Top Items:
Andy Kroll / Mother Jones:
Bombing the Moon — Following up on my GOP mind games post, Ezra Klein makes a smart observation in this morning's Wonkbook on how the GOP transformed tax increases from a important, necessary option in the deficit debate into something evil and extremist. To prove his point …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice, TalkLeft, Washington Post, Eschaton and The Hill
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Top Dems Provide Fresh Detail On High-Income Tax Proposal That Led GOP To Abandon Debt Talks — Two of the top Democrats in Congress are calling out their Republican counterparts for abandoning high-stakes debt talks, and have provided new details about the tax proposals that sent the GOP packing.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Mahablog, The Hill and Eschaton
New York Times:
Their Temper Tantrum — Congressional Republicans, who played a major role in piling up the government's unsustainable debt in the first place, have thrown a tantrum and walked out of the debt limit talks. This bit of grandstanding has brought the nation closer to the financial crisis that Republicans have been threatening for weeks.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Agence France Presse, Crooks and Liars, FiveThirtyEight, Swampland and The Mahablog
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Wonkbook: How could taxes blow up debt talks?
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Speaker Boehner: Debt-ceiling deal with tax increases ‘cannot pass’ the House
Speaker Boehner: Debt-ceiling deal with tax increases ‘cannot pass’ the House
Discussion:
The Note
Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Republicans: Walkout from Biden-led negotiations was long planned
Republicans: Walkout from Biden-led negotiations was long planned
Discussion:
The Caucus, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress and New York Times
The Politico:
Pair of votes shows House divided on Libya — The House delivered a surprising split decision on Libya Friday: Voting against authorizing the use of American forces there and then, an hour later, refusing to limit funding for the mission. — In essence, the House decided …
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Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
President ‘becoming an absolute monarch’ on war powers, Dem says — A House Democrat warned Friday that the U.S. president is becoming an “absolute monarch” on matters related to the authority to start a war. — Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Congress must act to limit funding …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Don Surber and The Lonely Conservative
Jennifer Steinhauer / The Caucus:
House Deals Obama Symbolic Blow With Libya Votes
House Deals Obama Symbolic Blow With Libya Votes
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Reuters, ThinkProgress, Gawker, New York Magazine and Weigel
David Jackson / USA Today:
Poll: Public now opposes Libya military action
Poll: Public now opposes Libya military action
Discussion:
Washington Times, Cato @ Liberty, Washington Post, Booman Tribune and The Right Scoop
City Room:
Consensus Reached on Religious Exemptions in Gay Marriage Bill — ALBANY — The Cuomo administration and legislative leaders have reached agreement on language to protect religious institutions from obligations to recognize same-sex marriage, two people involved in the negotiations said on Friday afternoon …
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New York Times:
Politicians Who Fear the Public Light
Politicians Who Fear the Public Light
Discussion:
Politics on the Hudson, The Gist, GLAADBlog.org, Capital Tonight, AMERICAblog Gay and Good As You
New York Times:
Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden's Pakistani Links — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The cellphone of Osama bin Laden's trusted courier, which was recovered in the raid that killed both men in Pakistan last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset …
Discussion:
BBC, Wall Street Journal, Telegraph, The Heritage Foundation, FP Passport, The CenterLine, The Long War Journal, Guardian, CNN, The Moderate Voice, The Politico, Connecting.the.Dots, News Desk, Lawfare, The Page, Washington Post, Global Public Square, New York Magazine, HotAirPundit and Verum Serum
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Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Osama wanted new name for al-Qaida to repair image — WASHINGTON (AP) — As Osama bin Laden watched his terrorist organization get picked apart, he lamented in his final writings that al-Qaida was suffering from a marketing problem. His group was killing too many Muslims and that was bad for business.
Discussion:
Power Line, Hot Air, Danger Room, Weasel Zippers, Sweetness & Light, Boing Boing, FP Passport, Gawker and Truthdig
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Plurality of Americans love Gadaffi — Hillary Clinton, yesterday, when asked about those questioning the Libya War: … Gallup, yesterday (click image to enlarge): — It's not only a plurality of Americans who are “on Gaddafi's side,” but also the head of the Arab League …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Americans Shift to More Negative View of Libya Military Action
Americans Shift to More Negative View of Libya Military Action
Discussion:
New York Times, Eunomia, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Top of the Ticket, Firedoglake and HotAirPundit
Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Fighting Words: DeMint Warns Republicans They May Be ‘Gone’ if They Support Debt Ceiling Increase — Conservative firebrand Sen. Jim DeMint has a message to fellow Republicans in Congress: If you support increasing the debt ceiling without first passing a balanced budget amendment …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Little Green Footballs, TPMDC, The Politico, Flap's Blog, RedState, The Lonely Conservative and HotAirPundit
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Matthew Zeitlin / The New Republic:
The Debt Ceiling: Why Obama Should Just Ignore It
The Debt Ceiling: Why Obama Should Just Ignore It
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Ross Douthat and ThinkProgress
Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:
Exclusive: Top U.S. admiral admits we are trying to kill Qaddafi — The top U.S. admiral involved in the Libya war admitted to a U.S. congressman that NATO forces are trying to kill Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi. The same admiral also said he anticipated the need for ground troops …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, BLACKFIVE, Taylor Marsh, Pajamas Media and National Review
Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
Scott Walker To Sign Budget Bill At Business Of Convicted Tax Felon — This Sunday, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) will be signing into law his budget bill at an event at a local Wisconsin business. The budget radically reshapes Wisconsin's priorities, slashing investments in Main Street Wisconsin …
Discussion:
Appleton Post Crescent, The Impolitic, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather
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The Politico:
Romney dominates GOP cash dash — Everyone knows Mitt Romney is going to outpace the GOP presidential field when next month's fundraising reports come out. But the scale of his money advantage is finally coming into shape: the rest of the field is going to be eating his dust.
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Jennifer Agiesta / Associated Press:
AP-GfK Poll: Bachmann, Pawlenty gain in GOP field
AP-GfK Poll: Bachmann, Pawlenty gain in GOP field
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Hot Air, Flap's Blog, msnbc.com, Washington Times and GOP 12
David Weigel / Weigel:
Romney Goes Classic — Clicking around on In These Times (!), I noticed this ad directing me to Mitt Romney's campaign site. — Those people aren't dressed like Americans in the year 2011, are they? No. That's because this is copied from (or lovingly designed in tribute to!) …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog and The Wire
Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Benefits Rollback for Work Force — TRENTON — New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the deepest cut in state and local costs in memory, in a major victory for Gov. Chris Christie …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Caucus, Hotline On Call, Salon, Big Government, Sweetness & Light, Ben Smith's Blog, Truthdig, NewsBusters.org blogs, JSOnline and The Other McCain
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Richard Natale / Variety:
‘Columbo’ star Peter Falk dies at 83 — Veteran actor own five Emmys, four for popular detective role — Peter Falk, the Emmy- and Tony-winning stage, screen and TV actor, best known to world audiences as the always-underestimated police detective in the long-running telepic series …
Discussion:
The BRAD BLOG and Joe. My. God.
Dana Ritter / White House Wrap:
Commander In Chief Misspeaks About Soldier Killed in Afghanistan — During his remarks to troops at Fort Drum today, the President was reminiscing about the times he has spent with the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, when he got something wrong. … The problem is, Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006.
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Joe Gould / Outside The Wire:
Obama flubs at 10th Mountain meet-and-greet [UPDATE]
Obama flubs at 10th Mountain meet-and-greet [UPDATE]
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs, HotAirPundit and JustOneMinute
Saeed Kamali Dehghan / Guardian:
Iran giving out condoms for criminals to rape us, say jailed activists — Smuggled letters allege authorities are using mass rape as a weapon inside Iran's most notorious prisons — Prison guards in Iran are giving condoms to criminals and encouraging them to systematically rape young …
New York Review of Books:
The Busts Keep Getting Bigger: Why? — Paul Krugman and Robin Wells — Age of Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America, 1970 to the Present — Knopf, 464 pp., $30.00 — Suppose we describe the following situation: major US financial institutions have badly overreached.
Andrew Stern / Reuters:
Ex-media mogul Conrad Black sent back to prison — (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday ordered former media baron Conrad Black to serve 13 more months in prison for his fraud and obstruction of justice conviction. — Judge Amy St. Eve of U.S. District Court, who sentenced Black …
Discussion:
New York Magazine