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House Votes to Allow Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Law — WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to let the Defense Department repeal the ban on gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a major step toward dismantling the 1993 law widely known as “don't ask, don't tell.”
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Sestak says his brother, White House met about alleged job offer — Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) said Thursday his brother has spoken with White House officials about the congressman's allegation that he was offered an Obama administration job if he would stay out of a Democratic Senate primary.
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Sestak-gate: White House Offered Romanoff Job, Too
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Wizbang, Scared Monkeys, NewsBusters.org, Right Now, Hot Air, RealClearPolitics Video Log and Weasel Zippers


“Haley-gate:” Night Calls — S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley and FITSNews' editor Will Folks exchanged over 700 phone calls during the past three years - most of them during the time that Folks admitted engaging in an “inappropriate physical relationship” with the front-running Republican gubernatorial candidate.
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Folks' data shows 600 Haley calls — Colleagues' talks prove nothing, candidate's manager says — COLUMBIA — In 2007, the year political blogger Will Folks claims he had an affair with state Rep. Nikki Haley, the two spoke by phone at least 600 times. — Some of those calls came late at night …


He Was Supposed to Be Competent — The spill is a disaster for the president and his political philosophy. — I don't see how the president's position and popularity can survive the oil spill. This is his third political disaster in his first 18 months in office.


Obama to visit Gulf, vows to take action on oil spill — (CNN) — BP's top official, who had previously said the environmental impact on Gulf of Mexico would be modest, upgraded his assessment Friday to an “environmental catastrophe.” — Also Friday, engineers in the Gulf tried the …
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‘Top Kill’ Effort Seems to Be Working, U.S. Says Cautiously
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Confederate Yankee, Wonk Room, The Oil Drum, Guardian, Firedoglake, Time, The Confluence, naked capitalism, USA Today, LA Times Environment Blog, Daily Kos, Associated Press, Mother Jones, NPR, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Grist, Crooks and Liars, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Mish's Global Economic …, ProPublica and Mashable!

Landrieu: Obama will pay politically
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Commentary, Scared Monkeys, The Hill, Congress Blog, Patterico's Pontifications and New York Post

Crist switches on 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays in the military — TALLAHASEE — Gov. Charlie Crist's switch on the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy Thursday left the no-party Senate contender caught in a crossfire of criticism from his Democratic and Republican opponents.
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OPINION POLL: U.S. SENATE RACE: Survey shows Lowden gives GOP best chance of winning in fall — Lowden would attract more independent voters than Reid — Republican Sue Lowden has the best chance of defeating U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, according to a new poll for the Review-Journal that also suggests …

GOP moves to repeal healthcare law — House Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday to repeal and replace the sweeping healthcare law adopted in late March. — According to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the measure would repeal the current law and replace it with the alternative …

Kenneth Starr Charged With Running $30 Million Ponzi Scheme — [Somewhere, Bill Clinton is smiling. One-time special prosecutor who uncovered the dirty details of the former President's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky has been engaged in some bad behavior of his own …

Mass. Senate passes crackdown on illegal immigrants — With one lawmaker citing President Lincoln's respect for the rule of law, the Massachusetts Senate passed a far-reaching crackdown this afternoon on illegal immigrants and those who would hire them, going further, senators said …
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Clinton: ‘The rich are not paying their fair share’ — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a rare foray into domestic politics today, offering her view that — given America's high unemployment — wealthy Americans don't pay enough taxes. — “The rich are not paying their fair share …

DNC Pushes Sex Scandal Story — The DNC, the political wing of a president who launched his campaign decrying slash-and-burn campaign tactics, is highlighting new stories about a sex scandal rocking a GOP primary. — Earlier today, the DNC sent around a report from WSPA, the Spartanburg …
Discussion:
RedState


Pediatricians now reject all female genital cutting — On Thursday the AAP withdrew a policy statement on female genital cutting released in April. The statement suggested genital “pricking.” — (CNN) — The American Academy of Pediatrics has rescinded a controversial policy statement raising …


Joe McGinniss's Latest Rationale: The Palins' Neighbor Made Me Do It. — Many of you have probably heard the latest in the evolving tale of Joe McGinniss, Governor Palin's new “neighbor”. For those who missed it, the saga took a rather peculiar turn today when Ben Smith wrote the following on his blog:
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Palin neighbor sought author as tenant
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The Nation, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, Gawker, Swampland, The Political Carnival, Wonkette, The Daily Caller, TBogg and The Huffington Post


Obama's National Security Strategy: real change or just ‘Bush Lite?’ — The roll-out of President Obama's National Security Strategy tries to frame the strategy as a repudiation of his predecessor's. But the reality is that the new strategy is best characterized as “Bush Lite” …
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Rand Paul Suggests Children Of Illegal Immigrants Should Not Be U.S. Citizens (VIDEO) — Here's another one for the list of out-there Rand Paul statements... Paul recently suggested to a Russian TV station that the U.S. should abandon its policy of granting citizenship to the children …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Poll finds anger over country's leaders — WASHINGTON — Americans are increasingly optimistic about the economy, but that brightening outlook hasn't softened their outrage over the country's direction and its political leadership, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.

U.N. Official Set to Ask U.S. to End C.I.A. Drone Strikes — WASHINGTON — A senior United Nations official is expected to call on the United States next week to stop Central Intelligence Agency drone strikes against people suspected of belonging to Al Qaeda, complicating …
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Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Washington Independent, New York Magazine and Democrats.com