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Robert Byrd, Respected Voice of the Senate, Dies at 92 — Robert C. Byrd, who used his record tenure as a United States senator to fight for the primacy of the legislative branch of government and to build a modern West Virginia with vast amounts of federal money, died early on Monday. He was 92.
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Tennant Statement On Procedure To Fill Vacant Senate Seat — “Hello I am West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant. — “This is a sad time for our state. I want to express my condolences to Senator Byrd's family. I also want to express my condolences to the people of West Virginia.

Byrd's death triggers special election...but when? — Sen. Robert Byrd's death will trigger a special election. But, when? AP Photo. — The death of West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd (D) will trigger a fierce battle to replace him, although the timing of that race remains an open question.

Manchin says he won't appoint himself to fill Byrd's seat — CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Gov. Joe Manchin says he will not appoint himself to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy created by the death of West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd. — Manchin told The Associated Press there is no timetable …

West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd dead at 92 — Robert C. Byrd, a conservative West Virginia Democrat who became the longest-serving member of Congress in history and used his masterful knowledge of the institution to shape the federal budget, protect the procedural rules of the Senate and …
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Let's Not Forget Sen. Byrd's Negative Legacy — As the encomia mount like rotting, fly-buzzed piles of the pork-barrel spending he so systematically shoveled back to his West Virginia home, let's not forget the late Sen. Robert Byrd's most undeniable legacy: Undermining belief in politicians …

Special Election To Replace Byrd Will Be In 2012
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RedState

Law murky on succession
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Politics Daily, The Nation, Associated Press, msnbc.com, MyDD, The Atlantic Online, Salon, Runnin' Scared, ABCNEWS and The Note


Gun rights extended by Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court held Monday that the Constitution's Second Amendment restrains government's ability to significantly limit “the right to keep and bear arms,” advancing a recent trend by the John Roberts-led bench to embrace gun rights.
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OKAY, having quickly skimmed the McDonald opinion, a few thoughts. — First, it's 5-4. Though a pro-gun-rights opinion may pacify the gun-rights crowd to a degree, the closeness of these decisions is likely to keep them active in upcoming elections. — Second, it shows how little influence legal academics have.


Supreme Court Rules That Gun Rights Apply to Local Laws — WASHINGTON — The Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-to-4 decision. — The ruling came almost exactly two years …
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Room for Debate, Politics Daily, BizzyBlog, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Israpundit, TalkLeft and iOwnTheWorld.com

Court: Christian Group Can't Bar Gays, Get Funding
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Cato @ Liberty, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, CBS News, Washington Monthly, Althouse and Towleroad News #gay

NRA prepares lawsuits in wake of Chicago verdict
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The Atlantic Online


After Slamming ‘Activist’ Judges, Sessions Criticizes Kagan As Insufficiently Activist — Confirmation hearings are set to begin today on the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court. Yesterday, appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Senate Judiciary …
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The Triumphant Decline of the WASP
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Washington Post, TigerHawk, The Edge of the American West, Shakesville, National Post and Mondoweiss

The Third Depression — Recessions are common; depressions are rare. As far as I can tell, there were only two eras in economic history that were widely described as “depressions” at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of 1873 and the years of mass unemployment …
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Sex complaint against Gore is detailed, credible; Could this be Gore's real ‘Inconvenient Truth’? — The allegation that Al Gore sexually assaulted a woman in a Portland, Ore., hotel room nearly four years ago has dealt a serious blow to the former vice president's story that he and wife Tipper simply …

Post fallout — Jeffrey Goldberg last week quoted an anonymous friend at the Post trashing “these bloggers” the Post brought on board, who “trade on the name” of the Post when they're not “reporters.” — Greg Sargent fires back across the newsroom: — Time for those who are anonymously dissing …
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Ezra Klein
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Hubris and Humility: David Weigel Comes Clean on Washington Post, the D.C. Bubble, & the ‘Journolist’ — In the first (and still best) “Austin Powers” film, a United Nations representative makes a faux pas and calls the film's villain “Mr. Evil.” — “It's Dr. Evil,” he huffs.
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Presidential Memorandum: Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution — MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES — America's future competitiveness and global technology leadership depend, in part, upon the availability of additional spectrum.
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U.S. Sen. race: Greene's finances subject of SLED investigation — State agency wants to know how U.S. Senate candidate could afford filing fee — SLED and the 5th Circuit solicitor's office are investigating the finances of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene to see whether …


Rand Paul refuses to say how old the earth is — I attended a fancy Christian Homeschool Educators of Kentucky (CHEK) conference on Friday, where Liberty Christ himself showed up to give a sermon and answer (and dodge) a few questions. — Here is the question and answer session:

An Invitation for Glenn Greenwald — It turns out that the left-wing commentator Glenn Greenwald doesn't like me (who knew?). In a rather long posting, he accuses me of many different sins, mainly, though not exclusively, having to do with my early support for the Iraq war, and for my reporting from pre-invasion Iraqi Kuridstan.
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Commentary

Brown outpolls Kerry, Obama — US Senator Scott Brown, who only months ago was a little-known figure even within the tiny band of Republicans in the state Senate, not only catapulted to national stature with his upset US Senate victory, but is today the most popular officeholder in Massachusetts, according to a Boston Globe poll.

Obama's Unbelievable Winning Streak — Blogs and Stories — So he hasn't plugged the leak, and his poll numbers are sagging. Truth is, Obama has exceeded in 18 months what Clinton and Carter achieved in a combined 12 years. — I know this is supposed to be Barack Obama's summer of discontent.
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Washington Monthly