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Grayson Breaks the Rules — Representative Alan Grayson's statement that the Republican plan for health care amounts to “don't get sick” and if you do “die quickly” probably doesn't meet a test of literal accuracy. Reality is I guess closer to “only get sick if you're stably employed in a good …
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Grayson aide: Inaction is “murdering the uninsured”
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JammieWearingFool
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Carper quietly devises third option — Sen. Tom Carper bided his time on health care reform. — Rarely in the spotlight, and unfailingly restrained, the Delaware Democrat never staked out a public position on the government insurance option, solidifying his status as the model of an undecided moderate in need of persuading.
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The New Republic, TPMDC, Wonk Room, Ezra Klein, Firedoglake, race42008.com, Open Congress, neo-neocon, Donklephant, Salon and Think Progress
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Harkin: No place for GOP at Senate health-bill table — Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin said today Republicans will not be at the table when the Senate merges the health-care bills from two committees before sending one to the floor. — Harkin, a Democrat and chairman of one of the committees …
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The Hill, Washington Times, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, The Politico and Taegan Goddard's …
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Talking Points For Obama's Political Operation Describe Public Option …
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In Roman Polanski case, is it Hollywood vs. Middle America? — Reactions to the extradition of the fugitive filmmaker show a sharp divide. — Roman Polanski (Getty Images) — From Michael Moore's politics to on-screen sex and violence, the movie business is constantly being assailed for not sharing the country's values.
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Patterico's Pontifications, Feministe, Weekly Standard, Big Hollywood, The Anchoress, Moonbattery, Hot Air, L.A. NOW and The Sundries Shack
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Roman Polanski's Powerful Friends — If a rapist escapes justice for long enough, should the world hand him a get out of jail free card? If you're Roman Polanski, world-famous director, a lot of famous and gifted people think the answer is yes. Polanski, who drugged and anally raped …
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Post editors should read their own columnists — The Washington Post Editorial Page today lashes out at “Roman Polanski's apologists,” a group it says is “typified by the comments of Swiss filmmaker Otto Weisser, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, film and TV celebrity Whoopi Goldberg” …
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McChrystal Rejects Scaling Down Afghan Military Aims — LONDON — The top military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, rejected calls for scaling down military objectives there on Thursday and said Washington did not have unlimited time to settle on a new strategy to pursue the eight-year-old war.
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Gates Doubts U.S.'s Afghan Strategy — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama met with senior counselors for three hours Wednesday to launch his review of Afghan war strategy, amid indications that his defense secretary — the key link between the White House and the military — is among those undecided about the right approach.
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Kristol Floats ‘Plausible Rumor’ That Hagel Will Replace Gates, Calls Him ‘An Advocate Of Retreat Everywhere’ — Yesterday, Foreign Policy Initiative co-founder Bill Kristol appeared on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, where he said that he now believes “for the first time that he will not accept …
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Weekly Standard
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Iran Agrees to More Nuclear Talks With U.S. and Allies — GENEVA — Critical talks over Iran's nuclear ambitions that included the highest level bilateral discussions between the United States and Iran in many years ended Thursday evening with Iran agreeing to meet to talk again before the end of the month.
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Pawlenty preps 2012 campaign team — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign and will announce Thursday the support of a group of high-level political strategists and donors, complemented by a handful of top new media consultants, POLITICO has learned.
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The Fix, The Note, National Review Online, Boston Globe, The New Republic, Eunomia, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog, Left Coast Rebel, Newsweek Blogs, Philly.com, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Another Black Conservative, Hot Air, Tim Pawlenty's Freedom …, AmSpecBlog, Des Moines Register, Power Line, Wonkette, The Swamp, Politics Daily, Below The Beltway, GOP 12 and race42008.com
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Pennsylvania Senate Seesaw Tips To Toomey, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama's Approval Drops Below 50 Percent — The seesaw 2010 Senate race in Pennsylvania tips to Republican Pat Toomey, who has 43 percent to recently converted Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter's 42 percent, too close to call …
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The Fix, Glenn Thrush's Blog, The Hill, The Corner on National …, Salon, Politics Daily, Swing State Project, race42008.com, Commentary, Open Left and TPMDC
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Olympics-2016 Games could be the last, says Tokyo governor — Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara warned on Wednesday the 2016 Olympics could be the last Games, with global warming an immediate threat to mankind. — Tokyo is bidding to host the 2016 summer Olympics with Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid also in the running.
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Assessing the GOP brand — How weak is the Republican brand right now? This issue came up yesterday when a Media Matters criticized The Hill for failing to mention the GOP's poor polling numbers in a story on the 2010 elections. Similarly, I recently suggested that that the damaged …
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Chart of the Day — The Office of the Speaker of the House emails to nominate this for chart of the day. Sure. Why not. It's a good chart. Bottom line: the public really likes the idea of having a choice between either a private or a public health insurance plan.
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Obama's not-so-secret plan to raise taxes — Does President Obama have a secret plan to raise taxes on middle-class Americans — and,well, pretty much everybody else — with a European-style, value-added tax? Actually, it's not such a big secret. Connect the dots:
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American Power, TaxProf Blog, The Corner on National …, Political Byline, Cato @ Liberty, Sister Toldjah and theblogprof
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AUSTAN GOOLSBEE TAKES THE PRIZE — White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee took home the top prize in the 16th annual “D.C.'s Funniest Celebrity” contest on Wednesday evening, and he did so in a very unconventional way. Instead of adopting a traditional comedic routine of joke buildup and punchline …
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Bachmann warns of abortions at school — Schools might start offering abortions if healthcare reform passes, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) warned last night. — Speaking on the House floor, Bachmann raise concerns about the “school based health clinics” discussed in H.R. 3200, which she labeled “sex clinics.”
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Bachmann: Dems would allow abortions for 13-year-olds
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Politics Daily, Wonkette, Salon, pandagon.net and Media Matters Action Network
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Stimulus Spending Doesn't Work — Our new research shows no evidence of a Keynesian ‘multiplier’ effect. There is evidence that tax cuts boost growth. — Printer — Friendly — The global recession and financial crisis have refocused attention on government stimulus packages.
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Carter walks back racism charge — Former President Jimmy Carter insisted Thursday that he did not say protests against President Barack Obama were driven by racism. — Carter touched off a firestorm three weeks ago when he said Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-S.C.) “You Lie!” outburst was …
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For Alarmists, Ugly Truths on Global Warming — Plateau in Temperatures Adds Difficulty to Task Of Reaching a Solution — In this headline on a New York Times story about the difficulties confronting people alarmed about global warming, note the word “plateau.”