Top Items:
Scott Wong / The Politico:
Harry Reid commends Mitch McConnell's debt plan — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday praised Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for putting forth a plan to raise the debt ceiling, calling it a “serious proposal” that he's continuing to study. — “He spent a great deal of time working on this.
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
When there's no method to the madness — The New York Times' Ross Douthat argued this week that the congressional Republicans' debt-ceiling hostage strategy only seems crazy. … There's a fair amount to Douthat's pitch, but to summarize, GOP officials are really just shrewd negotiators, pushing for the best possible deal.
Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
The Republican Crazy Is Not An Act
The Republican Crazy Is Not An Act
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Monthly, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Balloon Juice
Clive Crook / The Atlantic Online:
Mitch McConnell's Good Idea
Mitch McConnell's Good Idea
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Grasping Reality …
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
McConnell: GOP won't take ‘co-ownership of a bad economy’
McConnell: GOP won't take ‘co-ownership of a bad economy’
Discussion:
The Politico and Washington Monthly
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
DNC chairwoman: Republicans acting almost like ‘spoiled children’ on debt ceiling
DNC chairwoman: Republicans acting almost like ‘spoiled children’ on debt ceiling
Discussion:
Mediaite and Jack & Jill Politics
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
As Easy as ABC — Moving on from Mitch McConnell.
As Easy as ABC — Moving on from Mitch McConnell.
Discussion:
msnbc.com and JustOneMinute
Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
The McConnell Plan's Pitfalls
The McConnell Plan's Pitfalls
Discussion:
The Politico, UNCOVERAGE.net, RedState, The Hill and Washington Post
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
McConnell Debt Ceiling Strategy: ‘I Refuse To Help Obama Reelection’
McConnell Debt Ceiling Strategy: ‘I Refuse To Help Obama Reelection’
Discussion:
The Monkey Cage, James Pethokoukis, Washington Monthly and The New Republic
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate conservatives withhold support from McConnell debt plan
Senate conservatives withhold support from McConnell debt plan
Discussion:
Daily Kos
The Politico:
No yelling at Obama today — Carney reminded journalists, “I used to be where you are, and I used to ask questions.” — AP Photo — A long-running tiff between the White House press corps and the West Wing over presidential access flared anew today when press secretary Jay Carney faced off …
Discussion:
The Camp Of The Saints, Balloon Juice, Pajamas Media, JammieWearingFool, Weasel Zippers and Say Anything
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The Note:
Boehner: Dealing With the White House ‘Has Been Like Dealing With Jell-o’ — In a meeting with a small group of reporters in his Capitol Hill office this morning, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized President Obama and White House officials for their lack of resolve in negotiations.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Pirate's Cove, The Hill, Politics and Washington Monthly
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
McConnell Warns of Risk to Party, and Country, of Default
McConnell Warns of Risk to Party, and Country, of Default
Discussion:
Balkinization and Balloon Juice
Eric Roper / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
One by one, bars get tapped out — Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes — a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown. — In the days leading up to the shutdown …
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Eric Roper Updated / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Shutdown forces MillerCoors to pull beer from shelves — Miller Time in Minnesota is over — until lawmakers reach a budget deal. — The state's government shutdown, now in its 13th day, will soon force MillerCoors to pull its beer from Minnesota liquor stores, bars and restaurants.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Top of the Ticket, The Consumerist and Say Anything
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Mitch McConnell: We Must Rewrite The Constitution Because ‘Elections’ Haven't ‘Worked’ — Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered what may be the most concise summary of conservative constitutionalism ever spoken …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, ACS Blog and Booman Tribune
BBC:
Austrian driver's religious headgear strains credulity — Having received his driving licence, Niko Alm now wants to get pastafarianism officially recognised — An Austrian atheist has won the right to be shown on his driving-licence photo wearing a pasta strainer as “religious headgear”.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Lean Left, Pharyngula, Boing Boing and Mediaite
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
On Deficit, Americans Prefer Spending Cuts; Open to Tax Hikes — Twenty percent favor deficit reduction by cutting spending only — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' preferences for deficit reduction clearly favor spending cuts to tax increases, but most Americans favor a mix of the two approaches.
Seung Min Kim / The Politico:
GOPer wants FBI probe of Rupert Murdoch — New York Republican Pete King is calling on the FBI to investigate whether Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation hacked into the voicemail accounts of Sept. 11 victims, calling the allegations of the scandal “disgraceful.”
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Swampland, Ben Smith's Blog, Gothamist and Indecision Forever
RELATED:
New York Post:
Palin nemesis goes nude — GOP presidential hopeful Sarah Palin and her family are the subjects of a profile by George Gurley in the September issue of Playboy, according to sources. Insiders say the story will run next to a four-page nude pictorial of Mercede Johnston, the sister of Bristol Palin's estranged baby daddy, Levi.
Discussion:
Liberal Values, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway and New York Magazine
Justin Elliott / Salon:
Rick Perry's Confederate past — Rick Perry made national headlines in 2009 when, during a speech to a Tea Party group, he floated the possibility that Texas could secede from the union. But the governor's substantive ties to the neo-Confederate movement may be deeper than previously known.
Discussion:
The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, The Other McCain, ThinkProgress and Right Wing Watch
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Pawlenty says no to marriage pledge — (CNN) - Add Tim Pawlenty to the list of Republican presidential candidates who will not sign the controversial marriage pledge from The Family Leader, a socially conservative group in Iowa. — The former Minnesota governor said he is a strong advocate …
Discussion:
The Politico, The American Independent and American Power
RELATED:
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Romney Campaign Slams ‘Undignified And Inappropriate’ Marriage Pledge From Iowa Group
Romney Campaign Slams ‘Undignified And Inappropriate’ Marriage Pledge From Iowa Group
Discussion:
Hot Air, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, ACS Blog, Iowa Caucuses, Daily Kos and Associated Press
Tennessean.com:
Police charge mother in Nashville airport altercation — Woman refused to let officers screen daughter — A 41-year-old Clarksville woman was arrested after Nashville airport authorities say she was belligerent and verbally abusive to security officers, refusing for her daughter to be patted down at a security checkpoint.
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog, Moe Lane, National Review, Say Anything, The Raw Story and Hit & Run
CNN:
BREAKING: Debt ceiling: Moody's puts U.S. on notice — By: CNNMoney.com Senior Writer Jeanne Sahadi — NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - The public pressure on lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling was ratcheted up Wednesday when a major rating agency said it would put the sterling bond rating …
Discussion:
The Note
Joshua Green / The Atlantic Online:
Michele Bachmann's Church Says the Pope Is the Antichrist — The Iowa front-runner for the GOP nomination was a longstanding member of a strict Lutheran synod with controversial views of Catholicism — Michele Bachmann is practically synonymous with political controversy …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and TPMDC
NY Daily News:
Body of Leiby Kletzky, missing 8-year-old boy, found dismembered; pieces in Dumpster, refrigerator — The body parts of a missing 8-year-old Brooklyn boy were found Wednesday in a Dumpster and the refrigerator of a man suspected in his disappearance, police said.
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, Gothamist, New York Sun and Israel Matzav
Adam Serwer / Washington Post:
Laughably bogus poll tries to ‘prove’ Obama is losing Jewish support — Republicans are touting yet another poll that purports to predict the end of the Jewish allegiance to the Democratic Party. Citing a new poll by Republican John McLaughlin and Pat Caddell, the GOP's favorite “Democrat …
Eliot Spitzer / Slate Magazine:
Prosecute News Corp. — The U.S. government should go after Murdoch's media company for its corrupt practices and revoke its TV licenses if it's found guilty. — Bribery, illegal wiretapping, interference in a murder investigation, political blackmail, and rampant disregard for both the truth and basic decency.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, AMERICAblog News, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, No More Mister Nice Blog and Guardian
Julian Pecquet / Healthwatch:
Key Democrat testifies against healthcare reform bill's Medicare cost-control panel — A key Democrat testified Wednesday against a major provision of the healthcare reform law that is intended to help control Medicare costs, but that Republicans have alleged will encourage “rationing” of care.
Discussion:
The Politico
Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:
The Kenneth Gladney Charade Collapses — It took a St. Louis County jury less than 50 minutes to return a not guilty verdict in the assault trial featuring Kenneth Gladney and two union members who were charged with attacking him outside a two hall event during the tumultuous summer of 2009.
Discussion:
CBS St. Louis, Crooks and Liars, St. Louis Activist Hub, Big Journalism, TBogg and Daily RFT
Craig Pittman / St. Petersburg Times:
Tea party members tackle a new issue: manatees — Everybody knows what the tea party members oppose. High taxes. Big government. Obama's health care plan. High-speed rail. — Now, for at least some local tea party members, there's one more to add: manatee protection.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Wonkette, Gawker and ThinkProgress
Evan Hansen / Threat Level:
Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed — A little more than a year ago, Wired.com published excerpts from instant messenger chats between accused WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, the ex-hacker in whom he confided and who reported him to the authorities.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Guardian, TalkLeft and Boing Boing
John Whitesides / Reuters:
Pessimism deepens as economic concerns rise: Reuters/Ipsos poll — (Reuters) - Americans are deeply pessimistic about the future as economic concerns rise and White House talks on raising the U.S. debt limit sputter, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Politico, Indecision Forever, The Page and Associated Press
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
The Start-Up of You — The rise in the unemployment rate last month to 9.2 percent has Democrats and Republicans reliably falling back on their respective cure-alls. It is evidence for liberals that we need more stimulus and for conservatives that we need more tax cuts to increase demand.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Huffington Post
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
US more unpopular in the Arab world than under Bush — I've written numerous times over the last year about rapidly worsening perceptions of the U.S. in the Muslim world, including a Pew poll from April finding that Egyptians view the U.S. more unfavorably now than they did during the Bush presidency.
Discussion:
Adam Serwer, Washington Post, Eunomia and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
ProPublica:
Bancroft Family Members Express Regrets at Selling Wall Street Journal to Murdoch — This story was co-published with The Guardian. — A number of key members of the family which controlled The Wall Street Journal say they would not have agreed to sell the prestigious daily to Rupert Murdoch …
Discussion:
Guardian, Salon, New York Magazine, Mediaite and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
BBC:
Mumbai: Explosions shake India's financial hub — Police told local media that eight people had been killed and more than 100 wounded. — One explosion was reported in the Zaveri Bazaar, another in the Opera House business district and a third in Dadar district.
Mark Tapscott / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Washington gets $200 billion a month, Social Security costs $50 billion a month, and Obama is threatening to starve Grandma? — President Obama told CBS News today that he “cannot guarantee that those [Social Security] checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue.