Top Items:
TMZ.com:
Paul Ryan — THE TOPLESS PHOTO — THE TOPLESS PHOTO — EXCLUSIVE — Here it is ... the very first photo of Paul Ryan's mysterious athletic physique ... REVEALED!!! — TMZ has (finally) obtained a photo of Mitt Romney's running mate — sans shirt — taken roughly 6 years ago ... right before Ryan got hooked on the P90X workout.
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Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
Mitt Romney's Whiteboard Blues — ANALYSIS: Everything you need to know about how this week went for Mitt Romney can be summed up in one word: whiteboard. — There he was in Greer, S.C., with a black dry-erase marker in hand scrawling out on a wood-framed whiteboard how — in his view …
Discussion:
CNN, ABCNEWS and Wake up America
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Romney's present, Ryan's future
Romney's present, Ryan's future
Discussion:
AEIdeas, p m carpenter's commentary, Politico and Betsy's Page
John Avlon / The Daily Beast:
The Lies of Medi-Scare — Team Romney and the GOP …
The Lies of Medi-Scare — Team Romney and the GOP …
Discussion:
p m carpenter's commentary, Business Insider, ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS and First Read
Wall Street Journal:
The Mediscare Boomerang — ObamaCare gives Republicans a chance …
The Mediscare Boomerang — ObamaCare gives Republicans a chance …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Speaker.gov, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air and ABCNEWS
Steve Benen / Associated Press:
Missing the Medicare forest for the trees
Missing the Medicare forest for the trees
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The New Republic
Matt Rhoades / Barack Obama:
Letter from Jim Messina to Matt Rhoades — Dear Matt: — I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns, but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers …
Discussion:
Democracy in America, NY Daily News, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Washington Wire, The Hill, The Reality-Based Community, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Politico, The Daily Beast, Taegan Goddard's …, Booman Tribune, GOP 12, Swampland and The Caucus
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Amie Parnes / The Hill:
White House piles on Obama call for Romney to release tax forms — The White House on Friday piled on to the Obama campaign's call for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to release more of his tax records. — White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said voters think transparency is …
Discussion:
Politico, CNN and Algemeiner.com
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Morning Plum: Romney and Ryan muddy the Medicare waters — The Romney and Obama camapigns are again trading blows over Medicare this morning. The Obama campaign is up with a new ad that hits back at the Romney campaign attacks, defending Obamacare for protecting Medicare against fraud …
Discussion:
2012 Decoded, BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, Brad DeLong, CNN, Washington Wire and Influence Alley
CNN:
TRENDING: Obama camp: Let's make a deal on tax returns. Romney camp: No.
TRENDING: Obama camp: Let's make a deal on tax returns. Romney camp: No.
Discussion:
Associated Press, CANNONFIRE, Wake up America, Outside the Beltway and New York Times
David Jackson / USA Today:
Romney declines Obama deal on tax return releases
Romney declines Obama deal on tax return releases
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Michelle Malkin and American Spectator
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Romney advisers confirm it: We're running a ‘just trust me’ campaign — I noted here yesterday that Mitt Romney is running a “just trust me” campaign, in which his lack of specificity and transparency extends far beyond just his tax returns, to his bundlers and to large swaths of his policy proposals.
Discussion:
American Prospect, Hullabaloo, The Political Carnival, New York Times and Angry Black Lady Chronicles
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Politico:
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan pursue united front strategy — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan plan to campaign together again sooner than aides had originally planned, likely twice next week, as part of a new offensive to take on the touchy issue of Medicare, campaign officials tell POLITICO.
Discussion:
CNN, BuzzFeed, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, First Read, Washington Post, Connecting.the.Dots and The Daily Caller
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Hateful speech on hate groups — Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, posted an alert on its blog Tuesday: “Paul Ryan Speaking at Hate Group's Annual Conference.” — The “hate group” that the Republicans' vice presidential candidate would be addressing?
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, Mother Jones, rightwingwatch.org, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway, Hit & Run, Washington Monthly, Sky Dancing, The Other McCain, American Power, Box Turtle Bulletin, ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, Holy Bullies … and The Reality-Based Community
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Christian Newswire:
LivePrayer to File $100 Million Lawsuit Against Southern Poverty Law Center — Contact: Rev. William Keller, LivePrayer.com, 727-420-7005 — Bill Keller, the world's leading Internet Evangelist and the founder of LivePrayer.com, with over 2.4 million subscribers worldwide reading …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Joe. My. God., NOM Blog and National Review
Bernie Becker / The Hill:
Unemployment rate rises in 44 states — Close to 90 percent of states saw their unemployment rates rise in July, a potentially worrisome development for President Obama's reelection campaign. — The Labor Department reported Friday that 44 states in all saw their jobless rate go up, with four states seeing no change at all.
Discussion:
Power Line and National Review
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Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Calculated Risk and The Hinterland Gazette
Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:
Unemployment rates rise in 44 states in July
Unemployment rates rise in 44 states in July
Discussion:
The Fix, The PJ Tatler and business.time.com
BBC:
Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism — Judge Marina Syrova: “These three plus others... plotted together to undermine civil order, motivated by religious hatred” — Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been jailed for two years after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Guardian, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, The Confluence, Shakesville, Instapundit, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
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David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Russian Punk Band Is Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Anti-Putin Stunt
Russian Punk Band Is Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Anti-Putin Stunt
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, IHT Rendezvous, Emerging Europe Real Time, Via Meadia, Hit & Run, Media Decoder, News Desk, The Lede and Althouse
Washington Examiner:
Hillary rejected VP slot to ready her own 2016 run … Popular in Politics — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pressed by her husband and a top Obama aide to consider replacing Vice President Joe Biden just a couple of weeks ago, claims the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Amateur.”
Discussion:
CNN, Weekly Standard, Wonkette, Power Line, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Paul Ryan Slams Obama For Not Saving Auto Plant That Closed Under Bush — Paul Ryan slammed President Obama on Thursday for failing to rescue an auto factory in his Wisconsin district — one that closed in 2008, under President George W. Bush.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Wonkette, The Maddow Blog, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo
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David Shepardson / detroitnews.com:
Ryan criticizes Obama on '08 GM plant closure from before he took office
Ryan criticizes Obama on '08 GM plant closure from before he took office
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and New York Magazine
Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
Geraldo Rivera: Napolitano Has Orchestrated A ‘Same-Sex Takeover’ Of Homeland Security — In an attempt to explain the allegations of sexual harassment at the Department of Homeland Security, Fox News host Geraldo Rivera on Friday resorted to saying that the few women in powerful roles …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
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Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Geraldo Investigates: Is There A ‘Lesbian Cabal’ Leading The Department Of Homeland Security?
Geraldo Investigates: Is There A ‘Lesbian Cabal’ Leading The Department Of Homeland Security?
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Wonkette and Towleroad News #gay
Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:
Anti-Obama Navy SEAL leader: I'm a Birther — President Barack Obama is a socialist, was raised by communists, and wasn't born in the United States, according to the former Navy SEAL who founded the group Special Operations Speaks (SOS), which aims to portray Obama as anti-military in this election season.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, The Raw Story, U.S., Politico, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and CNN
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
City of San Francisco to place sharia-compliant disclaimers next to every AFDI pro-Israel bus ad — Scott Goldstein, President of Titan Transit advertising, just called me. Titan handles the outdoor ads for San Francisco MUNI and BART. — In an unprecedented move, the city of San Francisco …
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com and Joe. My. God.
RELATED:
Jeff Mason / Reuters:
Exclusive: White House studying potential oil reserve release — (Reuters) - The White House is “dusting off old plans” for a potential release of oil reserves to dampen prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining sanctions against Iran, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Hot Air, Firedoglake, 24/7 Wall St., Weekly Standard, americanthinker.com and The Hill
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Clifford Krauss / New York Times:
U.S. Reliance on Saudi Oil Heads Back Up
U.S. Reliance on Saudi Oil Heads Back Up
Discussion:
Hot Air, Via Meadia, Cold Fury and USA Today
Doug Stanglin / USA Today:
Colorado U. to segregate dorms for students with gun permits — The University of Colorado will segregate dorms for students who have valid permits to carry concealed weapons, The Denver Post reports. — The newspaper says student housing contracts at CU-Boulder and CU-Colorado Springs …
Discussion:
U.S. News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Euskal Irrati Telebista / EITB:
SpongeBob SquarePants is gay — At least, so says the National Commission for moral affairs in the Ukraine which has requested that the series be banned along with The Simpsons and The Teletubbies. — null - — The Commission claims that SpongeBob SquarePants is a homosexual.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.
ThinkProgress:
Analysis: Paul Ryan Voted to Add $6.8 Trillion to the Federal Debt — Our guest blogger is Harsha Nahata, an intern at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. — Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan has gained an undeserved reputation as a “fiscal hawk,” touting his “Path to Prosperity” …
Discussion:
Center for American …, Booman Tribune and Shakesville