Top Items:

On S&P, Downgrades, and Idiots — This is not going to be one of those posts that laments S&P's decision to downgrade the US, but then says that S&P was probably right about our oh-so-dysfunctional political system. — No, S&P was flat-out wrong — no caveats.
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Aaauuuggghhh! Market Commentary Edition — Carnage in stock markets as I write — and all of the headlines I see attribute it to S&P's downgrade. — They really are trying to make my head explode, aren't they? — Once again: S&P declared that US debt is no longer a safe investment …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, TalkLeft and Economist's View

Credibility, Chutzpah And Debt — To understand the furor over the decision by Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, to downgrade U.S. government debt, you have to hold in your mind two seemingly (but not actually) contradictory ideas. The first is that America is indeed no longer the stable, reliable country it once was.


VIDEO: Tea Partiers Cheer the Downgrade of America's Credit Rating — Is the tea party happy that Standard and Poor's, the credit rating agency, downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time ever? — You'd think that was the case if you were in the crowd at a tea party rally …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Bloomberg, The Heritage Foundation, Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Gateway Pundit and Mother Jones


No Chance of Default, US Can Print Money: Greenspan
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers and LewRockwell.com Blog

Axelrod Hits Romney, Calling Reaction to S&P Downgrade ‘Pathetic’
Discussion:
Mitt Romney for President …

DNC chair blames Tea Party ‘tyrants’ for S&P credit rating downgrade
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers

S&P's History of Relentless Political Advocacy
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, TPMDC, Hullabaloo and CNNMoney.com

S.&P. Downgrade Is Seen as Adding Urgency to Debt-Cutting Panel
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Online NewsHour, GOP.com, Suburban Guerrilla, Wake up America and Bankrupting America

“Tea Party Downgrade”? They Can't Possibly Sell That
Discussion:
The Caucus, Somewhat Reasonable, Coffee & Markets, The Daily Caller, TPMDC, Instapundit, Weasel Zippers and Don Surber

S&P Seen Surrendering to Tea Party Costing U.S. Taxpayer
Discussion:
The Note and The Huffington Post

Markets open low as White House pushes back on S&P downgrade
Discussion:
The Hill and The Reaction


LEAP OF FAITH … - POLITICS - PROFILES - THE TALK OF THE TOWN - COMMENT - THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - THE FINANCIAL PAGE - NEWS DESK - THE POLITICAL SCENE
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, Concord Monitor, GOP 12, The Politico, Coffee & Markets, The Reaction, New York Magazine, TPMDC, Little Green Footballs, The Wire, Mediaite, The Raw Story, The New Republic, msnbc.com, Iowa Caucuses, FrumForum, Towleroad News #gay, Right Wing Watch, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller
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Bachmann attends church service denouncing homosexuality — WAUKEE, IA — Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann yesterday attended a church here in Iowa, where the pastor called homosexuality “immoral” and “unnatural,” and later showed a testimonial video from a man who claimed …


The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks — Sigh. Seriously, Tina Brown? — Yes, I'm talking about you, Oxford University-educated Newsweek/Daily Beast editor Tina Brown. — You've resorted to recycling bottom-of-the-barrel moonbat photo cliches …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, Big Journalism, Hot Air, Runnin' Scared and Althouse
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Michele Bachmann Looks, Um, Surprised to Be on Newsweek Cover
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The New Civil Rights Movement and NewsBusters.org blogs

Iowa Caucus: Bachmann, Romney and Paul on Top — In the Iowa caucus race for the Republican presidential nomination, five candidates are in double digits, and many voters are open to changing their mind before caucus day arrives. — The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, GOP 12, 2012 Campaign Trail Report and National Review
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CNN Poll: Economic pessimism skyrockets — Washington (CNN) - Americans have a bad case of the economic jitters, as recent drops in the stock market have been accompanied by a sharp rise in the public's economic pessimism, according to a new national poll. — And a CNN/ORC International …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Politico and The Page


London riots: Theresa May to meet police chiefs — Police clashed with youths in Enfield as violence spread across London — Home Secretary Theresa May is meeting senior police officers following a second night of violence in London. — Mrs May returned from her holidays …
Discussion:
Online NewsHour, New York Times, Suburban Guerrilla and Via Meadia
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Waiting For A Landslide — In 1955, a political scientist named V. O. Key published an essay entitled “A Theory of Critical Elections.” He argued that realignments in American politics are usually punctuated by transformative elections, in which the old order suddenly gives way and a new majority emerges in its place.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, The New Republic, Bark Bark Woof Woof and American Power

Duncan to issue ‘No Child’ waivers — Seeing “no clear path” toward reauthorizing the “No Child Left Behind” education law, the Obama administration will unilaterally issue waivers to states, exempting them from some of the law's regulations. — “Today we're less than a month from the start …
Discussion:
New York Magazine
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Overriding a Key Education Law
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Eduwonk, Dropout Nation, American Spectator and Hot Air

A Self-Fulfilling Euro Crisis? (Wonkish) — There will probably be big action in the euro zone tomorrow; so, some quick analytical notes. — The big question, I believe, is whether the Italian and maybe Spanish crises are the kind of thing that might be brought under control by ECB bond purchases.

It's a Growth Scare — FTalphaville has been saying this all day, and it's right. The action in the markets looks nothing like worries about US solvency; it looks exactly like what you expect to see when markets suddenly realize that the economy's growth prospects look terrible.
Discussion:
Grasping Reality …


American Tinderbox — For some time now, residents of some US cities have noted occasional incidents of seemingly random, racially motivated violence in which young Black males are involved. The hot weather and bad economy seem to be combining to generate a small but possibly significant uptick this year.

Wis. Dem memo: Victory predictions “dangerous” — MADISON Wis. — Democrats on the ground here are increasingly confident they will pick-up two state Senate seats, but are warning that winning the third necessary for a takeover is a tenuous prospect. — Despite hype from some in the party apparatus …
Discussion:
Althouse and National Review

Moody's says it could also downgrade if Washington punts on dealing with debt — The nation could lose its top credit rating from yet another rater over the next year if policymakers lose their grip on fiscal discipline, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.


The Unappeasable Financial Markets — Looking back at Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address, perhaps the most insightful thing he says is to offer a diagnosis of what hadn't gone wrong in the early 1930s. “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment,” he conceded …
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior