Top Items:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obtained: In Letter To Pelosi, 41 House Dems Pledge To Vote Against Bill With Anti-Abortion Amendment — In a move that will intensify the coming war over how to treat abortion in the health care bill, more than three dozen House Dems have signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi firmly pledging …
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Senior Democrat is ‘confident’ that Stupak amendment will be stripped — A House Democratic leader said Monday she's “confident” controversial language on abortion will be stripped from a final healthcare bill. — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the Democrats' chief deputy whip in the House …
Ezra Klein:
Nancy Pelosi's risky cap and trade strategy — During an interview in late July, Speaker Nancy Pelosi explained her legislative philosophy to me. “You get the votes,” she said, balling one hand into a fist, “and you take the vote,” and she punched her other hand. “Because you never know what can happen.”
ABCNEWS:
Officials: U.S. Aware of Hasan Efforts to Contact al Qaeda — Army Major in Fort Hood Massacre Used ‘Electronic Means’ to Connect with Terrorists — U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda …
Discussion:
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Anwar alAwlaki / Anwar al Awlaki On-Line:
Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing — Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesn't exist.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, Political Byline, Danger Room, The Jawa Report, Newsweek Blogs, Jihad Watch and Left Coast Rebel
Jana Winter / Fox News:
Alleged Fort Hood Shooter Frequented Local Strip Club — KILLEEN, Texas — The Army psychiatrist authorities say killed 13 people and wounded 29 others at the Fort Hood Army Base Thursday was a recent and frequent customer at a local strip club, employees of the club told FoxNews.com exclusively.
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Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
Pfizer abandons site of infamous Kelo eminent domain taking — The private homes that New London, Conn., took away from Suzette Kelo and her neighbors have been torn down. Their former site is a wasteland of fields of weeds, a monument to the power of eminent domain.
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Paranoia Strikes Deep — Last Thursday there was a rally outside the U.S. Capitol to protest pending health care legislation, featuring the kinds of things we've grown accustomed to, including large signs showing piles of bodies at Dachau with the caption “National Socialist Healthcare.”
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Politics Daily, The Other McCain, BizzyBlog, Taylor Marsh, Achenblog, Washington Monthly, Clusterstock, Left in the West and Prairie Weather
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Westboro Baptist Church Organizes Homophobic Anti-Obama Protest Outside Sasha And Malia's School — Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church is a hate group that goes around the country staging anti-gay rallies at some of the most inappropriate places (e.g. the funerals of former White House …
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
FL-Sen.: Club for Rubio, trouble for Crist — Former Florida state House Speaker Marco Rubio is being endorsed by the Club for Growth. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images — The Club for Growth made it official this morning, throwing its weighty endorsement behind former Florida state House …
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Fred Hiatt / Washington Post:
Fred Hiatt on stepping closer to universal health care — and bankruptcy — The House passage of health-care reform Saturday night should be a moment of celebration. In a country as wealthy as America, no one should have to go without medical care. As in other developed nations …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Wonk Room, Commentary, Betsy's Page, Riehl World View and Bark Bark Woof Woof
Louis Uchitelle / New York Times:
Economists Seek to Fix a Defect in Data That Overstates the Nation's Vigor — WASHINGTON — A widening gap between data and reality is distorting the government's picture of the country's economic health, overstating growth and productivity in ways that could affect the political debate on issues like trade, wages and job creation.
The Politico:
The GOP's women problem — Conservatives say they pushed Dede Scozzafava out of the House race in New York's 23rd District a week ago because of her left-of-Republican social views — and not because she is a woman. — But the growing schism between the Republican Party's ascendant right wing …
Discussion:
The Note, Commentary, Glenn Thrush's Blog, NewsBusters.org, Washington Monthly and Weasel Zippers
Ezra Klein:
Lieberman will filibuster health-care reform ‘as a matter of conscience’ — Joe Lieberman went on Fox News last weekend to give viewers some insight into his thinking on health-care reform. … I've sent a couple of requests over to Lieberman's office for an interview, and haven't had much luck.
J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Another Independent could be a spoiler as Reid moves forward on healthcare — With a pronounced independent streak to match his political alignment, Bernie Sanders of Vermont may be another headache for Democrats trying to cobble together 60 votes for healthcare reform in the coming weeks.
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Steele: White Republicans are scared of me — Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele, who is known for making controversial statements, on Sunday said that white Republicans are afraid of him. — Steele also took aim at some in his own party last week as well …
Reihan Salam / Forbes:
China's Race Problem — Is racism universal? Since the end of the colonial era, the rising powers of the developing world have been quick to condemn Western racism. Ethnocentrism and color prejudice can be found in virtually all human societies, going back centuries if not thousands of years.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Huckabee says he's ‘very serious’ — The day the Gallup Organization confirmed Mike Huckabee's status as the pollsters' front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, the former Arkansas governor was slouched in the back of his tour bus, somewhere between Harrisburg and Allentown …
Discussion:
The Mudflats, Gawker, Riehl World View, GOP 12, Ben Smith's Blog, The New Republic, The Plum Line and Des Moines Register
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Life After the End of History — For most of the last century, the West faced real enemies: totalitarian, aggressive, armed to the teeth. Between 1918 and 1989, it was possible to believe that liberal democracy was a parenthesis in history, destined to be undone by revolution …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
CO-Gov: Penry to exit race — Colorado state Sen. Josh Penry (R) plans to end his gubernatorial campaign and endorse former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), according to two sources familiar with his thinking. — Penry's decision to opt out of the race is a stunner as many national Republicans …
The Note:
GOPer Collins Opposes House Dems — ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: Here's a wrinkle in the abortion debate: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of the few Republicans considered to be a strong supporter of abortion rights, said today she opposes the language inserted in the House health reform bill …
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
Shake-up at WashTimes; three executives out — The Washington Times has announced major changes at the paper this morning, with three top executives gone in the process. — Those removed Monday morning include Thomas P. McDevitt (president and publisher), Keith Cooperrider (chief financial officer), and Dong Moon Joo (chairman).