Top Items:
Ezra Klein:
Is the Government Going to Euthanize your Grandmother? An Interview With Sen. Johnny Isakson. — Sarah Palin's belief that the House health-care reform bill would create “death panels” might be particularly extreme, but she's hardly the only person to wildly misunderstand the section …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
CONSERVATIVE SENATOR CALLS PALIN ARGUMENT ‘NUTS’.... The health care reform bills working their way through Congress include a provision that shouldn't be controversial. Medicare would pay for voluntary counseling sessions on advance care planning between patients and physicians.
Kate Snow / ABCNEWS:
Health Care ‘Death Panels’ a Myth — Claims That House Health Care Reform Bill Would Create ‘Death Panels’ Are Untrue — The accusations are shocking, inflammatory and often incorrect. — Shouts of “This is euthanasia!” and questions from angry citizens such as, “Adolph Hitler called his program the Final Solution.
Political Punch:
White House Disputes Pelosi Contention that Town Hall Protests are “Un-American” — The White House disagreed this afternoon with the contention by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, that the disruptions at town hall meetings are …
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Kristin Jensen / Bloomberg:
Obama to Defend Health-Care Plan at Town Hall After Disruptions — Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will defend his efforts to overhaul the U.S. health-care system at a town hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, today after a series of protests met his fellow Democrats in recent days.
Discussion:
NO QUARTER, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Right Pundits, Left Coast Rebel, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Confluence and The Page
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Obama to Push Health Care Reform in Town Hall Meetings
Obama to Push Health Care Reform in Town Hall Meetings
Discussion:
Hot Air
Rasmussen Reports:
32% Favor Single-Payer Health Care, 57% Oppose — Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% are opposed to a single-payer plan.
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Carla Baranauckas / New York Times:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Founder of Special Olympics, Dies at 88 — Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a member of one of the most prominent families in American politics and a trailblazer in the effort to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, died early Tuesday morning at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass. She was 88.
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Political Punch:
Lost in Translation: Clinton Says She, Not Bill, is the Secretary of State — ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost her cool Monday after a Congolese student, speaking through a translator, asked her what “Mr. Clinton” thought about a Chinese trade deal …
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John / Power Line:
Hillary: Still Angry After All These Years — The Clintons' “two for the price of one” shtick was always pretty weird. Hillary Clinton's one great career move was marrying Bill, a political genius. But she often seemed to be burning with rage because her own equal, if not superior, merit was going unrecognized.
RADAR:
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Sarah Palin Resigned Due To Marital Troubles, Says Levi Johnston — Sarah Palin's marriage has been in trouble from the beginning, says Levi Johnston, the father of their grandson Tripp and ex-fiance of daughter Bristol. — What's more Levi told RadarOnline.com …
Paul Singer / Roll Call:
Murtha Willing to Strike New Planes From Defense Bill — Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said Monday evening he would be willing to eliminate from the 2010 Defense spending bill tens of millions of dollars for new passenger jets that have already been approved by the House.
Discussion:
msnbc.com
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Niall Ferguson / Financial Times:
A runaway deficit may soon test Obama's luck — Felix the Cat, the wonderful, wonderful cat! Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks! — President Barack Obama reminds me of Felix the Cat. One of the best-loved cartoon characters of the 1920s, Felix was not only black.
Discussion:
James Fallows
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
GOP rebranding effort flames out — Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) generated the kind of buzz other politicians covet when he launched his bid to help rebrand the Republican Party last spring. — Television crews and reporters wedged themselves among the crowd of party faithful to cover …
Associated Press:
Productivity surges in the second quarter — Rises at fastest rate in six years; labor costs tumble — WASHINGTON - Productivity surged in the spring by the largest amount in almost six years while labor costs plunged at the fastest pace in nine years. — The Labor Department said Tuesday …
CNN:
GOP senator calls for Sanford's impeachment — (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, already under fire for an extramarital relationship, should be impeached for abusing state finances, a Republican state senator said Monday. — Sen. David Thomas — the chairman of the Senate constitutional …
Discussion:
The Page
Tom Bevan / Real Clear Politics:
New Poster Reveals the Ugly Face of Racism — (SATIRE ALERT: On the heels of the much commented upon Joker poster of President Obama, a new poster has emerged from an another anonymous artist that has people chattering once again...) — Don't be misled. These new posters featuring Barack …
Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:
State Democrats Fear That Paterson Is Liability — As he prepares to run for re-election, Representative Michael E. McMahon, a Democrat from Staten Island, is burdened with having to campaign in a district where Republicans have a strong presence and where the impact of job losses on Wall Street has been particularly severe.
John Bolton / Wall Street Journal:
Mary Robinson's Medal of Freedom — Anti-Americanism and anti-Israel activism win Obama's approbation. — Printer — Friendly — Barack Obama's decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mary Robinson has generated unexpected but emotionally charged opposition.
Washington Post:
Obama Web-Tracking Proposal Raises Privacy Concerns — The Obama administration is proposing to scale back a long-standing ban on tracking how people use government Internet sites with “cookies” and other technologies, raising alarms among privacy groups. — A two-week public comment …
The Huffington Post:
PhRMA Walks Back Claim Of White House Deal — In yet another in a series of evolving statements and backtracks, an official with the country's major pharmaceutical lobby said on Monday that it never struck a “quote, unquote secret deal with the White House” that would have prohibited …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, The Huffington Post, Swampland, Dennis the Peasant, New York Times and The Confluence
Megan McArdle:
Rationing By Any Other Name — Robert Wright notes that “we already ration health care; we just let the market do the rationing.” This is a true point made by the proponents of health care reform. But I'm not sure why it's supposed to be so interesting. You could make this statement about any good:
Washington Post:
Obama Says Immigration Reform Is a Priority, but Won't Happen Soon — But Immigration Action Won't Come Until 2010 — President Obama, attending a North American summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, said Monday that his administration will pursue a comprehensive overhaul …
Discussion:
The Note, Washington Times, Political Punch, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Campaign Spot
Tim Fernholz / American Prospect:
DEFENDING THE BAILOUTS. — So Paul Krugman's column today makes the important point that government policy is the central reason that our recession hasn't become a depression and that the economy is poised for recovery. It's especially timely as conservatives use the health-care debate …