Top Items:
Saaret / theroot.com:
‘An Accident of Time and Place’ — Henry Louis Gates Jr. on his meeting with Sgt. Crowley at the White House. — “...I thank God that I live in a country in which police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day, and, more than ever, I've come to understand and appreciate their daily sacrifices on our behalf.”
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New York Times:
Over Beers, No Apologies, but Plans to Have Lunch — WASHINGTON — They came, they met, they drank. They did not apologize. — The much-anticipated “beer summit” of President Obama, the Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department …
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Disaster strikes beer summit: Biden decides to attend; Update: Obama issues statement; Update: “Toast” photo added; Update: Gates issues statement; Update: Obama played only a small part, says Crowley — Video via Greg Hengler. I wonder how long it took Greasy Joe to tell his first “two blacks and an Irishman walk into a bar” joke.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, Below The Beltway, RedState, NO QUARTER and theroot.com
Eamon Javers / The Politico:
W.H. makes CEOs pay for lunch
W.H. makes CEOs pay for lunch
Discussion:
Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, The Raw Story, Outside The Beltway, Instapundit and Little Green Footballs
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Industry Is Generous To Influential Bloc — On June 19, Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas made clear that he and a group of other conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dogs were increasingly unhappy with the direction that health-care legislation was taking in the House.
Discussion:
The Politico, Los Angeles Times, The Mahablog, The Nation, Prairie Weather, Firedoglake, Wonk Room, Associated Press and The Note
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Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Obama Will Settle for Less on Health Care — Yesterday, Barack Obama was God. Today, he's fallen from grace, the magic gone, his health-care reform dead. If you believed the first idiocy — and half the mainstream media did — you'll believe the second. Don't believe either.
The Note:
Deadlines, Schmeadlines — No Breakthroughs, No Deals, No Health Care Bill — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — With the health care bill languishing in the Senate and under fire in the House, Democratic leaders are quietly preparing for Plan B. — Under the scenario now being discussed …
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
57 signatures on anti-Blue Dog letter
57 signatures on anti-Blue Dog letter
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, The Huffington Post, Open Congress, Commentary and Open Left
Ken Thomas / Associated Press:
AP sources: Govt to suspend ‘cash for clunkers’ … WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional officials say the government plans to suspend the popular “cash for clunkers” program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases. — The Transportation Department …
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U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS — GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: SECOND QUARTER 2009 (ADVANCE ESTIMATE) — COMPREHENSIVE REVISION: 1929 THROUGH FIRST QUARTER 2009 — Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States …
Discussion:
Calculated Risk, Salon, naked capitalism, Clusterstock, The Big Picture, DailyFinance and Vox Popoli
J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Baucus: ‘No idea’ how he'll vote on Sotomayor — Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Thursday he hasn't made up his mind on whether he will vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. — Baucus this summer has infuriated liberals on and off Capitol Hill by working to strike a deal with Republicans on healthcare reform.
Discussion:
Think Progress, Hot Air, DownWithTyranny!, MyDD, The Washington Independent, AMERICAblog News, The Politico and Left in the West
Felix Gillette / New York Observer:
Controversy Surrounding Lou Dobbs Has Failed to Increase His Ratings — On the night of Monday, July 27, Bill O'Reilly welcomed Richard Cohen, the head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, onto The O'Reilly Factor, to talk about Mr. Cohen's repeated public criticisms of CNN anchor Lou Dobbs.
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Porn prosecution fuels debate — President Barack Obama's Justice Department has quietly agreed to move a pornography prosecution out of socially conservative Montana to more urbane New Jersey - fueling perceptions by some attorneys that the new administration is stepping back from the aggressive approach …
Scott A. Hodge / Tax Foundation:
Tax Burden of Top 1% Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95% — Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the “rich” are not paying their fair share of taxes and disproportionately benefited from the Bush tax cuts. — Indeed, the IRS data shows that in 2007 …
Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:
In Afghanistan, U.S. May Shift Strategy — Request for Big Boost in Afghan Troops Could Also Require More Americans — The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is preparing a new strategy that calls for major changes in the way U.S. and other NATO troops there operate, a vast increase …
Christopher Toothaker / Associated Press:
Venezuela: ‘Freedom of expression must be limited’ — CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's top prosecutor insisted Thursday that freedom of expression in Venezuela “must be limited” and proposed legislation that would slap additional restrictions on the country's news media.
Jonathan Cohn / The Treatment:
DEVELOPING: What's Happening on Capitol Hill — There were some major developments in both houses of Congress on Thursday. And while it's not clear (to me) exactly why these developments took place—let alone what they mean—reform advocates both on and off Capitol Hill seem more than a little bit concerned.
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Mark Joseph / The Huffington Post:
The only thing weirder than the Birthers are the anti-Birthers, who blame the Birthers for being conspiracy theorists yet actively feed the conspiracy by refusing to call for President Obama to release his birth certificate. — The state official in Hawaii who manages such things has reiterated …
Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Suborned in the U.S.A. — Throughout the 2008 campaign, Barack Hussein Obama claimed it was a “smear” to refer to him as “Barack Hussein Obama.” The candidate had initially rhapsodized over how his middle name, the name of the prophet Mohammed's grandson, would signal a new beginning in American relations with the Muslim world.
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, AmSpecBlog, Below The Beltway, The Washington Independent and Pundit & Pundette
David Pauly / Bloomberg:
Wall Street Analysts Keep Telling Big Earnings Lie: David Pauly — At a time when the financial industry's credibility is at an all-time low, you would think Wall Street's finest would break their necks providing transparency. — Not so. Stock analysts continue to promote corporate earnings lies …