Top Items:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Farmer's wife says fired USDA official helped save their land — The wife of the white farmer allegedly discriminated against by the USDA's rural development director for Georgia said Shirley Sherrod “kept us out of bankruptcy.” — Eloise Spooner, 82, awoke Tuesday to discover that Sherrod …
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Marcus K. Garner / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Resigned USDA official says racial story misconstrued — The USDA's rural development director for Georgia says she was forced out of her federally appointed job after a “snippet” of a speech she gave in March appeared to show her admission to only half-heartedly aiding a struggling white farmer because of his race.
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Our Summer Race War Heats Up — Hoo boy. Conservatives apparently aren't going to back down from ever more overt appeals to racial resentment this summer. BigGovernment.com “broke” a story yesterday about a speech given a few months ago by Shirley Sherrod, USDA Georgia Director of Rural Development, at an NAACP Freedom Fund dinner.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Breitbart's Skilled Editing — The quotes that former USDA worker Shirley Sherrod gave on the edited tapes disseminated by Andrew Breitbart are indeed indefensible, but is it not fair to provide some kind of context? To wit: … And: … This reminds me of the Octavia Nasr case.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Not Looking Good For Breitbart — The 82-year-old wife of the white Georgia farmer who was supposedly discriminated against some quarter century ago by the black USDA official forced to resign this week — if the video released by Andrew Breitbart's Big Government and re-run by Fox is to be believed …
Datechguy / DaTechguy's Blog:
One thing about the NAACP video of Shirley Sherrod — ...that nobody is mentioning. — Look at the crowd reaction when she says this. Is there shock? Is there disgust? Is there anger? Nope, they are with her all the way. — That says more about the NAACP than anything Sherrod did.
Discussion:
The Other McCain
CNN:
Former USDA employee says White House pressured her to resign — Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) — A black former Agriculture Department employee, who resigned after a video clip surfaced of her discussing a white farmer, insisted Tuesday she “went all out” to help the man keep his farm …
Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:
It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama's political career. In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself. Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright.
Discussion:
The Politico, Big Government, Weekly Standard, Ruby Slippers, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, Another Black Conservative, GayPatriot, Pajamas Media, Sister Toldjah, Salon, Ace of Spades HQ, Moonbattery, Right Wing News, Questions and Observations, Michelle Malkin, Gawker, Jules Crittenden, Confederate Yankee, Moe Lane, Sweetness & Light, Conservatives4Palin.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, Left Coast Rebel, Stop The ACLU, Taylor Marsh, Wizbang, Wonkette, Hit & Run, Nice Deb, Real Clear Politics, The Sundries Shack, The Corner on National …, NewsReal Blog, Dean's World, Weasel Zippers, theblogprof, Instapundit, Breitbart.tv, Althouse, Politics Daily, sara in italy, Big Journalism, The Future of Capitalism, sisu, Gateway Pundit, Say Anything, The Right Scoop, JustOneMinute and Riehl World View
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Ben Domenech / The New Ledger:
Lessons From Journolist: Why Ross Douthat is Useful
Lessons From Journolist: Why Ross Douthat is Useful
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Stop The ACLU, Big Journalism, Liberty Pundits Blog, Mother Jones and Riehl World View
Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:
Documents show media plotting to kill stories about Rev. Jeremiah Wright
Documents show media plotting to kill stories about Rev. Jeremiah Wright
Jeff Sessions / USA Today:
Opposing view on the Supreme Court: A big-government vision — After carefully reviewing Elena Kagan's record and testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I must oppose her nomination. — OUR VIEW: Kagan deserves bipartisan backing, but won't get it
Discussion:
The Washington Independent, The Hill, msnbc.com, Gateway Pundit, Balkinization, Minnesota Independent, Hotline On Call, The Hill, Don Surber and The Page
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David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan approved by Senate Judiciary Committee in 13-6 vote — Kagan wins approval in a nearly party-line vote, with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina joining the majority Democrats. She is expected to gain full Senate confirmation in August.
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Moderate Voice, The Note, CNN and Feministing
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Lindsey Graham's vote on Elena Kagan ensures primary challenge — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R) announcement that he will vote in favor of Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court is likely to further incite conservatives already unhappy with him and, according to close observers …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Caucus, Washington Post, New York Times, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Power Line, PostPartisan, msnbc.com, The Politico, The Nation, Wonkette and Weekly Standard
Sen. Tom Coburn / National Review:
By Her Own Words, Kagan Will Violate Her Oath
The Politico:
GOP leery of Tea Party Caucus — With the official formation of a congressional Tea Party Caucus, Rep. Michele Bachmann has thrust an existential question before House Republican leaders: Are you in or are you out? — Indiana's Mike Pence, chairman of the Republican Conference, was adamant.
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Ezra Klein:
Unemployment benefits to pass, but all alone — Democrats are set to pass an extension of unemployment benefits today. The presence of Carte Goodwin, Sen. Robert Byrd's temporary replacement, gives them the 60 votes necessary to break the Republicans' — and Ben Nelson's — filibuster of the bill.
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Reid holds slight lead — Given the gift of an opponent who's even more unpopular than him, Harry Reid leads Sharron Angle 48-46 in the Nevada Senate race. When PPP last looked at the state in January Reid trailed Sue Lowden by ten points. — Reid continues to have upside down approval numbers …
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Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet — The median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in the last 50 years. That's an understatement. It is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years. — OK, you're saying, but what does this mean?
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Dan Mangan / New York Post:
Chilling toll of Times Sq. ‘bomb’ — Thankfully, it didn't go off as planned. — A secret FBI test of a correctly made version of the Times Square bomb revealed that it “would have killed thousands of people” if it had been made to explode as terrorists had intended, law-enforcement sources told The Post yesterday.
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John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
BP photoshops fake photo of crisis command center, posts on main BP site — (H/t to AK for spotting this.) — UPDATE 12:08PM Eastern 7/20/10: BP has faked yet another oil crisis response photo on its Web site. — UPDATE: 11:14PM Eastern: BP has now posted the “original” photo, they claim.
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Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
A government of the people's every wish? — I've listened to Sarah Palin's “Mama Grizzlies” video. I've watched the Tea Party movement evolve from a joke into a political force. I've read up on the primary candidates who want to take back government, take down government, burn down Washington.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
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Frank Newport / Gallup:
Six in 10 Workers Hold No Hope of Receiving Social Security
Six in 10 Workers Hold No Hope of Receiving Social Security
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Wire, Fact-esque, Wonkette, Real Clear Politics and The Huffington Post
Peter Wallsten / Wall Street Journal:
Crist Uses His Old Party as a New Foil — Senate Push Gains as Florida Governor Sets Himself Off Against State's GOP, With Some Firepower From Obama Camp — Gov. Crist has shored up some conservative positions, such as his support for gun rights, while shifting to the left on core issues like abortion, education and gay rights.
Discussion:
The Fix, The New Republic, Washington Wire, Hot Air, RedState, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Matthew Yglesias, Ezra Klein, Ben Smith's Blog, Naked Politics, msnbc.com and The Buzz
Josh Halliday / Guardian:
Times loses almost 90% of online readership — Less than three weeks after the Times paywall went up, data shows a massive decline in web traffic — The registration page for thetimes.co.uk - 25.6% of users sign up and proceed to the Times site — The Times has lost almost 90% …