Top Items:
KTLA:
Man's Finger Bitten Off in Scuffle at Health Care Rally — THOUSAND OAKS — A 65-year-old man had his finger bitten off Wednesday evening at a health care rally in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. — Sheriff's investigators were called to Hillcrest and Lynn Road at 7:26 p.m.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Freedom's Lighthouse, theblogprof, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Michelle Malkin, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, skippy the bush kangaroo, pandagon.net, Little Green Footballs, Fausta's Blog, Salon, NewsBusters.org, Don Surber, Another Black Conservative, Wonkette, Riehl World View and Sweetness & Light
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
MoveOn: California fracas, finger-biting ‘regrettable’ — A spokeswoman for MoveOn responded to an incident this morning in which a supporter allegedly bit the finger off a conservative demonstrator amid a health care-related fracas in Ventura County, calling the violence “regrettable.”
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Man bites off man's finger at Obama healthcare rally — Here's a weird little piece of late-breaking news about the nation's healthcare reform debate: — A 65-year-old man at a Wednesday night California rally supporting President Obama's embattled reform ideas had a finger bitten off during a scuffle with anti-reform protesters.
New York Times:
Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills — WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to address a joint session of Congress next week in an effort to rally support for health care legislation as White House officials look for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills …
Discussion:
The Caucus, Firedoglake, Wonk Room, ABCNEWS, The Politico, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, TPMDC, The Plum Line, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Taylor Marsh, Left in the West, Washington Monthly, Commentary, Associated Press, Crooks and Liars, Fausta's Blog, The Note, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Atlantic Politics Channel, msnbc.com, Obsidian Wings, Progress Illinois, Swampland and marbury
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Karen Tumulty / Time:
Why Senator Chuck Grassley Turned on Health-Care Reform — If there had ever been any hope for a truly bipartisan health-care bill this year, it came in the person of one cantankerous and quirky Iowan. For months, much to the consternation of many of his fellow Republicans, Charles Grassley …
Washington Post:
Rep. Charles Rangel Must Step Aside as Chairman of Ways and Means — FOR POLITICIANS with major bad news to release or to make public, there's no time like the dead of August to do it. The thinking goes that the public won't remember a thing come September. We hope Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) will have no such luck.
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Carl Campanile / New York Post:
CHARLIE UPS THE RACE-CARD ANTE — First it was Gov. Paterson. Now the dean of New York's congressional delegation has played the race card — and just as the governor did, he's using President Obama to do it. — Rep. Charles Rangel said Tuesday that “bias” and “prejudice” toward Obama are fueling opposition to health-care reform.
Gateway Pundit:
A Truther Czar?... Obama's Green Czar Van Jones Believes Bush Government was Behind 9-11 — It figures. — Barack Obama's communist Green Czar Van Jones is a Truther. — He believes the Bush Administration was behind 9-11 and signed the official 9-11 Truth Document demanding a further investigation.
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E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Extremism in Media's Glare — Health-care reform is said to be in trouble partly because of those raucous August town-hall meetings in which Democratic members of Congress were besieged by shouters opposed to change. — But what if our media-created impression of the meetings is wrong?
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Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Schilling ineligible to run as Republican — Former Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling may be making noises about running for the Senate to succeed the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) but, according to Massachusetts election law, he's ineligible to run as a Republican.
Matt Corley / Think Progress:
Fearmongering About Education Speech, Perkins Claims Obama Hasn't ‘Pushed Any Educational Reform Issues’ — For the past few days, conservatives have been freaking out over President Obama's upcoming speech to schoolchildren on the first day of school. Though Obama's speech will be about …
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New York Times:
Kennedy Memoir Doesn't Ignore Lows — In a memoir being published this month, Senator Edward M. Kennedy called his behavior after the 1969 car accident that killed Mary Jo Kopechne “inexcusable” and said the events might have shortened the life of his ailing father, Joseph P. Kennedy.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Politics Daily, The Hill, Hot Air, Reason, Achenblog, Top of the Ticket, JustOneMinute, Connecting.the.Dots, FishBowlNY and Gothamist
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
How Did Economists Get it So Wrong? — I. MISTAKING BEAUTY FOR TRUTH — It's hard to believe now, but not long ago economists were congratulating themselves over the success of their field. Those successes — or so they believed — were both theoretical and practical, leading to a golden era for the profession.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Long-Term Implication of the Public Option Fight — Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Raul Grijalva — Josh Marshall ponders: “What if the version of the public option that emerged in the House (which has to be seen as the maximal version of what's possible) is so constrained and anemic that it wouldn't really accomplish anything anyway?”
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David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Accountability, but at What Cost? — My friend and fellow columnist Eugene Robinson has written a characteristically passionate and well-reasoned piece commending Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to name a special counsel to examine possible law-breaking by interrogators of terrorist subjects during the last administration.
Ashley Dupre / Global Grind:
The Controversy Won't Stop... SOURCE: — I read the front page of the NY Post this week and was happy to see that Mr. Spitzer is moving on with his life and considering getting back into politics. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance. Me too, right? Well, apparently not.
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Michelle Malkin:
Video: Rep. Pete Stark tells interviewer, “Get the f**k out of here or I'll throw you out the window” — Longtime readers of this blog are well aware of California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark (Raving Mad)'s unhingedness. — He has called a Republican opponent a “c**ksucker” …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
PULLING THE ‘TRIGGER’?.... Several months ago, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), arguably the most important lawmaker in the known universe right now, recommended the idea of a “trigger” in health care reform. As she saw it, Congress could create a public option, but it wouldn't be implemented …
Gail Collins / New York Times:
The Revenge of Levi — For the first time in my life, I feel sympathy for Sarah Palin. — Levi Johnston — you will remember him from his featured role as the father of Bristol's baby at the Republican convention — has written an article for the new issue of Vanity Fair.
Discussion:
Cynthia Tucker, Economix, Don Surber, Gawker, Silicon Alley Insider, DailyHowler.com and Riehl World View
Peter Popham / The Independent:
I have been abducted by aliens, says Japan's first lady — Move over Michelle, watch your backs, Carla and Sarah. There's a new kid on the first lady block, and she looks like upstaging the lot of you. — Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of Japan's Prime Minister-elect, Yukio Hatoyama …
Jeff Poor / NewsBusters.org:
MSNBC's Schultz: ‘I Believe Jesus Would Vote Yes for a Public Option’ — What would Jesus do? Well, Ed Schultz thinks he knows - that is on health care reform at least. — Schultz, on his Sept. 2 MSNBC program, “The ED Show” told viewers he believed Jesus would vote for a government public option.
Jean Edward Smith / New York Times:
Roosevelt: The Great Divider — PRESIDENT OBAMA'S apparent readiness to backtrack on the public insurance option in his health care package is not just a concession to his political opponents — this fixation on securing bipartisan support for health care reform suggests that the Democratic Party …
Wall Street Journal:
The Revolt of the Masses — Electorates are casting a global no-confidence vote in their leaderships. — Printer — Friendly — When the political world arrives at the point where even the Japanese rise up to toss a party from office after almost 54 years in power, it's time to see something's happening here, Mr. Jones.
New York Times:
Conservatives See Need for Serious Health Debate — WASHINGTON — The roiling debate over health care this summer has included a host of accusations from opponents of the plan that have been so specious that many in the mainstream news media have flatly labeled them false.
Michelle Malkin:
Operation “Hall Pass on That” — From the National Tea Party Coalition, there's a counter-program to President Obama's Sept. 8 pretextual education speech. — “Hall Pass on That:”
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Editor, Remote US — 
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Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
