On Today's Hot Media Stories: Sherrod, ‘Journolist’  —  I go out of reach of internet-land for 48 hours, and the place blows up!  Let me be the last person in the Official Media to weigh in on two topics:  —  1) Shirley Sherrod.  I agree with my colleagues Coates, Sullivan, Green, Ambinder …

In the hours after Sen. John McCain announced his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the last presidential race, members of an online forum called Journolist struggled to make sense of the pick.  Many of them were liberal reporters, and in some cases their comments reflected …

Key Democrat backs keeping tax cuts for rich  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fiscally conservative Democrat who chairs the U.S. Senate's budget committee on Wednesday said he supports extending all of the tax cuts that expire this year, including for the wealthy.

The Shame of the Daily Caller  —  I'd encourage everyone to read this Ann Althouse post on today's bogus Daily Caller story about JournoList.  Her bottom line: “The Daily Caller's article is weak.  And I'm inclined to think the material in the Journolist archive is pretty mild stuff.”

Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions  —  Fifty percent “little"/"no" confidence in Congress reading is record high  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll finds Congress ranking dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year.

Petraeus Sharpens Afghan Strategy  —  WASHINGTON—Gen. David Petraeus plans to ramp up the U.S. military's troop-intensive strategy in Afghanistan, according to some senior military officials, who have concluded that setbacks in the war effort this year weren't the result of the strategy, but with flaws in how it has been implemented.

Newt Direct  —  There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia.  The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over.

Jane Norton and Ken Buck: High Heels vs. Cowboy Boots in Colorado  —  DENVER — Let us take a brief break from the racism debate and talk about high heels.  —  And sexism.  —  We'll start with a one-liner:  —  What's the difference between the two GOP Senate candidates in Colorado?

OVER 20 UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH RISK ARREST, DEPORTATION, STAGE SIT-IN AT CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES ON CAPITOL HILL  —  dreamactmedia@gmail.com and media@thedreamiscoming.com  —  Washington, D.C. Today, July 20th, over 20 undocumented immigrant youth from all over the country are risking arrest …

Obama wins!  And Journolisters rejoice  —  MATT DUSS, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: [Mccain aide] Randy Scheunemann Fired [last week]  —  LAURA ROZEN, FOREIGN POLICY (NOW POLITICO): Can you imagine if these bozos had won?  —  Nov. 7  —  LAURA ROZEN: People we no longer have to listen to …

Ballot slogan axed  —  Candidate with history of feuds with local officials says she plans to sue  —  By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — State elections officials Wednesday narrowly rejected a Milwaukee Assembly candidate's attempt to run with the slogan …

White House Spent $23M of Taxpayers' Money on Fight to Legalize Abortion in Kenya  —  Kenyan supporters cheer at a rally to launch campaigns for the constitution referendum, in the capital Nairobi.  —  A Republican lawmaker is accusing the White House of “unconscionable” and “illegal” …

Workers on Doomed Rig Voiced Concern About Safety  —  WASHINGTON — A confidential survey of workers on the Deepwater Horizon in the weeks before the oil rig exploded showed that many of them were concerned about safety practices and feared reprisals if they reported mistakes or other problems.