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Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim — Religion, Politics and the President — OVERVIEW — A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency …
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Poll: 1 in 5 Americans thinks Obama is a Muslim — The number of Americans who believe — wrongly — that President Obama is a Muslim has increased significantly since his inauguration and now account for nearly 20 percent of the nation's population. — Those results, from a new Pew …


In Defining Obama, Misperceptions Stick — WASHINGTON — Americans need only stand in line at the grocery checkout counter to glimpse the conspiracy theories percolating about President Obama. “Birthplace Cover-Up,” screams the current issue of the racy tabloid Globe. “Obama's Secret Life Exposed!”
Discussion:
Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, Sweetness & Light, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather and Marbury

Survey Reports — Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket

Poll: Growing number incorrectly call Obama Muslim
Discussion:
Associated Press, A plain blog about politics and Sweetness & Light


Howard Dean: “Mosque” should move — (updated below - Update II - Update III) — Certain things are disappointing and surprising even for the most hardened cynics. Hearing Howard Dean — the former liberal standard-bearer — join Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin by saying the following is definitely one of them:
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In flap over mosque near Ground Zero, conservative writers gaining influence — Long before President Obama waded into the vociferous debate over a proposal to build a mosque near Ground Zero, a group of conservative writers and bloggers critical of Islam had seized on the issue and helped transform …

Dean Stands By Mosque Remarks, Charges Liberal Critics With Being Inflexible — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — In an interview late Wednesday, former DNC Chair Howard Dean reiterated his belief that the controversial “Ground Zero” mosque should be re-located, arguing that critics of his position were …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, JustOneMinute, Think Progress, Hot Air and Washington Post

Smart President Fails Test at Ground Zero: Margaret Carlson
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Commentary and Betsy's Page


Anti-'Mosque' Geller: 'Strip Clubs Didn't Bring Down The Towers'
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine and Atlas Shrugs

Iran cash might fund mosque at Ground Zero
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Left Coast Rebel, New York Magazine, NY Daily News and JammieWearingFool

Howard Dean: Mosque ‘an affront’
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Scared Monkeys, TPMDC, Raw Story, American Power, Gateway Pundit, The Page and Corrente


Weekly Jobless Claims Post Surprise Jump, Hit 500,000 — New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-month high last week, yet another setback to the frail economic recovery. — Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 500,000 …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Firedoglake, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The Powers That Be and TalkLeft
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Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose to Highest Since November — Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly increased last week to the highest level since November, showing companies are stepping up the pace of firings as the economy slows. — Initial jobless claims rose …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Right Pundits and Commentary

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis — EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION — Program Contact: — TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL — (202) 693-4676 — UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT — SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
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Free exchange and The Washington Independent


The shame of New York — The real story of the Ground Zero mosque is that the project only became feasible because of the appalling and astonishing fecklessness of the officials who were charged with the reconstruction of the site and the neighborhood all the way back in 2001.
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TIME Poll: Majority Opposes Mosque, Many Distrust Muslims
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TPMDC, Gateway Pundit, The Page and Swampland

Does America Have a Muslim Problem?
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Washington Wire, Hot Air and The Huffington Post

Where are the Republicans who will reject pandering and prejudice?
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The Nation, Soccer Dad, PostPartisan and Atlas Shrugs

America, the Decent — My views on the mosque are pretty well aired out now.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, KATHLEENMCKINLEY.COM and alicublog

Operation Iraqi Freedom ends as last combat soldiers leave Baghdad — Lt. Col. Mark Bieger huddled his infantrymen in a darkened parking lot minutes before they were to depart Baghdad for the last time. — “This is a historic mission!” he bellowed, struggling to be heard over the zoom …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Foundry, Sister Toldjah, ATTACKERMAN, Ò", BLACKFIVE and DISSENTING JUSTICE
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Last U.S. combat convoy has left Iraq
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Think Progress, The Reaction and newsfeed.time.com

Civilians to Take U.S. Lead After Military Leaves Iraq
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Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Nation, Washington Post, Guardian and Hot Air

As Combat Troops Leave Iraq, News Media Ride Along
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Raw Story, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Federal Eye, Crooks and Liars, Aljazeera, Wonkette, The Agonist and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »


Breaking: Blago Holdout Retired State Employee Who Once Handed Out Campaign Literature For Relative Seeking Office; NPR and Liberal Talk Radio Listener — Here's what Fox local news in Chicago reports: … Note that that is not yet confirmed. It is now confirmed by CBS local news Chicago.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, WBBM-TV, Wizbang and JOSHUAPUNDIT
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Mosque a long shot to be built — When President Barack Obama turned the battle over a planned New York Islamic center into a national debate over religious freedom, he unwittingly allied himself and his party with an ill-planned, long-shot development project described by one of its most prominent allies as “amateur hour.”
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Sink Inching Up In Close Florida Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist Leads Three-Way Senate Race — Apparently bolstered by the civil war for the Republican nomination for Governor in Florida, State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democrat, is on the plus side …
Discussion:
The Hill, Taegan Goddard's …, TPMDC, Post on Politics, Riehl World View and The Eye


NRSC: ‘The Next Time Democrats Call You Extreme, Show Them This Video.’ — You see it here first, folks: the new web video from the NRSC about just whose views are “extreme” around here. — Their closing sequence, showcasing that the so-called extreme candidates are either leading or in dead heats …
Discussion:
Macsmind, American Glob, Hot Air and Nice Deb


The most powerful Republican in politics — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is the most powerful Republican in American politics — at least for the next three months. — Barbour, who runs the Republican Governors Association, has more money to spend on the 2010 elections - $40 million - than any other GOP leader around.
Discussion:
The Caucus


Home Aquariums as Decorating Elements — KARIN WILZIG has a hard time choosing a favorite color from among the 64 that she and her husband can use to illuminate the 14 1/2- foot, 450-gallon aquarium in their TriBeCa town house. The default is fuchsia, which turns the dozen koi a deep pink.
Discussion:
The Awl

The U.S. Department of Education's spokesperson hung up on The Daily Caller Wednesday when seeking clarification regarding the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's planned speech at an Aug. 28 protest march that the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network (NAN) are holding …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org and Balloon Juice


Young will have to change names to escape ‘cyber past’ warns Google's Eric Schmidt — The private lives of young people are now so well documented on the internet that many will have to change their names on reaching adulthood, Google's CEO has claimed. — Eric Schmidt suggested …
Discussion:
Don Surber, Balloon Juice and Hillicon Valley


Blagojevich 23, Fitzgerald 1 — Chicago's jester politician humiliates the Justice Department. — Rod Blagojevich was charged with everything from shaking down a Chicago children's hospital to attempting to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Obama …
Discussion:
Commentary, Washington Post and Don Surber