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Letter to Senator Patty Murray, Chair Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — Dear Senator Murray: — For many months now, your colleagues in the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee leadership have engaged in a series of disparagements …
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, Nice Deb, American Glob, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Sister Toldjah
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DSCC asking Kochs for cash — The Kochs have become a major target of Democratic ire recently — but that hasn't stopped the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from asking their company for money. A Koch company executive fires back in a letter to DSCC chairwoman Sen. Patty Murray:
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, Pajamas Media and RedState

BREAKING: Bachmann pledges to ban pornography — Tonight, Michele Bachmann became the first presidential candidate to sign a pledge created by THE FAMiLY LEADER, an influential social-conservative group in Iowa. By signing the pledge Bachmann “vows” to “uphold the institution of marriage …
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Alas, a Blog and Towleroad News #gay
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Bachmann is first to sign Family Leader's pro-marriage pledge — The Family Leader, a prominent Iowa group that promotes Christian conservative social values, said Thursday it is asking all presidential candidates to sign a pledge regarding their personal convictions on traditional marriage.
Discussion:
GOP 12, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog and Pam's House Blend

Top Obama adviser says unemployment won't be key in 2012 — President Obama's senior political adviser David Plouffe said Wednesday that people won't vote in 2012 based on the unemployment rate. — Plouffe should probably hope that's the case, since dismal job figures aren't expected …
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Scared Monkeys, americanthinker.com, The Lonely Conservative and FrumForum
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U.S. Payrolls Rise 18,000; Jobless Rate Climbs to 9.2% — U.S. employers added 18,000 workers in June, the fewest in nine months, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed, indicating a struggling labor market. — The increase in payrolls followed a 25,000 gain that was less than half …
Discussion:
CNBC, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com and Doug Ross


June Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Up to 9.2 Percent With Only 18,000 Added Jobs — The Labor Department's employment report, released this morning, showed the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.2 percent, with employers adding only 18,000 jobs in June to continue a sharp hiring slowdown.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Moe Lane

Mexican Citizen Is Executed as Justices Refuse to Step In — WASHINGTON — In a 5-to-4 decision that split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court on Thursday evening rebuffed a request from the Obama administration that it stay the execution of a Mexican citizen on death row in Texas.
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Outside the Beltway, TPMDC, Ricochet Conversation Feed, Truthdig, FrumForum and Fox News
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Will Republican Race's First In Be the First Out? — AMES, Iowa — Tim Pawlenty was first in line to enter the Republican presidential race. He is now fighting to avoid becoming the earliest major candidate to be shown the door. — No contender for the Republican nomination has followed …
Discussion:
Iowa Caucuses, The Caucus, American Power and AmSpecBlog
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Pawlenty says he just started earnest campaigning in Iowa this week
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GOP 12 and Hotline On Call


Phone hacking scandal: enemies of free press are circling — The phone hacking scandal may have put paid to the News of the World - but robust journalism must endure. — ‘The truth has been dragged kicking and screaming [from News International],’ said Alastair Campbell
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Daily Mail, Guardian and The Independent
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News of the World phone-hacking scandal - live updates
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Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, msnbc.com, Mirror.co.uk and Left Foot Forward, more at Mediagazer »

Andy Coulson to be arrested over phone hacking
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New York Magazine, Firedoglake, MediaFile, New York Times, Runnin' Scared, BBC, Mediaite, Brand Republic, FrumForum, Harry's Place, Reuters and Emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »


As Wall St. Polices Itself, Prosecutors Use Softer Approach — As the financial storm brewed in the summer of 2008 and institutions feared for their survival, a bit of good news bubbled through large banks and the law firms that defend them. — Federal prosecutors officially adopted …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Prairie Weather
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Child pornography found on Assistant U.S. Attorney's computer
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Wizbang


DNC chairwoman a work in progress — When President Barack Obama selected Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to lead the Democratic National Committee, she was hailed as the best pick he could make. — Since her election to Congress, Wasserman Schultz has quickly earned a reputation …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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What Obama Wants — On Thursday, President Obama met with Republicans to discuss a debt deal. We don't know exactly what was proposed, but news reports before the meeting suggested that Mr. Obama is offering huge spending cuts, possibly including cuts to Social Security and an end …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Prairie Weather and Bark Bark Woof Woof


Chase Gets Man Thrown In Jail For Fraudulent Check. Except The Check Is Legit. — Ikenna, a 28-year old construction worker, went to deposit a $8,463.21 Chase cashier's check at his local Chase branch, only for the teller to decide that neither he nor his check looked right and he got tossed in jail for forgery, KING5 reports.
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Hullabaloo, Suburban Guerrilla and Crooks and Liars
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Jailed for cashing Chase check at Chase bank
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Gawker and The Raw Story

Exclusive: ‘The Undefeated’ Trailer - Daughter. Wife. Mother. Warrior. — The much anticipated Sarah Palin documentary by filmmaker Steve Bannon comes out in theaters next Friday, July 15th. People can now see the trailer for the first time. I've now seen the film three times …
Discussion:
NY Post, Conservatives4Palin and Hot Air


How Republicans and Tea Partiers Alike Used the Heritage Foundation's #AskObama Script — Yesterday, President Obama held a live chat session on Twitter. Billed as a “townhall,” the President spent an hour fielding questions from Twitter users about the state of the nation.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, A plain blog about politics and Linkmeister


Why the Republicans Resist Compromise — The chart that I'm going to show you is one of the more important ones that we've presented at FiveThirtyEight in some time. It helps explain a lot of what's going on in American politics today, from the negotiations over the federal debt ceiling to the Republican presidential primaries.
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Why Jamie Leigh Jones Could Lose Her KBR Rape Case — Her story of a brutal attack in Iraq sparked a national outcry—but how much of it is true? — Post Comment — The allegations were explosive when they first hit in 2007: A 20-year-old woman named Jamie Leigh Jones alleged that four days …
Discussion:
PointOfLaw Forum and The Jawa Report
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Say No To the Dems' July Surprise — Many times in the past, Congress has voted to raise the nation's debt ceiling with little or no controversy. Not so this year. The Republicans turned the vote on the debt ceiling into a major political issue by threatening to vote No …


Public Wants Changes in Entitlements, Not Changes in Benefits — GOP Divided Over Benefit Reductions — OVERVIEW — As policymakers at the state and national level struggle with rising entitlement costs, overwhelming numbers of Americans agree that, over the years, Social Security …
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Senate Democrats fuming over Obama's apparent move on Social Security
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ABCNEWS, NationalJournal.com, Doug Ross, Pajamas Media and Firedoglake

DeMint would accept ‘serious disruptions’ to economy in debt debate — Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Wednesday night that Republicans should maintain their hardline position in the debt ceiling debate even if it results in “serious disruptions” to the economy.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Washington Monthly
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