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.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly, Michael Calderone's Blog, Townhall.com and NOW! Blog
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:
Los Angeles Times, NO QUARTER, Hot Air, Right Pundits, Left Coast Rebel, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Confluence, News Hounds and The Page
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New York Times:
White House Adapts to New Playbook in Health Care Debate — WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday started a new Web site to fight questionable but potentially damaging charges that President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system would inevitably lead to “socialized medicine …
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:
Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Fallows, Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, The Raw Story and Real Time Economics
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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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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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 …
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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Benjamin Spillman / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Poll: Reid would lose if Lowden were to run — Republican Sue Lowden would defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Harry Reid by 6 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup, according to a poll of likely Nevada voters. — Unfortunately for Reid-bashers, Lowden isn't running — at least not yet.
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 …
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Dingell says town hall mobs remind him of the Ku Klux Klan. — Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), currently the longest serving member of the House of Representatives, has been on the receiving end of some rowdy town hall meetings recently. People in attendance have displayed signs comparing President Obama …
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 …
Discussion:
American Power
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:
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.
Wall Street Journal:
The Next Fannie Mae — Ginnie Mae and FHA are becoming $1 trillion subprime guarantors. — Printer — Friendly — Much to their dismay, Americans learned last year that they “owned” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Well, meet their cousin, Ginnie Mae or the Government National Mortgage Association …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Morning Fix: Republicans Go After Democratic Base in N.J. — National Republicans are going up with television and radio ads targeting two pillars of the Democratic base — Hispanics and environmentally-minded voters — in the New Jersey governor's race, a sign of their increasing confidence …
Washington Post:
White House Decries Physicians Committee's Poster, Which Mentions Obama Girls — The posters went up last week, 14 in Union Station. On each of the large displays, a thought bubble rises up from a picture of a beautiful 8-year-old: “President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches.
Discussion:
Political Punch
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