Chicken and Potato Salad”
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid
Michael Tracey / The Nation:
The Same-Sex Marriage Switch — Former President Bill Clinton has come out in support of same-sex marriage. — After speaking at the Campus Progress National Conference in Washington, DC, on July 8, the former president was asked if he supported same-sex marriage.
The New Republic:
Jonah Goldberg Embarrasses Himself — In his Los Angeles Times column today, the man who styles himself the Churchill of opposition to liberal fascism takes aim at a surprising target. … Goldberg was just getting warmed up in these paragraphs, later adding:
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Agence France Presse:
Hamas says Israel dumping aphrodisiac gum on Gaza — GAZA CITY (AFP) — Hamas suspects that Israeli intelligence services are supplying its Gaza Strip stronghold with chewing gum that boosts the sex drive in order to “corrupt the young,” an official said on Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Commentary, Real Clear Politics, Jihad Watch, Patterico's Pontifications and FP Passport
Lisa Mascaro / Las Vegas Sun:
Ensign to stay in Senate, seek reelection — Fallout from affair, including ethics complaints, leaves him undeterred — WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John Ensign said Monday that not only does he have no intention of resigning in light of his affair and his parents' payout to the woman's family …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Daily Kos, Wonkette, The Political Carnival, Donklephant, TPMDC, Balloon Juice, Real Clear Politics and WTF Is It Now?!?
Fox News:
Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies — It could be a combination of 19th-century mechanics, 21st-century technology — and a 20th-century horror movie. — A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling …
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
“Serious Self-Reflection” — Haaretz reports today: “Obama to U.S. Jewish leaders: Israel must engage in self-reflection” — And not just any old self-reflection. According to the article, Obama told Jewish leaders at the White House yesterday that Israel would need “to engage in serious self-reflection.”
RELATED:
ABCNEWS:
Michelle's Father Buried At Dug-Up Cemetery — First Lady's Office Initially Said Fraser Robinson Was Buried At The Historic Cemetery — After initially saying that Michelle Obama's father is buried at Burr Oak Cemetery, the first lady's office now says he is not buried at the historic Chicago cemetery …
RELATED:
Media Matters for America:
Saradise Lost: How Alaska bloggers dethroned Sarah Palin — It turns out that blogger Phil Munger hears all his big, breaking Sarah Palin news in the kitchen of his house, which overlooks Neklason Lake and sits just 10 miles from the center of Wasilla, the Southcentral Alaska town where Palin once served as mayor.
BBC:
Bride's bouquet brings down plane — The traditional throwing of a bride's bouquet for luck ended in disaster at an Italian wedding when the flowers caused a plane to crash. — The bride and groom had hired a small plane to fly past and throw the bouquet to a line of women guests, Corriere della Sera reported.
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Obama Birther Soldier is a FreeRepublic Poster — Maj. Stefan F. Cook, who is refusing to be deployed because of his belief in conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama's citizenship, is a member of, and frequent poster at, the conservative Website FreeRepublic.