Top Items:
Enid Nemy / New York Times:
Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93 — Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best-known rehabilitation centers in the nation, died Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 93.
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Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Former First Lady Betty Ford Dead at 93 — Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93. — In public, she was one of the most visible and outspoken first ladies in history.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, The Lonely Conservative, Associated Press, GayPatriot, The Politico, americanthinker.com and Hot Air
Donnie Radcliffe / Washington Post:
Betty Ford dies at 93: Former first lady founded iconic clinic — View Photo Gallery — Photos of Betty Ford, former first lady: Betty Ford, who called the White House home from 1974 to 1977, fought breast cancer, arthritis and addictions to drugs and alcohol. She died July 8, 2011, at age 93.
Discussion:
The Nation and blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Panetta Says Defeat of Al Qaeda ‘Within Reach’ — KABUL, Afghanistan — Defense secretary Leon E. Panetta, who arrived in Kabul on Saturday, said the United States was “within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda” and that the American focus had narrowed to capturing or killing 10 …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Attackerman and Daily Pundit
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David S. Cloud / Los Angeles Times:
Panetta says U.S. is ‘within reach’ of defeating Al Qaeda — The new defense chief says intelligence uncovered in the Bin Laden raid showed that 10 years of U.S. operations against the terror network had left it with fewer than two dozen key operatives. Panetta is visiting Afghanistan for the first time as defense secretary.
Discussion:
Emptywheel
Mark Halperin / The Page:
The Road (Maybe) Ahead — HALPERIN'S TAKE — This isn't a prediction, but here is one highly plausible sequence of a series of events that could play out on the debt crisis: — Some time in the next 5 days, the President reaches an understanding with Speaker Boehner, Congressman Hoyer …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
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Jamie Klatell / The Hill:
Obama calls for a ‘balanced approach,’ sacrifices in debt deal — As the debate intensifies over raising the debt ceiling and kick-starting the economy, President Obama attempted to rise above the fray in his weekend address. — “We can meet our fiscal challenge,” the president said.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and JammieWearingFool
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Rep. Cantor ‘cannot fathom’ support for tax increases after bleak jobs report
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The New Republic
Eli / Firedoglake:
Worst President Ever, Revisited — No, I'm not ready to crown Barack Obama the Worst President Ever just yet, but consider this: — Yes, George W. Bush wrecked our economy, destroyed New Orleans, turned a budget surplus into massive deficits, ignored warnings of a major terrorist attack …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Althouse, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and Scarecrow's myFDL diary
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
The new oppo research: Spotting the labels on the wine on the politician's restaurant table. — Some busybody business professor named Susan Feinberg pulled this trick on Paul Ryan and Talking Points Memo is lapping it up: … So, Feinberg was appalled, stunned, and outraged. That's got to hurt.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and RedState
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Joshua Green / The Atlantic Online:
Paul Ryan's $350 Bottle of Wine
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway and Corrente
Erick Erickson / RedState:
Possibly Drunk Rutgers Economist Susan Feinberg Whines To Susan Crabtree Who Is Hard Up For A Story
Discussion:
Cold Fury
John M. Becker / Truth Wins Out:
I Received ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy at Marcus Bachmann's Clinic — TWO Exclusive Investigative Report by John M. Becker — The date was Thursday, June 30, 2011. I turned on the television and listened half-heartedly to the commercials as I busied about doing other things.
Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
Obama turns to small-scale solutions to a weak economy — The White House, threatened by the high unemployment rate, proposes free-trade agreements and more spending on high-speed rail in the absence of more ambitious tools, such as stimulus spending. — President Obama delivers a statement …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers, Pirate's Cove and Hot Air
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trailing G.O.P. With Cameras, Seeking Gaffes — AMHERST, N.H. — Aaron Fielding quietly stalks his prey — Republicans — with his video camera, patiently waiting for a political moment worthy of YouTube. — At 27, he is a full-time “tracker” for American Bridge 21st Century …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Tara Siegel Bernard / New York Times:
As Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal, Some Choices May Be Lost — Now that same-sex marriage has been legalized in New York, at least a few large companies are requiring their employees to tie the knot if they want their partners to qualify for health insurance.
Discussion:
Althouse and Prop 8 Trial Tracker
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Following Controversy Over Pledge, Family Leader Clarifies Anti-Porn Statement — GOP presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum both signed a candidate pledge by the influential social conservative group THE FAMiLY LEADER which ThinkProgress, ABC, the Washington Post …
Discussion:
The Hill, Slate, NY Daily News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Our Excuser-In-Chief — We haven't yet said anything about today's disastrous employment news. What is to be said? Unemployment is up to 9.2%, with underemployment much higher. A mere 18,000 jobs were added in June, less than one-fifth of what economists expected.
Discussion:
Associated Press
Paul Tough / New York Times:
No, Seriously: No Excuses — In the early days of the education-reform movement, a decade or so ago, you'd often hear from reformers a powerful rallying cry: “No excuses.” For too long, they said, poverty had been used as an excuse by complacent educators and bureaucrats who refused …
Discussion:
The Quick and the Ed and ThinkProgress
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