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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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Debt Commission Eying Mostly-Cuts Package — The latest from the Obama administration's deficit commission: … That sounds like a classic pleases no one, goes nowhere package. Since it includes tax increases, zero Republicans will vote for it. But since it's mostly weighted to spending cuts, most Democrats will reject it.
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.
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 …
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, Wake up America, The Other McCain, The Powers That Be, Gateway Pundit and Riehl World View
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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 …
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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.
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 …
Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
Governors Voice Grave Concerns on Immigration — BOSTON — In a private meeting with White House officials this weekend, Democratic governors voiced deep anxiety about the Obama administration's suit against Arizona's new immigration law, worrying that it could cost a vulnerable Democratic Party in the fall elections.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, Althouse, Politics Daily, The New Republic, The League of Ordinary …, Washington Post, Another Black Conservative, Think Progress, Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, Ben Smith's Blog, Townhall.com, The Washington Independent, Wonk Room, Pundit & Pundette, Don Surber, Pajamas Media, Liberty Pundits Blog, JustOneMinute, Colorado Independent, Gateway Pundit, AmSpecBlog, The Corner on National …, The Politico and Fox News
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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 …
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Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
SarahPAC steps into the big leagues — A new financial report filed Sunday evening showed Sarah Palin's political action committee has taken its fundraising to a higher level - and suggests that she has begun building a more sophisticated political operation in place of a bare-bones organization …
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Capital Journal, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Dish, Associated Press, Top of the Ticket, Swampland, Jezebel, Jay Bookman, Guardian, CNN, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Townhall.com, Conservatives4Palin.com, FrumForum, TPMDC, NewsBusters.org, Advocate, Marbury and Taylor Marsh
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Joanna Connors / Metro:
Cleveland comic-book legend Harvey Pekar dead 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,” portraying himself as a rumpled …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Boing Boing, PopEater, FishbowlLA, ArtsBeat, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Hit & Run
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 …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The New Ledger, Paul Krugman, Felix Salmon, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, Economist's View, Calculated Risk and Truthdig
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.
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog
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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.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
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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 …
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.
Jessica Van Sack / Boston Herald:
On second thought... Boston city councilors backtrack on Arizona boycott bid — Red-faced Boston city councilors who boldly voted to shun the state of Arizona over its new immigration crackdown are now showing signs of boycotter's regret. — The grandstanding pols kept a low profile …
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Eileen Aj Connelly / Associated Press:
More Americans' credit scores sink to new lows — NEW YORK - The credit scores of millions more Americans are sinking to new lows. — Figures provided by FICO Inc. show that 25.5 percent of consumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders.
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 …
Persian2English:
26 Year Old Woman Raped and Murdered by Basij Members for “Bad Hijab” — ACT NOW | Stoning, Rape and Execution of Women is Bad Gender Policy; It is Time to Remove the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women — According to sources, this was the last picture Elnaz Babazadeh uploaded …