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.”
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reason, Shakesville, Swampland, Jules Crittenden, Mediaite, TBogg and The Pour
Eamon Javers / The Politico:
W.H. makes CEOs pay for lunch
W.H. makes CEOs pay for lunch
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Fox News, Outside The Beltway, Raw Story, Instapundit, Weasel Zippers and Little Green Footballs
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Disaster strikes beer summit: Biden decides to attend; Update …
Disaster strikes beer summit: Biden decides to attend; Update …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Washington Post, Flopping Aces, Scared Monkeys, theroot.com, Political Punch, Sister Toldjah, Below The Beltway, RedState and NO QUARTER
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER.... A new Research 2000 poll conducted for Daily Kos asked respondents a rather straightforward question: “Do you believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America or not?” Since the president was born in the U.S., ideally, the results would be around 100%.
RELATED:
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
58 percent of GOP not sure/doubt Obama born in US — Shocker poll from Kos/Research2000 today. — A whopping 58 percent of Republicans either think Barack Obama wasn't born in the US (28 percent) or aren't sure (30 percent). A mere 42 percent think he was.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Dish, Think Progress, 24Ahead, The Awl and Grasping Reality …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Poll: 28% of Republicans don't believe Obama was born in U.S. — A new Research 2000 poll, sponsored by the site DailyKos, finds broad traction among Republican voters for the belief that President Obama was not born in the United States. — The survey of American adults asked …
Discussion:
Brendan Nyhan, Daily Kos, Democracy in America, Hot Air, Below The Beltway and The Washington Independent
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.
RELATED:
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 …
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Waxman gets deal on health bill — Liberal and conservative Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce panel struck a late-night deal Friday that will allow them to move a sweeping health care bill out of the committee after a two-week deadlock that put its fate in serious doubt.
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:
The Moderate Voice, naked capitalism, Calculated Risk, Salon, The Big Picture, Clusterstock, DailyFinance and Vox Popoli
RELATED:
Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Town halls gone wild — Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.
Discussion:
Scorecard's Blog, Democracy in America, The Confluence, The Strata-Sphere, Betsy's Page and Atlas Shrugs
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.
Wall Street Journal:
‘Cash for Clunkers’ Runs Out of Gas — White House officials and lawmakers were studying late Thursday how to keep alive the government's cash-for-clunkers incentive program because of concerns the program's $1 billion budget may have been exhausted after just one week.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNBC.com, The Politico, Wizbang, Environmental Capital, The Confluence, Instapundit, Hot Air and The Jawa Report
RELATED:
Brian McNeill / Daily Progress:
Forged letters to congressman anger local groups — As U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello was considering how to vote on an important piece of climate change legislation in June, the freshman congressman's office received at least six letters from two Charlottesville-based minority organizations voicing opposition to the measure.
CNN:
Do quick tweets sink ships? — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Rep. Mark Kirk, a Republican who represents the northern suburbs of Chicago and is running for Senate, also happens to be a Navy Reservist. While on service in the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon, he recently ‘tweeted,’ causing the Military to look into the situation.
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 …
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 …
Jack Healy / New York Times:
U.S. Economy Shrank Less Than Expected in Quarter — The American economy shrank at an annual rate of one percent from April through June, the government reported on Friday, stoking hopes that the longest recession since the Great Depression was nearly over.
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.
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 …
Agence France Presse:
Hamas sponsors mass wedding in Gaza — SHEIKH ZAYED CITY, Gaza Strip — Nearly a thousand Palestinians celebrated marriage on Thursday night in a ceremony organised by Hamas in the north of the Gaza Strip. — Hamas dignitaries including Mahmud Zahar, one of the militant group's top leaders …
Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times:
After Rescue, New Weakness Seen at A.I.G. — The dozens of insurance companies that make up the American International Group show signs of considerable weakness even after their corporate parent got the biggest bailout in history, a review of state regulatory filings shows.
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Dems plan ‘Heath Care ER’ August ad campaign — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has announced a “major” August advertising and grassroots campaign on healthcare. — The campaign is called “Health Care ER,” with the ER standing for “emergency response.”
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.