Top Items:
The Politico:
President Obama abruptly walks out of talks — President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations, according to GOP sources. — “He shoved back and said 'I'll see you tomorrow' and walked out …
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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 …
The Hill:
Obama warns Cantor: 'Don't call my bluff' in debt talks — Republicans said tense negotiations over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit at the White House ended when President Obama stormed out of the meeting with a stern warning to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.): “Don't call my bluff.”
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, Pundit & Pundette and Balloon Juice
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:
The Politico, CNN, The Daily Caller, The Hill, UNCOVERAGE.net, New York Magazine, Politics, Pirate's Cove, The Hill and Washington Monthly
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Obama Warns Cantor 'Don't Call My Bluff' As Debt Talks Stall … WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and the White House had what nearly every party is describing as a “tough” and “testy” meeting on the debt ceiling Wednesday afternoon, culminating in a stormy exchange between President Obama and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Oliver Willis and AMERICAblog News
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Tensions Escalate as Stakes Grow in Fiscal Clash — WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, warned on Wednesday of a “huge financial calamity” if President Obama and the Republicans cannot agree on a budget deal that allows the federal debt ceiling to be increased.
Discussion:
The Note, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Balkinization
Damian Paletta / Washington Wire:
Alan Simpson: ‘No Hope’ of Debt Ceiling Agreement — Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R., Wyo.), who co-chaired the White House's deficit reduction panel last year, said he has lost hope the White House and Congress will be able to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
Discussion:
MyFox Philadelphia
David Rogers / The Politico:
Debt talks blow up — Twenty days left and counting, the August debt ceiling showdown broke along two fronts Wednesday: the political forces of 2010 vs. 2012 and the shape and pace of tax reform in this Congress or the next. — House Republicans, who owe their majority to the 2010 elections …
Discussion:
Swampland and Economist's View
Political Punch:
Obama: ‘This May Bring My Presidency Down, but I Will Not Yield’ on No Short-Term Extensions
Obama: ‘This May Bring My Presidency Down, but I Will Not Yield’ on No Short-Term Extensions
Discussion:
Verum Serum and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Romalley / nation.foxnews.com:
‘Agitated’ Obama Storms Out of Debt Meeting
‘Agitated’ Obama Storms Out of Debt Meeting
Discussion:
Verum Serum and The Atlantic Online
First Read / msnbc.com:
Can order emerge from chaos on the debt deal?
Can order emerge from chaos on the debt deal?
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …
Andy Sullivan / Reuters:
Obama says has reached his limit in debt talks -aide
Obama says has reached his limit in debt talks -aide
Discussion:
Mediaite and ThinkProgress
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, NewsBusters.org, Top of the Ticket, The Consumerist and Say Anything
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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 …
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:
The TrogloPundit, Washington Monthly, ACS Blog, The Impolitic and Booman Tribune
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Clive Crook / The Atlantic Online:
Mitch McConnell's Good Idea
Mitch McConnell's Good Idea
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Washington Post and Grasping Reality …
CNN:
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 of the United States on review for possible downgrade.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Note, Taylor Marsh and Reuters
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John Detrixhe / Bloomberg:
Moody's Places U.S. on Review for Downgrade As Debt Talks Stall
Moody's Places U.S. on Review for Downgrade As Debt Talks Stall
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, Pajamas Media and Politics
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:
The Daily Dish, New York Magazine and TPMDC
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:
Washington Post, Adam Serwer, Proof Positive, Eunomia and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
RELATED:
Alana Goodman / Commentary Magazine:
Obama's Popularity in Arab World Now Lower than Bush's
Obama's Popularity in Arab World Now Lower than Bush's
Discussion:
Hot Air, Pajamas Media and The Gateway Pundit
Mike Brownfield / The Heritage Foundation:
Morning Bell: Obama Aims for the Money You Don't “Need” — Over the past several weeks, America has seen on grand display in Washington a singular mindset emanating from the White House: We must raise taxes so that we can keep on spending. This week, though, America was treated to something different …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, The Lonely Conservative and Commentary Magazine
RELATED:
John Whitesides / Reuters:
Pessimism deepens as economic concerns rise: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Pessimism deepens as economic concerns rise: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Politico, Indecision Forever, The Page and Associated Press
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
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
The Daily Beast:
Maid's ‘Fiancé’ Speaks — A call with an Arizona inmate tarnished the case of Strauss-Kahn's accuser. The man, who says he's the maid's fiancé, gives his side of the story to The Daily Beast. — One of the most important and controversial characters in the complicated …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Jezebel, The Huffington Post, Law Blog, Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine, Gothamist and Reuters
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:
St. Louis Activist Hub, Big Journalism and TBogg
RELATED:
Kevin Killeen / CBS St. Louis:
Health Care Reform Fistfight Results in Not Guilty Verdict
Health Care Reform Fistfight Results in Not Guilty Verdict
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, St. Louis Activist Hub, Big Government, Daily RFT and St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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:
Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Gothamist, Swampland, Mediaite, Guardian and Indecision Forever, more at Mediagazer »
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Eliot Spitzer / Slate Magazine:
Prosecute News Corp.
Prosecute News Corp.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and Guardian
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.
RELATED:
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
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.
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, Bradley Manning Support …, Guardian, Boing Boing and The Nation
Tom Junod / Esquire:
The Debt Debate's Real Doomsday Scenario — On Tuesday, in the late morning, I asked a banker to explain what will happen if the debt ceiling is not raised on August 2. He was not just any banker; he was and is the authority on the U.S. bond market at one of the biggest banks in the world.
Discussion:
Don Surber
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. weighs protecting ex-cons seeking homes, jobs — Ex-convicts may soon become a “protected class” in San Francisco - joining African Americans, Latinos, gays, transgender people, pregnant women and the disabled. — A proposal being circulated at City Hall would make it illegal …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Don Surber and Daily Pundit