Top Items:
Ezra Klein:
Jon Kyl gives away the game on deficits — “[Y]ou should never raise taxes in order to cut taxes,” Jon Kyl said on Fox News Sunday. “Surely Congress has the authority, and it would be right to — if we decide we want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in order to offset those costs.
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The Huffington Post:
Jon Kyl: Extend Bush Tax Cuts For Wealthy Even If They Add To Deficit — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Top Senate Republican Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) insisted on Sunday that Congress should extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans regardless of their impact on the deficit …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Jay Bookman, Taylor Marsh, Guardian, Outside the Beltway, The Impolitic, The Hill and Political Punch
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Obama's debt commission warns of fiscal ‘cancer’ — BOSTON — The co-chairmen of President Obama's debt and deficit commission offered an ominous assessment of the nation's fiscal future here Sunday, calling current budgetary trends a cancer “that will destroy the country from within” unless checked by tough action in Washington.
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Kyl: Unemployment Benefits A ‘Necessary Evil’ — The second highest ranking Republican in the Senate doubled down on a controversial statement he made this weekend, arguing in greater detail that tax cuts for wealthy people should never be offset by tax increases in other areas …
Mike Flynn / Big Government:
Democrats Gone Wild: Rep. Ciro Rodriguez Loses It — I've often noted that I expect this to be a long, hot summer. The mid-term elections are inching closer and Democrats are having to finally admit that they are in real political trouble. For those keeping score at home, let's recap …
Ed Barnes / Fox News:
Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds — The six-month election recount that turned former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
2012: What Palin Is, and Isn't, Doing — Sarah Palin's PAC disclosure release has occasioned a new round of “Will she or won't she?” If we take the dictum that one's judgment is more easily interrogated than one's motivation, we're left with a simple answer: she's seriously thinking about running for president.
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Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
SarahPAC steps into the big leagues
SarahPAC steps into the big leagues
Discussion:
Swampland, Hotline On Call, Ballot Box, Liberty Pundits Blog, Capital Journal, The Daily Dish, Associated Press, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Jezebel, CNN, Guardian, Top of the Ticket, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Jay Bookman, Townhall.com, TPMDC, NewsBusters.org, FrumForum, Advocate, Taylor Marsh, Beltway Confidential, Conservatives4Palin.com and Marbury
Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Michelle Obama Rouses NAACP Before Vote Condemning ‘Racist’ Elements of Tea Party — Tea Party Leaders Say Political Motivation Driving NAACP Agenda — First Lady Michelle Obama brought renewed energy to the NAACP today, delivering the keynote speech at the annual convention …
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Judy L. Thomas / Kansas City Star:
NAACP considers resolution decrying racist elements in tea-party movement
NAACP considers resolution decrying racist elements in tea-party movement
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Gawker, Wonkette, Weasel Zippers, Think Progress, Big Government and Confederate Yankee
Joanna Connors / Metro:
Harvey Pekar, Cleveland comic-book legend, dies at age 70 — CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Harvey Pekar's life was not an open book. It was an open comic book. — Pekar chronicled his life and times in the acclaimed autobiographical comic book series, “American Splendor,” …
Discussion:
Boing Boing, PopEater, FishbowlLA, The Atlantic Online, Comedy Central Insider, ArtsBeat, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hit & Run and alicublog
Stan Cox / Washington Post:
In the heat wave, the case against air conditioning — Washington didn't grind to a sweaty halt last week under triple-digit temperatures. People didn't even slow down. Instead, the three-day, 100-plus-degree, record-shattering heat wave prompted Washingtonians to crank …
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Class War We Need — The rich are different from you and me. They know how to game the system. — That's one interpretation, at least, of last week's news that Americans with million-dollar mortgages are defaulting at almost twice the rate of the typical homeowner.
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Brown to support Wall Street reform; Dems edge closer to 60 — Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) announced Monday he will vote for Wall Street reform when it comes up for a final vote, all but assuring Democrats the 60 votes they need to pass the legislation. — Brown voted for the bill …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Politico, The Note, Right Wing News, New York Magazine and The New Republic
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Coral Davenport / The Politico:
Drilling ban reissued — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reissued a moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling Monday, after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the White House's appeal of a lower court decision to halt the drilling ban. — The reinstated ban will " protect communities …
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Elvie / RADAR:
EXCLUSIVE NEW AUDIO: Mel Gibson Admits Hitting Oksana, Threatens To Kill Her - Listen To It Here — WARNING: This audio may not be reproduced or republished. — Mel Gibson, under investigation for domestic violence, admits to hitting Oksana Grigorieva and TWICE threatens to kill …
Jake Sherman / The Politico:
GOP ‘Young Guns’ to release book — Three top House Republicans are set to release a book this fall about the future of conservative politics, placing a younger set of GOP lawmakers center stage as the party makes its final push to win control of the House.
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Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
When Was The New Black Panther Case Downgraded? — I did an interview with New York Daily News Columnist Errol Louis about the New Black Panther Party case today and realized that there's a specific data point that has been lost in all the breathless coverage of this case and whether …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Feckless Fed — Back in 2002, a professor turned Federal Reserve official by the name of Ben Bernanke gave a widely quoted speech titled “Deflation: Making Sure ‘It’ Doesn't Happen Here.” Like other economists, myself included, Mr. Bernanke was deeply disturbed by Japan's stubborn …
Mike Glover / Associated Press:
Gingrich says he's considering presidential run — DES MOINES, Iowa - Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday he's seriously considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination and will announce his decision early next year. — Gingrich, 67, told The Associated Press …
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Unsure About “Progressive” Political Label — More than twice as many say label does not describe them as say it does — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup polling reveals widespread public uncertainty about the “progressive” political label — a label recently embraced by no less than Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.
Dave Itzkoff / ArtsBeat:
Polanski Is Free After Swiss Reject U.S. Extradition Request — Updated — Article: Swiss Reject U.S. Request to Extradite Polanski — The justice ministry of Switzerland said on Monday that it had denied a request to extradite the director Roman Polanski to the United States …
Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz:
Stuff — As I mentioned in my last entry, I've been watching Babylon 5 lately. It's not a perfect show, but it has one big advantage: it's consistent and believable. — Contrast this with Doctor Who. Doctor Who is fun to watch, but if you think about it for more than two seconds …
Javier Manjarres / The Shark Tank:
Senator LeMieux Endorses Rubio and Discusses Victory Strategies (VIDEO) — Regular readers of the Tank know that we have pulled no punches towards soon-to-be Democrat Governor Charlie Crist, which is why we're reposting Senator George LeMieux's endorsement of Marco Rubio.
Washington Post:
Historic oil spill fails to produce gains for U.S. environmentalists — For environmentalists, the BP oil spill may be disproving the maxim that great tragedies produce great change. — Traditionally, American environmentalism wins its biggest victories after some important piece …
Ben Smith / The Politico:
New conservative group will oppose Obama Mideast policy — Leading conservatives will launch a new pro-Israel group this week with a scathing attack on Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, the first shot in what they say will be a confrontational campaign …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Tim Fernholz / American Prospect:
The Senate Kills International Relations. — There was plenty of attention paid to — and condemnation of — Republican office-seeker Mitt Romney's op-ed on the New START Treaty, an arms-control agreement designed to reduce the number of nuclear warheads in Russia and the United States …
Discussion:
American Power, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Democracy in America, Obsidian Wings and Hotline On Call
Ezra Klein:
Wasted interviews — This New York Times article on Paul Volcker's view of the financial regulation bill is clearly and proudly set around a wide-ranging, on-the-record interview with Volcker himself. But that interview, aside from a few isolated quotes, is nowhere to be found.