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The Politico:
GOP headache: The birther issue — When lawmakers return home for recess in August, they can expect to hear tough questions from constituents on the economy, health care and government spending. — But Republicans are preparing for something else: the birthers.
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D-Day, PoliGazette, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, Salon and Democracy in America
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The Politico:
GOP headache: The birther issue — So far, Hoekstra hasn't faced any such questions. — “When you're in a state with 15.2 percent unemployment,” he said, “most people have other things on their mind than this.” — But as if to illustrate the touchiness of the subject, Hoekstra quickly added: “Not that this isn't important.”
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
The hidden hand — The wave of publicity for the Birther movement hasn't yet crested, with the dentist who's the movement's leading legal light, Orly Taitz, saying she's taping the Colbert Report tomorrow, and popping up elsewhere in the mainstream media. — This isn't necessarily a bad thing …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Thers / Whiskey Fire:
It's OK, I'm Over You — The Politico informs us that the birthers are giving the GOP “headaches.” Like I said last week, I don't see why fringe crazies like should worry too much about fringe crazies making them look like fringe crazies, and what isn't crazy about the GOP nowadays?
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Inhofe Clarifies Claim That Birthers “Have A Point,” Blames White House — As you've already seen, Senator Jim Inhofe made a big splash today by telling the Politico that the birthers “have a point,” adding that he doesn't “discourage” their movement. — But he's now clarifying his claim …
Boston Globe:
Gates caller says she didn't cite race — Woman laments media accounts — The woman whose report of a possible house break-in led to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said she never mentioned race during her 911 call and is “personally devastated” …
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Radley Balko / Reason:
The Henry Louis Gates “Teaching Moment” — The arrest of Harvard African-American Studies Professor Henry Louis Gates has certainly got everyone talking. Unfortunately, everyone's talking about the wrong issue. — Responding to a 911 call from a woman who observed Gates prying open …
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The Daily Beast, The Agitator, Scared Monkeys, Cold Fury, Moe Lane, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice and And So it Goes in Shreveport
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
A Straw In The Wind In Favor Of Gates — Interesting - the 911 caller asserts, and the Cambridge Police confirm, that she didn't mention the race of the suspected in-breakers when she made the 911 call. Gates had made a similar claim to the effect that the caller could not have seen …
CBS News:
Palin's “Mad as Hell” Speech — Outgoing Alaska Governor Lashes Out at Media in Resignation Address, But Will It Work in the Long Term? — (CBS) This story was written by CBS News digital journalist Scott Conroy and director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris.
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AKMuckraker / The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin's Farewell Address - Full Transcript — Sunday July 26, at 3pm Alaska time, Governor Sarah Palin stepped down from her position as governor. The full transcript of her rambling, 2300-word farewell address is below. — What an absolutely beautiful day it is …
Discussion:
Swampland
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Mike Stark on Capitol Hill: Know Your Birthers — Mike Stark has been up on the Hill all week whipping Democrats to hold fast on the public plan, and in his spare time, he decided to ask Republicans if Barack Obama was born in the United States. Not only do they not want to answer — they run.
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Mike Stark / The Huffington Post:
Elected Birthers on the Hill — Thanks to FireDogLake and Campaign Silo for giving me the opportunity to do this work! — Check out this video: several Republican Congressman tell me they don't believe Barack Obama is an American. Several dodge the question.
Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Amid New Scrutiny, John Yoo Rebuts Critics of Detainee Memos — Quietly but Forcefully, Author of Detainee Memos Rebuts Critics — Some public figures, if their judgment and ethics come under fire, retreat into solitude. Then there is John C. Yoo. — The former Justice Department official …
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Emptywheel, The Washington Independent, Law Blog, The BLT, Reason, Neptunus Lex and Newshoggers.com
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Jennifer Agiesta / Behind the Numbers:Biden's Watchdog Role May Have Bite
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Politics Daily, Hot Air, KeithHennessey.com, Politics Nation, The Foundry and The Political Carnival
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
An Incoherent Truth — Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats — mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995. And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Facing South, Buck Naked Politics, The Treatment, Firedoglake, PoliGazette, Patterico's Pontifications, OpenSecrets.org, AMERICAblog News, Bloomberg, Campaign Silo, Grasping Reality …, Zandar Versus The Stupid, NOW! Blog, Prairie Weather, The Mahablog and MoJo Blog Posts
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Pelosi unpopular? 'I don't care' — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of the most despised political figures in the country. — And, frankly, she doesn't give a damn. — “No, I don't care,” Pelosi told POLITICO last Thursday, laughing heartily as she walked beneath the Capitol dome and plunged into a crowd of tourists.
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Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:UPDATED: Because Politico is really just a GOP bulletin board
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Campaign Silo
Washington Post:Pelosi Vows Passage of Health-Care Overhaul
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New York Times, The Fix, Time, The Plum Line, ColoradoPols.com, D-Day, The Nation, Bloomberg, Washington Times, Ezra Klein, The Politico, Angry Bear, WSJ.com, The Confluence, Commentary, Swampland, CNN, The Caucus, USA Today, The Note, TPMDC and msnbc.com
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.... I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, though I'd hoped it wouldn't. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, during an official press briefing, was actually asked about the Birther conspiracy nuts. — I'm fairly certain it was Bill Press …
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Balloon Juice
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:Gibbs: Birther conspiracy theory is ‘made-up, fictional nonsense.’
Discussion:
The Plum Line
The Daily Beast:
Finally, Action on Gay Soldiers — Blogs and Stories — The Daily Beast has learned that the Senate, prompted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold hearings on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”—a first since 1993, despite Obama's campaign promises. — After determining she didn't have enough votes …
Michelle Malkin:
What the NYT's 8,100-word Valerie Jarrett profile didn't tell you — Here is a perfect example of why I wrote Culture of Corruption (officially out today — I'll be launching on Hannity radio and TV.) — Over the weekend, the New York Times published a massive, 8,100-word profile …
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The War We'd Like to Forget — It was the kind of symbolic moment that George W. Bush must have yearned for during the Iraq war's darkest days. Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the prime minister of a sovereign (sort of), stable (up to a point) and democratic (within limits) Republic of Iraq came …
Joanna Weiss / Boston Globe:
It's Shepard Smith time — With his ratings soaring, the Fox News anchor enjoys his moment - and becomes a lightning rod — NEW YORK - Commercial break. The cameras have stopped rolling on the set of “Studio B,” the 3 p.m. newscast on the Fox News Channel.
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Inside Cable News
Reliable Source:
Hey, Isn't That...? — Bill Clinton waiting in line for his to-go meal at Tenleytown's Z Burger on Saturday night. Blue polo shirt with his eyeglasses clipped into the collar. Posed for photos and signed autographs during his 30-minute stay before leaving with dinner — double burger …
Discussion:
The Note
Daniel Libit / The Politico:
Birther leader: GOP is with me — Orly Taitz, the California attorney-dentist leading the charge of the so-called birthers movement, is boasting on her blog that she's made some high-profile “friends” on Facebook: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Mark Preston / CNN:
First on the CNN Ticker: RNC commits nearly $1 million on health care campaign — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Republican National Committee will spend nearly $1 million on campaign activities over the next month in an effort to cast doubt on President Obama's proposal to reform health care, a GOP official tells CNN.
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