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:
Facebook, Think Progress, Mediaite, Crooks and Liars, SHANNYN MOORE, Daily Kos, 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, Politics Daily, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
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 — (updated below) — 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 …
Discussion:
Cato Unbound, National Review, GayPatriot, Left in the West, Cato @ Liberty and The Awl
Steve Chapman / Reason:
Overreaching on Gay Marriage
Overreaching on Gay Marriage
Discussion:
protein wisdom, GayPatriot, Balloon Juice and Hit & Run
Michelangelo Signorile / The Huffington Post:
Judge Vaughn Walker Gets Smeared By the Media
Judge Vaughn Walker Gets Smeared By the Media
Discussion:
Firedoglake and 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
Sean Gardiner / Metropolis:
Flight Attendant Pops Emergency Chute, Escapes Plane at JFK … A jetBlue flight attendant upset because a passenger refused to apologize after accidentally striking him with luggage, allegedly spewed obscenities over the PA system, then activated and slid down a plane's emergency chute …
Discussion:
Gawker, Hot Air, Clusterstock and Gothamist
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Ray Rivera / City Room:
Flight Attendant Uses Emergency Slide to Escape Dispute — A JetBlue flight attendant activated an emergency-exit chute after a dispute with a passenger and slid off a plane that had just pulled up to a gate at Kennedy International Airport on Monday, a law enforcement official said.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, The Awl, Towleroad News #gay and Clusterstock
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Ed Rendell: Many Republicans ‘are nuts’ — Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday said that Republican desires to repeal the 14th Amendment are “cuckoo” and prove that many in the GOP “are nuts.” — Asked during an MSNBC interview about many Republicans' calls to repeal the portion …
Discussion:
Congress Blog and Weasel Zippers
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Rmcneely / Matthew Yglesias:
GOP Fantasy Agenda Leaves Public in the Dark
GOP Fantasy Agenda Leaves Public in the Dark
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Ezra Klein
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Republicans see balanced budget amendment as potent campaign weapon
Republicans see balanced budget amendment as potent campaign weapon
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, Gawker, The Huffington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and SENATUS
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
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.
CNN:
Obama to GOP: I'm pretty good at politicking, remember? — (CNN) — President Barack Obama warned Republicans on Monday that he is back in campaign mode. — In a fundraising speech in Austin, Texas, Obama complained that while his administration has been governing the country since January 2009 …
Discussion:
The Hill and Erick's blog
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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 …
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David Weigel / Weigel:
Tea Party Infiltration Done Wrong
Tea Party Infiltration Done Wrong
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, The Other McCain, NRSC, The Politico and The Caucus
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:
JustOneMinute, PunditMom, Balloon Juice and About.com US Liberal Politics
Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Ground Zero Mosque (Actually, Two-Blocks-from-Ground-Zero Mosque) — I don't have anything helpful to say on the ethical, public relations, or interfaith amity questions raised by the ground zero mosque. Cathy Young takes one view, [UPDATE: Christopher Hitchens in Slate takes a somewhat different one …
Discussion:
National Review, The Daily Politics, Hot Air and Don Surber
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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 …
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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
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Making Good on Pledge, Gates Outlines Military Cuts — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Monday that he would close a major military command, restrict the use of outside contractors and reduce the number of generals and admirals across the armed forces to trim back on unaffordable defense spending.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, American Forces Press Service, Commentary, MyDD and SWJ Blog
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 …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Islam and 2012 — A former Bush aide, watching the GOP's current discussion of Islam with some interest, noted to me today that the crucial thing will be how the 2012 presidential candidates handle mosques and Muslims rhetorically: With the deliberate embrace that Bush chose just post September 11 …
Discussion:
Think Progress and The New Republic
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, Don Surber and JammieWearingFool
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Tim Johnson hospitalized with fever — Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) was hospitalized over the weekend with a fever, his office said Monday. — Johnson was admitted to a Sioux Falls hospital on Sunday for a fever possibly due to an adverse reaction to an antibiotic, and is in stable condition.
Discussion:
CNN
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:
Politics Daily, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, YID With LID and Commentary
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