Top Items:

Cory Booker commits the classic Washington gaffe — In Washington, there's an old cliche: A gaffe is when a politician is accidentally honest. — That's what happened to Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker during an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
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Bankruptcy report on Bain-owned Ampad: Creditors repaid $.002 for every dollar owed — The Obama campaign is opening up a fresh line of attack on Bain Capital using the story of Ampad, an ultimately bankrupt company backed by Bain that laid off all 250 workers at an Indiana factory it purchased …


Harold Ford: Cory Booker was right — Former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr. said Monday that he would not have walked back New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker's surprising comments criticizing the Obama campaign for attacking private equity. — “I would not have backed off the comments if I were Mayor Booker …

Former Bain Executive: Romney Bears Blame For Ampad Layoffs
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Maddow Blog, Washington Free Beacon and ABCNEWS

Morning Examiner: Booker's Bungle
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Conservative Commune


TPM2012 — The Re-Education Of Cory Booker: Dem Mayor Quickly …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, GOP.com, Crooks and Liars, New York Magazine and Balloon Juice

Bain Capitalism 101 — How does a rapacious company get repeat business?
Discussion:
Betsy's Page and American Power

RNC launches ‘I Stand With Cory’ petition
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Indecision Forever


BREAKING: Cardinal Dolan of NY, Cardinal Wuerl of D.C., Notre Dame—And 40 Other Catholic Dioceses and Organizations—Sue Obama Administration — (CNSNews.com) - The archdiocese of New York, headed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archdiocese of Washington, D.C., headed by Cardinal Donald Wuerl …
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A message from Father Jenkins on the HHS lawsuit
Discussion:
Politico, Preserve Religious Freedom, msnbc.com and The Heritage Foundation

Cardinal Dolan Applauds Church Agencies As They Challenge HHS For Violating Religious Freedom
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABCNEWS, The Heritage Foundation and Campus Notes

Breaking: 43 Catholic institutions file suits over HHS mandate
Discussion:
Fox News, Nice Deb and National Review


The changing complexity of congressional speech — (This post was prepared in collaboration with Dan Drinkard) — Congress now speaks at almost a full grade level lower than it did just seven years ago, with the most conservative members of Congress speaking on average at the lowest grade level …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Politico, DCist, NPR, Las Vegas Sun, Business Insider, Indecision Forever, Dependable Renegade and Booman Tribune
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Is Congress getting dumber, or just more plainspoken? — (This post was prepared in collaboration with Dan Drinkard) — Congress now speaks at almost a full grade level lower than it did just seven years ago, with the most conservative members of Congress speaking on average at the lowest grade level …
Discussion:
Orlando Sentinel, Ezra Klein and Saint Petersblog


WATCH: NYPD Sgt.'s filthy tirade captured in shocking cellphone video — A uniformed NYPD sergeant was caught on video unleashing a vulgar tirade against a group of Brooklyn men — threatening them with his gun even while condoning their criminal behavior, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay, The Raw Story, Mediaite and Gothamist


Rutgers Webcam-Spying Defendant Sentenced to 30-Day Jail Term — NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A judge here sentenced Dharun Ravi to 30 days in jail on Monday for using a webcam to spy on his Rutgers University roommate having sex with a man, in a case that galvanized concern about suicide among gay teenagers …
Discussion:
Althouse
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Dharun Ravi is sentenced
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay and Truth Wins Out

Some Gay Rights Advocates Question Rutgers Sentencing
Discussion:
Joe. My. God., Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, Hit & Run, LGBT|POV, Towleroad News #gay and Althouse


UT/TT Poll: Runoffs Loom in U.S. Senate Race … Texas' Republican primary for U.S. Senate is close — and could be headed for a July 31 runoff — with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst holding a single-digit lead over former Solicitor General Ted Cruz, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weekly Standard and Conservatives4Palin
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Political Runoff — Palin's advice to Kansan: Vote in Texas
Discussion:
Addicting Info, The Raw Story, Taegan Goddard's … and Mediaite


Limbaugh takes post-Fluke ratings hit — Rush Limbaugh took a significant ratings hit in some key radio markets last month in the wake of the Sandra Fluke controversy. — The conservative radio host's ratings fell 27 percent in the key 25-54 demo in New York City, 31 percent in Houston-Galveston …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Addicting Info, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

None So Blind — As those who will not see. — Eddie Lazear has an op-ed in the WSJ on the fiscal cliff that, among other things, pooh-poohs any concerns that sudden cuts in spending might hurt the economy. He weasels a bit, but basically conveys the impression that there's no evidence for Keynesian effects.
Discussion:
Brad DeLong
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Edward Lazear: Three Views of the ‘Fiscal Cliff’
Discussion:
Firedoglake

White House visitor logs provide window into lobbying industry — Before 9 a.m., a group of lobbyists began showing up at the White House security gates with the chief executives of their companies, all of whom serve on President Obama's jobs council, to be checked in for a roundtable with the president.


Candidate: I'll smoke a joint on Hill — Andy Caffrey, a candidate for Congress in California, has made a rather unusual campaign promise: If he wins, he'll smoke a joint — right on the steps of Capitol Hill. — The 54-year-old is running on a seven-step platform that prioritizes battling …
Discussion:
San Francisco Chronicle and Outside the Beltway

Video stirs debate on teacher's actions in North class — SPENCER — After reviewing a video in which a North Rowan High School teacher tells a student he can be arrested for speaking ill of President Barack Obama, the Rowan-Salisbury School System said it can be a learning experience.


Jesse Jackson says hits on Jeremiah Wright pain him — Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson defended Monday controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, saying that it was a “source of pain” to see him criticized in the media. — “I know it's a source of pain for me to see him used as an object …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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The “Vetting” Obsession — When the Washington Post story …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller and Washington Monthly


Missouri Legislature Approves Bill Allowing Employers To Deny Access To Birth Control — Missouri legislators passed a bill Friday that allows employers or health insurance providers to stop offering coverage for contraception, abortion, or sterilization if doing so violates their religious or moral convictions.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Addicting Info, Hullabaloo and The Gateway Pundit


Dick Cheney to Raise Money for Mitt Romney — Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, will host a July fund-raiser for Mitt Romney at their home in Jackson Hole, Wyo., according to a save-the-date e-mail from the Romney campaign. — The event will help the likely Republican nominee tap …
Discussion:
Hot Air, msnbc.com, GOP 12, The Raw Story and Jammie Wearing Fools

Dems say no changing horses now — Despite Warren's heritage woes ... Bay State Democrats are standing by their woman, saying they're confident in embattled Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren — now three weeks into a persistent scandal over her claims of Native American heritage …
Discussion:
Thoughts from Polly's …, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, The Daily Caller and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion