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Debt-Limit Harakiri — Mitch McConnell isn't selling out Republicans. — Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday he's concluded that no deal to raise the debt ceiling in return for serious spending restraint is possible with President Obama, and who can blame him?
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Mitch McConnell Just Proposed the “Pontius Pilate Pass the Buck Act of 2011″
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Politico, New York Times, The New Republic, Weekly Standard, Michelle Malkin, National Review, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Cato @ Liberty, Sweetness & Light, Washington Post, TPMDC, AMERICAblog News, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Swampland, Prairie Weather, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Spartanburg Tea Party, Nice Deb, The Hill, Mother Jones, Say Anything, Politics, ThinkProgress, The Hill, The Lonely Conservative, Doug Ross, Hot Air, The Caucus, Reuters, Taylor Marsh, Commentary Magazine, FreedomWorks blogs, Heritage Action for America, Pajamas Media, Washington Monthly, Erick's blog, Right Wing News, UNCOVERAGE.net, Townhall.com, Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway, The American Independent, The Mahablog, Washington Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gawker, The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, Daily Pundit, Weigel, Moe Lane and Fox Nation

In Fiscal Fight, G.O.P. Distrust of Obama Runs Deep
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Political Insider and The Caucus

As Easy as ABC — Moving on from Mitch McConnell.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal

Debt Talk Mired, Leader for G.O.P. Proposes Option
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Politics, The Caucus, The Politico, Daily Kos, The Hill and CBS News

Obama and DNC raise $86M, more than doubling GOP field - RNC campaign targets four swing states - Mandel brings in $2.3M for Senate bid - Hahn wins in CA-36 - Barbour camp eyes Perry - One month until — (aburns@politico.com) and (jhohmann@politico.com) — 2012 SIREN - OBAMA'S NUMBER …
Discussion:
The Note, TPMDC, Taegan Goddard's …, The Atlantic Online, Taylor Marsh and JammieWearingFool
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Obama is winning on debt debate, but there's no room for moral victories
Discussion:
driftglass

Alternative Headline: Obama 2012 Fundraising Behind 2008 Pace
Discussion:
Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, Moe Lane and NewsBusters.org

Obama fails to match Bush fundraising / Update - 2Q v. 3Q
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Los Angeles Times, Pajamas Media, The Caucus and Oliver Willis


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.
Discussion:
Guardian and The Jawa Report
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At Least 10 Reportedly Dead After Explosions Rock Mumbai Markets — Three separate explosions tore through a business district in India's Mumbai Wednesday, leaving at least 10 people dead and over a dozens injured, NDTV.com reported. The country's Home Ministry reportedly confirmed …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit

Near simultaneous blasts kill at least 3 in India's
Discussion:
ThinkProgress


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:
ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice and Guardian
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News Corp pulls out of BSkyB bid — BSkyB bid dropped by Rupert Murdoch's media group after pressure from the public and parliament — Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corporation bowed to pressure from the public and parliament on Wednesday and withdrew its bid to take full control of pay-TV company BSkyB.

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.
Discussion:
CBS News, Moonbattery, Pundit & Pundette, Betsy's Page and Weekly Standard
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Can President Obama keep paying Social Security benefits even if the debt ceiling is reached?
Discussion:
National Review, Don Surber and Politics

Official Treasury Reports: Coffers Full Enough to Cover Entitlement Programs, Veterans …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com, Say Anything, Michelle Malkin and The Other McCain


Raise Taxes or Granny Gets It — The liberal media's idea of a grown-up. — President Obama is pulling out the big guns and pointing them straight at your grandmother. “Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3” …
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How Can We Not Love Obama? — Because like it or not, he is all of us — Before the fall brings us down, before the election season begins in earnest with all its nastiness and vulgarity, before the next batch of stupid scandals and gaffes, before Sarah Palin tries to convert her movie …
Discussion:
The Western Experience, Pajamas Media, iOwnTheWorld.com and Maggie's Farm


California special election: Hahn cruises to solid victory — Democrat Janice Hahn defeated Republican Craig Huey in a bitterly contested Southern California special election marked by stinging attacks from both sides. — Hahn finished with a healthy 54.56 percent of the vote to Huey's 45.44 percent in Tuesday's vote.
Discussion:
CNN, PolitiCal, UNCOVERAGE.net, Pajamas Media, The Other McCain, The Lonely Conservative and American Power
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Janice Hahn wins House seat
Discussion:
L.A. NOW, AmSpecBlog and Politics

Democrat Janice Hahn Wins CA-36 Special Election
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Hotline On Call

Business community to Congress: Enough — It wasn't too long ago that 62 leading U.S. business groups, including the American Gas Association, the Telecommunications Industry Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers, all pleaded with Congress to end the standoff and raise the debt ceiling.
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Congress hears outcry from business lobby on debt ceiling and deficit
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Nation, National Review, Daily Kos and The New Republic


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 …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog and Raw Replay
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Shutdown could leave Minnesota dry
Discussion:
KSTP-TV and Marginal Revolution


Missing 9-year-old B'klyn boy found dead: sources — The dismembered body of a missing 9-year-old Hasidic boy was found at two locations in Brooklyn and police this morning arrested a suspect in the slaying — who had the child's severed feet in his freezer, sources told The Post.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Israel Matzav
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6 fake Democrats fall, setting stage for GOP recalls — Six fake Democratic candidates put up by the Republican Party to buy time for Republican state senators subject to recalls accomplished that job Tuesday, but none of them did the unexpected and knocked off a real Democrat.
Discussion:
Althouse

Settled in Albany, Gay Marriage Draws Opposition — Laura L. Fotusky, the town clerk in Barker, N.Y., a small community north of Binghamton, looked at the calendar, looked at her Bible and knew what she had to do. — She drafted a letter to the Town Board and said she would resign on July 21 …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog Gay, Good As You and Towleroad News #gay


Raise Revenues, Not Taxes — Legalizing Internet gambling and marijuana are two easy ways to cut the deficit. — This is a leadership moment for President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. The debt limit—an issue both leaders agree must be addressed—is the last best hope …
Discussion:
The Politico and ThinkProgress


No Justice: Gladney Attackers Found Not Guilty — Hours ago a a St. Louis county jury found Elston McCowan and Perry Molens not guilty in the videotaped beating of Kenneth Gladney. … In the above excerpt, the Post-Dispatch did not bother seeking quotes from Gladney or other witnesses …
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, TBogg, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post and The Other McCain
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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 and Say Anything


Prison doctor gets paid for doing little or nothing — A California surgeon has mostly been locked out of his job: on paid leave, fired or fighting his termination. When he does work, it's reviewing records. He made $777,000 last year, including back pay. — A file photo of San Quentin State Prison.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, americanthinker.com and Politics