Top Items:
Washington Post:
Senate Committee's Bipartisan Health-Care Reform Talks Move Toward Center — Bipartisan Talks On Reform Move Toward Center — Senate negotiators are inching toward bipartisan agreement on a health-care plan that seeks middle ground on some of the thorniest issues facing Congress …
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The Huffington Post:
Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls — The nation's largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess. — In a memo sent out on Thursday …
RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Pelosi: Town Hall Protesters Are “Carrying Swastikas” — Nancy Pelosi claims protesters are “carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare.” VIDEO: Man At Town Hall: “You Need To Get The Government The Hell Out Of Our Way” VIDEO: DNC Web Ad Attacks Protesters …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Columbian, San Francisco Chronicle, Townhall.com, Gateway Pundit, Sweetness & Light, Achenblog, Newsweek Blogs, Gathering of Eagles: NY, Sister Toldjah, Below The Beltway, Wake up America, Don Surber, Founding Bloggers, The Western Experience, RedState, Raw Story, Knowledge is Power, Atlas Shrugs, protein wisdom and Confederate Yankee
Philip Kennicott / Washington Post:
Obama as The Joker: Racial Fear's Ugly Face — ‘Political’ Poster Turns On Violent Symbolism — Between Jack Nicholson's 1989 portrayal of the Joker in “Batman” and Heath Ledger's 2008 characterization in “The Dark Knight,” something sinister happened to the villain's iconic makeup.
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Crowd laughs and applauds at Rep. Akin's comment about lawmakers almost being ‘lynched’ at town halls. — At a “Freedom Conference” meeting earlier this week, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) mentioned that some Democratic lawmakers were almost “lynched” by angry protesters around the country at town hall meetings.
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Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Poll: Obama approval drops 7 points over last 100 days — CNN Deputy Political Director — WASHINGTON (CNN) — As President Obama approaches 200 days in the White House, a new national poll shows his approval rating has dropped seven points since the 100-day mark in April.
Discussion:
The Fix, Christian Science Monitor, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, The Page and Below The Beltway
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Tom Bevan / Real Clear Politics:
After 6 Months, More View Obama's Presidency as a ‘Failure’ Than Bush's — A rather surprising finding from the newly released CNN poll. Question three on the national survey of 1,136 adults (which includes an oversample of African-Americans) asks, “Do you consider the first six months …
Taylor Marsh / The Huffington Post:
Dear Huffington Post, About That Headline — Yesterday was a pretty big day. The lives of two amazing journalists were saved, their families spared more emotional agony. It all started, as the New York Times reported it, after being arrested on March 17 near the North Korean border …
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Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:Bill Clinton Used Vast Web of Business Contacts to Secure Journalists' Release
Jerome R. Corsi / WorldNetDaily:
Obama birth doc update: Kenya sources weigh in — Comparison with similar certificates suggests fakery, WND probe reveals — NEW YORK - The Kenyan birth document released by California attorney Orly Taitz is probably not authentic, according to WND's investigative operatives in Africa …
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David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
‘Punkin’ the Birthers: Priceless' — It's looking more and more like the forged “Kenyan birth certificate” released by Orly Taitz on Sunday was a prank by a supporter of President Obama. Politijab points to an anonymous blogger at FearlessBlogging, who has uploaded four photos of the original forgery and a mocking declaration:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Sotomayor Confirmed by Senate, 68-31 — WASHINGTON — Voting largely along party lines, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th justice of the Supreme Court. She will be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the court.
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David Gonzalez / New York Times:For Puerto Ricans, Sotomayor's Success Stirs Pride
Discussion:
NPR Blogs
Tim Fernholz / American Prospect:
CHRISTY ROMER ARGUES FOR THE STIMULUS. — Well, can't get a much better speech title than “So, Is It Working?” That's the question answered in Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer's speech today, and she answers it with one word: Absolutely.
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Erica Alini / Wall Street Journal:
No More Perks: Coffee Shops Pull the Plug on Laptop Users — They Sit for Hours and Don't Spend Much; Getting the Bum's Rush in the Big Apple — A sign at Naidre's, a small neighborhood coffee shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., begins warmly: “Dear customers, we are absolutely thrilled that you like us …
Washington Post:
U.S. Considers Remaking Mortgage Giants — ‘Bad Bank’ Would Wipe the Slate Clean for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac by Taking Their Toxic Loans — The Obama administration is considering an overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would strip the mortgage finance giants of hundreds of billions …
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
White House Affirms Deal on Drug Cost — WASHINGTON — Pressed by industry lobbyists, White House officials on Wednesday assured drug makers that the administration stood by a behind-the-scenes deal to block any Congressional effort to extract cost savings from them beyond an agreed-upon $80 billion.
Reliable Source:
Furor Over an Obama Puff Piece — Student Barack Obama in a 1980 photo shoot at Occidental College. (Lisa Jack/Getty Images) — It was only a matter of time before someone combined a certain memorable image of a young future president with a jokey twist on his campaign slogan …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, The Daily Dish, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, AMERICAN DIGEST, Law Blog, JustOneMinute and Dean's World
Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Reid: GOP ‘run by a talk show host’ — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid launched his harshest attack on the Republican Party in months, claiming the GOP is “being run by a talk show host.” — Reid, armed with a patch of Astroturf, slammed Republicans for sponsoring town hall attacks …
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Obama's dissident database could be secret — and permanent — The White House request that members of the public report anyone who is spreading “disinformation” about the proposed national health care makeover could lead to a White House database of political opponents that will be both secret …
Pew Research Center:
Many Fault Media Coverage of Health Care Debate — Partisan Divide Over Coverage of “Birther” Allegations — As the fight in Washington over health care reform continues to dominate public attention and media coverage, most Americans are critical of the way news organizations are explaining key elements of the debate.
Discussion:
The Washington Independent, The Swamp, Salon, Brendan Nyhan, Think Progress and Hullabaloo
Kate Pickert / Time:
Barack Obama's Golf Game — Presidents, like normal people, tend to seek in others what they admire about themselves. Which brings us to the par-5 12th hole at Woodlawn golf course in Fort Belvoir, Va., on Father's Day. Vice President Joe Biden, an 8 handicap, has leaked a 3-wood into the trees near the green.
Ashley Hayes / CNN:
Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme to be released — (CNN) — The president she once pointed a gun at has been dead for nearly three years, and her longtime idol and leader, Charles Manson, remains in prison. — However, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme is about to get her first taste of real freedom in more than three decades.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Guns of August — Jon Cohn says he's “been obsessing over the lack of passion and organization on the left,” though now feeling slightly better. I agree, but it is worth saying that this is almost 100 percent the fault of Max Baucus. — There's a reason, after all …
Twitter Status:
Ongoing denial-of-service attack — We are defending against a denial-of-service attack, and will update status again shortly. — Update: the site is back up, but we are continuing to defend against and recover from this attack. — Update (9:46a): As we recover, users will experience some longer load times and slowness.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Business Channel, Guardian, Time, TechCrunch, Digits, DailyFinance, Silicon Alley Insider and Mashable!
Dominic Kennedy / Times of London:
Secret mission to expose L. Ron Hubbard as a fake — The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was exposed as a fraud 30 years ago by British diplomats who were investigating his qualifications. — The science-fiction writer, who invented a religion now followed by celebrities such as Tom Cruise …
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