Top Items:
Shannyn Moore / The Huffington Post:
Palin's Homer Moment: Celebrity Sarah Confronted by Citizen (WATCH) — I'm really proud of my home town. When I say, “I'm just a girl from Homer” on my blog, radio or television show, I like to think it's not so much self-deprecation as it is a friendly warning.
Discussion:
Mediaite, SHANNYN MOORE, Think Progress, Political Byline, Gawker, Brilliant at Breakfast and Wonkette
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Dan Amira / New York Magazine:
Did Sarah Palin Roll Her Eyes at Teaching? — Sarah Palin was up in Homer, Alaska, recently, fishing with her Discovery Channel crew in tow, when she was met with an unpleasant protest: a giant banner reading “Worst Governor Ever,” unfurled nearby by local Kathleen Gustafson.
Discussion:
Ballot Box and Towleroad News #gay
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Sarah Palin gets in dustup with teacher — Sarah Palin was involved in a short argument over the weekend with an Alaska teacher over her decision to leave her post as governor of Alaska. AP — Sarah Palin was involved in a brief argument over the weekend with an Alaska teacher …
Discussion:
The Note and Politics Daily
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Marriage Ideal — Here are some commonplace arguments against gay marriage: Marriage is an ancient institution that has always been defined as the union of one man and one woman, and we meddle with that definition at our peril. Lifelong heterosexual monogamy is natural; gay relationships are not.
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Marriage and the role of the state — Ross Douthat uses his New York Times column today to put what he undoubtedly considers to be the most intellectual and humane face on the case against marriage equality. Without pointing to any concrete or empirical evidence, Douthat insists …
Discussion:
National Review, GayPatriot and The Awl
Steve Chapman / Reason:
Overreaching on Gay Marriage
Overreaching on Gay Marriage
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Hit & Run and Balloon Juice
Michelangelo Signorile / The Huffington Post:
Judge Vaughn Walker Gets Smeared By the Media
Judge Vaughn Walker Gets Smeared By the Media
Discussion:
Advocate
Michael P. Fleischer / Wall Street Journal:
Why I'm Not Hiring — When you add it all up, it costs $74,000 to put $44,000 in Sally's pocket and to give her $12,000 in benefits. — With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off. I think it's going to be later—much later.
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Logan Penza / The Moderate Voice:
Why They're Not Hiring — It's those Evil, Greedy Corporations. — That's the simple explanation most of the talking heads have for the continuing high unemployment numbers. Those Evil, Greedy Corporations horde their money and refuse to hire anyone. When they do hire someone …
GQ:
GQ Exclusive: Rand Paul's Kooky College Days (Hint: There's a Secret Society Involved) — When the Lexington Herald-Leader reported last week that Rand Paul was, in effect, a college dropout, it looked like the 2010 midterms might feature yet another fabulist.
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Charge: Rand Paul tied up teammate, tried to ‘force her to take bong hits’
Charge: Rand Paul tied up teammate, tried to ‘force her to take bong hits’
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Mediaite
David Frum / CNN:
Frum: Bristol-Levi more significant that Prop 8 ruling — Editor's note: David Frum writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A special assistant to President George W. Bush in 2001-02, he is the author of six books, including “Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again,” and is the editor of FrumForum.
Discussion:
Box Turtle Bulletin and FrumForum
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Hogan / RedState:
Ted Olson Pushes for Judicially Mandated Gay “Marriage”
Ted Olson Pushes for Judicially Mandated Gay “Marriage”
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Open Left, Washington Monthly and msnbc.com
Nelson Lund / San Francisco Chronicle:
Prop. 8 judge makes strange charge
Prop. 8 judge makes strange charge
Discussion:
The League of Ordinary …, National Review and Lawyers, Guns & Money
James Surowiecki / New Yorker:
SOAK THE VERY, VERY RICH — The fight on Capitol Hill over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts is about many things: deficit reduction, economic stimulus, supply-side ideology. But at its core is a simple question: who counts as rich? The Obama Administration's answer is that you're rich …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, The Atlantic Online, Clusterstock and Democratic Strategist
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
How Much Revenue Would a Millionaires' Tax Raise?
How Much Revenue Would a Millionaires' Tax Raise?
Discussion:
TalkLeft, JustOneMinute and The Atlantic Online
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
The tea party's growing money problem — Some leading tea party activists are concerned their efforts are undermined by a shortage of cash. AP — Some leading tea party activists are concerned that their efforts to reshape American politics, starting with the 2010 elections …
Discussion:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Congress.org, Think Progress, Hot Air, Political Byline, Washington Wire and FrumForum
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
America Goes Dark — The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.
The Politico:
Rep. Maxine Waters charged with three violations — The House ethics committee released its formal charges against Rep. Maxine Waters Monday. AP — The House ethics committee released its formal charges against Rep. Maxine Waters Monday, accusing her of three counts of violating the letter …
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Lynn Sweet / Politics Daily:
Why Michelle Obama Vacationed in Spain: To Be With Grieving Friend — Michelle Obama returned to Washington on Sunday from five days on Spain's Mediterranean coast, taking a mother-daughter trip with Sasha, 9, that stirred controversy. A White House source told me, however …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, PunditMom and About.com US Liberal Politics
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NY Daily News:
Republican Party starts to kill its own: S.C. Rep. Bob Inglis ousted for not hating Obama enough — There are landmarks all over our city named after LaGuardia and Javits and Rockefeller, names out of the city's great Republican past, when the party was one of intelligence, not fear-mongering and hate.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, About.com Conservative …, The Impolitic, JammieWearingFool and Don Surber
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Avg. Midterm Seat Loss 36 for Presidents Below 50% Approval — Presidents above 50% lose average of 14 House seats in midterm elections — PRINCETON, NJ — Presidents who retain majority job approval from Americans at the time of midterm elections are much less likely …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Politics Daily, Hot Air, YID With LID and Commentary
Mark Whitehouse / Wall Street Journal:
Some Companies Struggle to Fill Jobs — In Bloomington, Ill., machine shop Mechanical Devices can't find the workers it needs to handle a sharp jump in business. Job fairs run by airline Emirates attract fewer applicants in the U.S. than in other countries.
Discussion:
naked capitalism, Salon, The Glittering Eye, The Atlantic Online, Clusterstock, Outside the Beltway and Crooks and Liars
J. Christian Adams / Washington Examiner:
Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is out of control — Two unpleasant topics of conversation most of us avoid are the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and a variety of sometimes violent events resulting in transmission of the disease. Some states long ago implemented policies …
Discussion:
RedState, International Liberty and The Daily Caller
Mike Mandel / Mandel on Innovation and Growth:
Where Americans Are Spending More.. — Since the recession started in the fourth quarter of 2007, the common theme has been about Americans cutting back on their spending. But the latest numbers from the BEA show aggregate personal consumption expenditures are up 2.9%, or $285 billion.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
Dylan Matthews / Ezra Klein:
Where does the Laffer curve bend? — With the Bush tax cuts due to expire soon and debates about raising top rates further to cut the budget deficit soon to follow, the Laffer curve is bound to come up again. The idea, popularized by economist Arthur Laffer and writer Jude Wanninski in the 1970s and '80s, is simple.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Washington Independent
Paul Krugman:
Self-induced Paralysis — Reading Jon Hilsenrath's column today, I was initially a bit skeptical about this assertion: … I knew that I had pushed that option (pdf); I was less sure that Bernanke had, since he often focused more on quantitative easing. But Hilsenrath is right …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Tim Duy's Fed Watch, Calculated Risk, Free exchange, Wall Street Journal and Economist's View
Congress Blog:
Repealing the 14th Amendment is wrong for America — By Alan Jenkins, executive director of The Opportunity Agenda - 08/09/10 04:00 PM ET — For well over a century, children born on American soil have been American citizens. Changing that guarantee is not a new idea …
Discussion:
The Politico
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
“Public Internet,” Private Plan: Verizon, Google Announce Joint Broadband Policy — Oh, now I get it.... (photo: tantek) — Google and Verizon have announced their joint policy agreement on the Internet and broadband, seeking a continuation of the free and open policies around …
Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service:
Gates Puts Meat on Bone of Department Efficiencies Initiative — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is putting meat on the bones of his initiative to reform the way the Pentagon does business and to eliminate duplicative, unnecessary overhead costs. — During a Pentagon news conference today …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, New York Times, Commentary, SWJ Blog and TPMMuckraker
Jim Harper / Cato @ Liberty:
What Do Prince and H.R. 1586 Have in Common? — Give up? — Both have adopted highly unconventional names in their lifetimes. In Prince's case, it was the adoption of a symbol to protest Warner Brothers' artistic and financial control of his output. — Following suit …
Discussion:
CNET News, Gateway Pundit, The Foundry, Weasel Zippers and Weekly Standard