Top Items:
Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
White House declines to disclose visits by health industry executives — Citing an argument used by the Bush administration, the Secret Service rejects a request from a watchdog group to list those who have visited the White House to discuss the healthcare overhaul.
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
In Health Care Fight, Defining Moment Nears for President — WASHINGTON — Six months into his administration, President Obama is at a pivotal moment. He has pushed through a $787 billion economic stimulus package, bailed out Wall Street and, on Tuesday, managed to beat the defense industry in the Senate …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Stephen Colbert on Chuck Todd and torture investigations — (updated below - Update II - Update III) — Amazingly, reports that Eric Holder is considering commencing an investigation into Bush-era torture crimes has created extreme consternation in multiple Beltway circles despite how narrow …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Obama White House breaks another promise to reject Bush secrecy
Obama White House breaks another promise to reject Bush secrecy
Discussion:
NO QUARTER, Associated Press, Right Wing News, JustOneMinute, In The Agora, Sister Toldjah and The Agitator
J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Durbin: No pre-recess vote on healthcare — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a pre-recess vote on healthcare reform is unlikely. — “We're going to take a little longer to get it right,” Durbin told The Hill when asked …
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Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Pelosi: Congress should work through recess — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said she's open to keeping the House in session through the August recess to pass its healthcare overhaul. — “I think 70 percent of the American people would want that,” Pelosi said. “I want a bill.”
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Note, ABCNEWS, TPMDC, D-Day, Salon, MoJo Blog Posts and Daily Kos
National Journal Online:
Dems Start To Push Back Hard To Prevent A ‘Waterloo’ — A telling episode recounted by Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley reveals the Obama administration might be more worried than they are letting on that a Republican senator's comparison of the healthcare overhaul to Waterloo might be dangerously close to the truth.
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, Cold Fury, Wizbang, RedState, Maggie's Farm, Reason, Patterico's Pontifications and Below The Beltway
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JammieWearingFool:
'You're Going To Destroy My Presidency' — Recall Barack Obama whining the other day how “this isn't about me”? — Well, that's nonsense. Of course it's all about him. … Somebody please send Baracky a waaaahmbulance. — Oh wait, are they covered by his plan?
CNN:
Senator: Democrats “baffled” by president's health care stance — WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the prospects for passing health reform by the time Congress leaves for its August recess look bleaker, Democratic grumbling about President Obama is growing louder. One Democratic senator tells CNN …
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:
DeMint refuses to take back ‘Waterloo’ statement
DeMint refuses to take back ‘Waterloo’ statement
Discussion:
Hotline On Call
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Liz Cheney: No question on citizenship — Liz Cheney is taking some heat today for, amid a discussion on Larry King Live of the fringe movement that doubts Obama's citizenship, appearing to defend it. — “People are fundamentally uncomfortable, and they're fundamentally increasingly uncomfortable …
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Rachel Weiner / The Huffington Post:
Liz Cheney Defends Birthers On Larry King (VIDEO)
Liz Cheney Defends Birthers On Larry King (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Ta-Nehisi Coates, At-Largely, Personal Democracy Forum blogs, Jack & Jill Politics and AMERICAblog News
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Orrin Hatch quits health care talks — The health care Gang of Seven is now down to six. — Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of seven senators involved in bipartisan Finance Committee negotiations, has left the talks. — Hatch informed Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Wednesday afternoon …
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Deirdre Walsh / CNN:
GOP's new youth ambassador: Lady Gaga? — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Politics may make for strange bedfellows — but even for this town, this may be the oddest couple to ever make beautiful music together: House Republicans...and pop diva Lady Gaga. — At Tuesday morning's weekly GOP conference meeting …
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Dude, Where's My Sperm? — I've been freaking myself out over the past 24 hours by reading Reece Rushing's CAP report on dangerous chemicals impairing American fertility. For the fellows, there's reduced sperm count: — And the ladies aren't being spared either: — What's to blame? Well:
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Capitol Briefing:
Democrats Defeat Concealed Weapons Amendment — In a 58-39 vote, supporters of the looser gun law — including all but two Republicans and 20 moderate Democrats — fell two votes short of the 60 they needed under Senate rules to approve the measure. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Thune …
Discussion:
The Fix, OpenSecrets.org, Washington Monthly, Minnesota Independent, Pam's House Blend, On Deadline, Balloon Juice, msnbc.com, GOP 12 and TPMDC
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Chris Harris / Media Matters Action Network:
Rep. Blackburn: “We're Not Going To Cry ‘Emergency’ Every Time We Have A Katrina” … THE MEANING OF “EMERGENCY” — While extolling the virtues of a balanced budget during a PAYGO debate on the floor of the House, Rep. Marsha Blackburn shamefully exclaimed: … This statement is shocking on many levels.
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
KATRINA WASN'T AN EMERGENCY?.... Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) …
KATRINA WASN'T AN EMERGENCY?.... Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) …
Discussion:
The New Republic
New York Times:
Long Island Man Charged in Attack on U.S. Base in Afghanistan — A 26-year-old American-born Long Island man who traveled to Pakistan and trained in a Qaeda camp there last year has been charged with taking part in a rocket attack against a United States base in Afghanistan, according to court papers unsealed on Wednesday.
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Bob Franken / Politics Daily:
Sarah Palin 2013: A Look Ahead — It is noon, Jan. 20, 2013. Sarah Palin raises her right hand to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. — Palin had won a decisive victory over the incumbent, Barack Obama. The country was still trapped in economic rubble …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever
Quinnipiac University:
Toomey Ties Specter In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Say New Democrat Does Not Deserve Another Term — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's 2010 reelection lead over Republican challenger Pat Toomey has shrunk to a tie with 45 percent for Specter and 44 percent for Toomey …
Rasmussen Reports:
53% Now Oppose Congressional Health Care Reform — The health care reform legislation working its way through Congress has lost support over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% of U.S. voters are at least somewhat in favor of the reform effort while 53% are at least somewhat opposed.
Douglas Martin / New York Times:
John S. Barry, Main Force Behind WD-40, Dies at 84 — John S. Barry, an executive who masterminded the spread of WD-40, the petroleum-based lubricant and protectant created for the space program, into millions of American households, died on July 3 in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.
Robert Draper / New York Times:
The Ultimate Obama Insider — On Jan. 25, 2008, the day before the South Carolina Democratic primary, Barack Obama endured a grueling succession of campaign events across the state. When his staff informed him that the evening would conclude with a brief show-up at the Pink Ice Ball …
Pew Hispanic Center:
Mexican Immigrants: How Many Come? How Many Leave? — Updated July 22, 2009 to include expanded Methodology Appendix — The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade, but there is no evidence of an increase during this period in the number …
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
The remarkable vote to kill the plane and what it means for America's military future. — This is a big deal: The Senate today voted to halt production of the F-22 stealth fighter plane, and it did so 58-40, a margin much wider than expected. — Not only is this a major victory for Secretary …
David S. Hilzenrath / Washington Post:
Health Insurance Lobby Cherry-Picks Data in Fight Against Public Plan — The industry that helped scuttle health reform 15 years ago with its “Harry and Louise” ads is back, voicing support for a central element of the Obama administration's plans: making sure everyone is covered.
Discussion:
MoJo Blog Posts, The Hill's Pundits Blog, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, The Mahablog, Daily Kos, CBS News and Think Progress
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
HENRY LOUIS “SKIP” GATES ARRESTED OUTSIDE HIS HOME. — Yesterday, Harvard professor and executive editor of The Root Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested outside his home after a neighbor called the police upon observing “two black males with backpacks” breaking in the front door.
The Campaign Spot:
Oooh, Don't Forget, ‘Now Is The Time To Act’! — Senate Republicans e-mail me: … It's good, don't get me wrong, but they left off a few of my favorite Obama cliches, some of which are straw men, some of which are rhetorical crutches: “We inherited these problems”; “the alternative is to do nothing” …
Discussion:
Moe Lane