Top Items:
Tim Mak / The Politico:
Mark Halperin suspended over Obama remark on Morning Joe (video) — MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin was suspended on Thursday by the cable network after he called President Obama “a dick” on a popular morning show and then quickly apologized. — “I thought he was a dick yesterday …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Hotline On Call, TVNewser, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The New Republic, RedState, The Moderate Voice, And So it Goes in Shreveport, NewsBusters.org blogs, Sense of Events, Outside the Beltway, Sky Dancing, The TrogloPundit, Booman Tribune, FishbowlDC, Washington Post, The Garlic, New York Magazine, Opinion L.A., Firedoglake, Gawker, The Other McCain, Daily Kos, Scared Monkeys, Betsy's Page, Indecision Forever, Pajamas Media, National Review, Ben Smith's Blog, ImmigrationProf Blog, Taylor Marsh, Michelle Malkin, AmSpecBlog, Ricochet Conversation Feed, Runnin' Scared and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
MSNBC's suspension of Mark Halperin is way over the top — MSNBC just announced that they have “indefintely” suspended Mark Halperin for claiming that Obama was “kind of a dick” at his presser yesterday. Here's MSNBC's statement: — I'm sorry, but this is crazy.
Alex Pareene / Salon:
Mark Halperin comes up with great excuse to fire Mark Halperin — It seems wrong, to me, that in a conversation involving Joe Scarborough and Mark Halperin, a third party was somehow called a “dick,” but that is what happened on “Morning Joe” today, when MSNBC “senior political analyst” …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TVNewser, Balloon Juice, FishbowlDC and NewsBusters.org blogs
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Mark Halperin and the Quote of the Day — It's hard not to love that “liberal” media. — On MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” the three-hour program co-hosted by a conservative Republican former congressman, Time magazine's Mark Halperin was asked for his assessment of President Obama's White House press conference.
Discussion:
Philly.com, Balloon Juice, GOOD, AMERICAblog News and American Power
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
MSNBC Suspends Mark Halperin For Calling President Obama A ‘Dick’ On Morning Joe
MSNBC Suspends Mark Halperin For Calling President Obama A ‘Dick’ On Morning Joe
Discussion:
The Wire, PolitickerNY, Politics and Gothamist
msnbc.com:
MSNBC suspends Mark Halperin for Obama comments
MSNBC suspends Mark Halperin for Obama comments
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Wire, Mediaite, Publius Forum, Guardian, Towleroad News #gay, The Note, Fox News and National Review
The Huffington Post:
Mark Halperin SUSPENDED For Obama ‘D*ck’ Comment (VIDEO)
Mark Halperin SUSPENDED For Obama ‘D*ck’ Comment (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs, Pajamas Media and Hold Fast
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Axelrod: What Halperin said was ‘stupid and tasteless,’ but ultimately a ‘mistake’
Axelrod: What Halperin said was ‘stupid and tasteless,’ but ultimately a ‘mistake’
Discussion:
Media Decoder, Hot Air, TPMDC and New York Magazine
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Mark Halperin called Obama “a dick” and now he says “I can't explain why I did it.”
Mark Halperin called Obama “a dick” and now he says “I can't explain why I did it.”
Discussion:
The New Republic
Hans Nichols / Bloomberg:
Geithner Said to Consider Leaving Treasury After Debt Debate — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has signaled to White House officials that he's considering leaving the administration after President Barack Obama reaches an agreement with Congress to raise the national debt limit …
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Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Treasury official: Geithner has made no decision on possible departure
Treasury official: Geithner has made no decision on possible departure
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Wonkbook: The two parties have just begun to fight
Wonkbook: The two parties have just begun to fight
Discussion:
Slate, Wall Street Journal and ThinkProgress
Cristina Marcos / Ballot Box:
FEC rules in favor of Stephen Colbert — The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert could form his eponymous political action committee with a media exemption. — “I am sorry to say, we won,” Colbert declared to supporters outside the FEC building after the commissioners issued their advisory.
Discussion:
The Caucus, Washington Post, Reuters, The TrogloPundit and The Politico
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Chris Good / The Atlantic Online:
Colbert's ‘SuperPAC’ Pushes the Limits of Election Law
Colbert's ‘SuperPAC’ Pushes the Limits of Election Law
Discussion:
New York Magazine and CBS News
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Stephen Colbert's running PAC shtick creates sticky mess
Stephen Colbert's running PAC shtick creates sticky mess
Discussion:
CNN, NationalJournal.com, WDBJ-TV, Washington Post, Politics, ThinkProgress, The Note, Prairie Weather and Hit & Run
The Hill:
White House rejects McConnell invitation for Obama to meet Senate GOP — The White House has rejected Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) invitation for President Obama to meet Thursday with Senate Republicans about their position on the debt ceiling talks.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, FrumForum and The Hill
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Alister Bull / Reuters:
White House snubs McConnell invitation to Obama
White House snubs McConnell invitation to Obama
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and Washington Post
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Battle lines harden between Obama, Senate GOP as time runs short
Battle lines harden between Obama, Senate GOP as time runs short
Discussion:
The Politico
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
How health care rulings are covered — Regular readers may recall an item from February, in which I compared coverage of health care court rulings from several major media outlets. Given yesterday's developments, it's time to revisit the subject. — To briefly review …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The New Republic, AMERICAblog News and Daily Kos
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Randy Barnett / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Eight Things to Know About Yesterday's Sixth Circuit Decision — Volokh readers will remember when two widely-respected conservative Court of Appeals judges, Judge Easterbrook and Judge Posner were on a unanimous Seventh Circuit panel denying both the Due Process and Privileges or Immunities challenge to Chicago's hand-gun ban.
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The Radicalism Of Judge James Graham's Anti-Health Care Opinion
The Radicalism Of Judge James Graham's Anti-Health Care Opinion
Discussion:
Hit & Run, NPR and Grasping Reality …
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Against the constitutional option, cont'd — Jonathan Chait and David Dayen both think that the breakdown of debt-ceiling negotiations strengthens the case for the Obama administration to attempt the “constitutional option,” in which they simply declare the debt limit unconstitutional and hope the Supreme Court agrees.
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Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
Social Security Benefits Cuts Are in the Mix in Debt Ceiling Negotiations
Social Security Benefits Cuts Are in the Mix in Debt Ceiling Negotiations
Discussion:
The Politico and CNN
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Responding to Ezra Klein on the Constitutional Option
Responding to Ezra Klein on the Constitutional Option
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo and The Talking Dog
John Cook / Gawker:
Roger Ailes' Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint for Fox News — Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996, ostensibly as a “fair and balanced” counterpoint to what he regarded as the liberal establishment media. But according to a remarkable document buried deep within …
Discussion:
The Garlic, Mediaite, New York Magazine and Taegan Goddard's …, more at Mediagazer »
Mike Murphy / Swampland:
How Michele Bachmann's Surge Reshuffles the GOP Presidential Race — Last week's Des Moines Register poll tells us — assuming nothing actually happens in Iowa over the next six months — that about 22% of the 125,000 or so Hawkeyes most likely to show up for next year's Republican caucus …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Eunomia, Democracy in America and Ricochet Conversation Feed
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Paul Bedard / US News:
Harvard: July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing — Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Betsy's Page, Weasel Zippers and The Powers That Be
Mark Oppenheimer / New York Times:
Married, With Infidelities — Last month, when the New York congressman Anthony Weiner finally admitted that he had lied, that his Twitter account had not been hacked, that he in fact had sent a picture of his thinly clad undercarriage to a stranger in Seattle, I asked my wife of six years …
Discussion:
Althouse
Jennifer Gould Keil / New York Post:
Huma Abedin taking time off from Weiner, job — Anthony Weiner's wife is taking time off from her senior job with the State Department — as well as time off from the randy former representative, The Post has learned. — While Weiner, 46, heads to an “intensive” rehab program to recover …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and Gawker
Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Bill Clinton Network Exclusive: Proposes Debt Impasse Deal, but Fears GOP Too Hamstrung by Ideology — Former President Bill Clinton sees a possible way past the bipartisan impasse over raising the debt limit: agree to cut spending AND raise taxes, but do neither until later, after the economy improves.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, CNN, Taylor Marsh and Pajamas Media
Jan Norman / Orange County Register:
Amazon ends deal with 25,000 California websites — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law California's tax on Internet sales through affiliate advertising which will immediately cut small-business website revenue 20% to 30%, experts say. — The bill, AB 28X, takes effect immediately.
Thomas Burr / Salt Lake Tribune:
In Utah, Huntsman's son hits Romney rally — • Will Huntsman, son of presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, attended a rally on Friday for rival White House hopeful Mitt Romney and posed for a photo with the former Massachusetts governor. — In a photo obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Magazine and Ballot Box
New York Times:
Ballad of the Long Shot — Before you announced your campaign, you said that the liberal establishment is scared that “a real black man might run against Barack Obama.” Are you suggesting Obama isn't really black? — A real black man is not timid about making the right decisions, that's what I meant.
Discussion:
USA Today, No More Mister Nice Blog and Political Insider
The Note:
Romney Rails Obama During Presser for Leaving Washington While Economy Suffers — ABC NEWS' Emily Friedman (@EmilyABC) reports: — During a brief press conference outside a failed factory in Pennsylvania, presidential candidate Mitt Romney continued to rail against President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
The Politico
Kate Sheppard / Mother Jones:
Kansas To Shut Down All but One Abortion Clinic Friday — It's official. Every abortion provider in the state of Kansas has been denied a license to continue operating as of July 1. As we reported last week, strict new state laws put in place this month threatened to close the remaining three abortion clinics in Kansas.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Sky Dancing and ECHIDNE of the snakes
Joel Greenberg / Washington Post:
Second Gaza Strip flotilla boat is reported damaged; organizers accuse Israel — JERUSALEM — Organizers of a flotilla seeking to break Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip said Thursday that another of their boats had been damaged in port, and they accused Israel of sabotage.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Newshoggers.com, +972 Magazine, FrumForum and Mondoweiss
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
The missing facts in President Obama's news conference — (Carolyn Kaster/AP) “The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund managers and corporate jet owners.” — A feisty President Obama met …
Discussion:
The White House, TaxProf Blog, James Pethokoukis, American Spectator, Publius Forum, Hot Air, Power Line, NewsBusters.org, Washington Wire and Fox Nation