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Deal Reached for Ending Law on Gays in Military — WASHINGTON — The White House and leading Congressional Democrats reached agreement Monday on legislative language and a time frame for repealing the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy, but it was not clear whether the deal had secured …
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Obama endorses 'don't ask, don't tell' compromise in Congress — President Obama has signed on to a “don't ask, don't tell” compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department, the White House announced Monday, an agreement that removes a key obstacle to repealing the military's policy banning gays …


President Obama seeks new version of line-item veto — As part of what the White House called a campaign to crack down on wasteful government spending, President Obama on Monday asked Congress to grant him new powers to slice lawmakers' pet projects from congressionally approved spending bills.


For Sestak Matter, a ‘Trust Us’ Response From White House — WASHINGTON — For three months, the White House has refused to say whether it offered a job to Representative Joe Sestak to induce him to drop his challenge to Senator Arlen Specter in a Pennsylvania Democratic primary, as Mr. Sestak has asserted.


Fawning press now gets cold shoulder from Obama — Will Barack Obama go an entire year without holding a formal news conference? He's getting close: The president's last full-scale session with the press was on July 22, 2009, which was 307 days ago. — When Obama last held a big news conference …

Source says Simmons told staff he is ending campaign — A Republican source says Rob Simmons told his staff Monday he will end his campaign for U.S. Senate at a press conference today in New London. — On Monday night, Simmons called a press conference for 9 a.m. in New London to make an …
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Sources say Rob Simmons will drop out of U.S. Senate race tomorrow. — Rob Simmons will hold a press conference for this morning in New London to announce he's leaving the U.S. Senate race, sources said late today. — The former congressman and Vietnam War veteran lost …

U.S. Expands Secret Military Acts in Mideast and Beyond — WASHINGTON — The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Nation, The Jawa Report, Prairie Weather, Emptywheel, Informed Comment, The Agonist, Associated Press, Truthdig and The Page


The Next Bailout: $165B for Unions — Taxpayers could be on the hook for another $165 billion if a bill to bail out private union pension funds makes it through Congress.
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It's Like He Does it On Purpose — By: Jonah Goldberg — Thomas Friedman does it again. He literally fantasizes about American becoming like China — but just for a day! From Meet the Press yesterday: … Can someone please tell Tom Friedman that China only produces “suboptimal solutions” too.
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Patrick says Obama critics are ‘almost at the level of sedition’ — Governor Deval Patrick, even as he decried partisanship in Washington, said today that Republican opposition to President Obama's agenda has become so obstinate that it “is almost at the level of sedition.”


Rep. Kennedy Says Mexican President ‘Right On’ in Criticizing Arizona Immigration Law — (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D.-R.I.) said last week that Mexican President Felipe Calderon had been “right on” in criticizing Arizona's new immigration enforcement law.
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Rossi expected to enter Senate race soon; hires key staff — WASHINGTON — Dino Rossi is expected to officially enter the U.S. Senate race as early as Wednesday, and already has hired several key staffers for a campaign to unseat three-term incumbent Patty Murray.
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Hayworth: ‘In My History’ U.S. Didn't Formally Declare War On Nazi Germany (VIDEO) — Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), who is challenging Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary, said that the United States did not formally declare war on Germany in World War II — at least, that's how it went in his history.

Gov. Bobby Jindal Rips Obama For Slowness On Oil Spill — Video at the link. The problem is with sand-booms needed to protect Louisiana's shores from the invasion of oil. — The video is worth watching, but here's a transcript of some of his remarks. — Note his Tea Party-like vow.
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WH: We're On the Case; Jindal: HELP!
Discussion:
New York Times, The Confluence, Hot Air, RedState, New Orleans Times-Picayune and Daily Kos

European Stocks Track Asia Selloff — European stock markets slumped Tuesday, hit by higher inter-bank lending rates, concerns about the banking industry and worries over the growing tensions between North and South Korea. — The declines in Europe followed a slump in Asian markets …
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Libtalker Pleads With Obama To Take Action On Oil Spill — THEY'RE WORRIED — Libtalkers Worry Public Outrage Shifting Toward Obama — Can blame for gross inaction on the Gulf oil spill be shifted away from Obama indefinitely? Some on the left are clearly beginning to realize the anti-BP OUTRAGE …

When Passengers Spit, Bus Drivers Take Months Off — It could be the cutbacks to the city's transportation system, or a general decline in urban civility. Perhaps people are just in a collective bad mood. — What else could explain why New Yorkers — notoriously hardened to the slings …


Sex and the City 2 — Film Review — Bottom Line: Overlong sequel scores some choice, politically incorrect laughs. — Because the first “Sex and the City” movie turned out to be a boxoffice bonanza two years ago, there are a lot of women panting for the sequel, already planning their wardrobe for a girls' night out.

Two Theories of Change — When I was in college I took a course in the Enlightenment. In those days, when people spoke of the Enlightenment, they usually meant the French Enlightenment — thinkers like Descartes, Rousseau, Voltaire and Condorcet. — These were philosophers who confronted …

Rep. James Moran's investments illustrate Congress's leeway in trading — He was a stockbroker before he became a politician, and he continued playing the markets during his rise through Congress. — Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee …
Discussion:
National Review


A thug too far, part 3 — Do you recall what was revealed the day that SEIU sicced a mob on the suburban D.C. home of the Bank of America deputy general counsel? Nina Easton filed an illuminating report. The mainstream media are studiously avoiding this story.

Summers needs to take Explaining Econ 101 — Millions of Americans are out of work, the budget deficit is in the trillions and Europe is flirting with economic collapse. — Fear not, says Larry Summers, the chief economic adviser to President Obama. It is merely a “fluctuation.”

Zev Chafets's ‘Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One,’ reviewed by David Frum — Sentinel. 229 pp. $25.95 — “Every great man has his disciples,” quipped Oscar Wilde. “And it is always Judas who writes the biography.” — Not so for Rush Limbaugh. Biographer Zev Chafets received unprecedented access …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org