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
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:
USA Today, NY Daily News, National Review, New York Times, Weasel Zippers, Democracy in America, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Daily Dish, Firedoglake, Washington Wire, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Reality-Based Community, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Politico, 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:
CNN and Algemeiner.com
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Morning Plum: Romney and Ryan muddy the Medicare waters
The Morning Plum: Romney and Ryan muddy the Medicare waters
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, 2012 Decoded, Brad DeLong, Washington Wire, CNN and Influence Alley
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Romney's present, Ryan's future
Romney's present, Ryan's future
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, p m carpenter's commentary, AEIdeas, Politico and Betsy's Page
Steve Benen / Associated Press:
Missing the Medicare forest for the trees
Missing the Medicare forest for the trees
Discussion:
The New Republic and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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?
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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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Joe. My. God., NOM Blog and National Review
Brian Tashman / rightwingwatch.org:
Tony Perkins says there is a ‘Clear Link’ between the FRC Shooting and Obama Administration Policies
Tony Perkins says there is a ‘Clear Link’ between the FRC Shooting and Obama Administration Policies
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and BuzzFeed
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.
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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:
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:
Calculated Risk, Firedoglake 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:
Weasel Zippers, The Fix, The PJ Tatler and business.time.com
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, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Raw Story, U.S., Politico, Joe. My. God., Los Angeles Times and USA Today
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:
New York Times, Wonkette, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, The Maddow Blog, USA Today, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post
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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
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, BuzzFeed, The Confluence, The Daily Caller, Shakesville, Instapundit, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
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:
IHT Rendezvous, Washington Free Beacon, 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, New York Magazine, Power Line, Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
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
Craig Gilbert / JSOnline:
Paul Ryan releases tax returns for last two years — By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel — Paul Ryan and his wife, Janna, paid an effective tax rate of 15.9% in 2010 and 20% in 2011, according to tax returns provided by the Romney-Ryan campaign to the Journal Sentinel on Friday.
Discussion:
The Hill
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Barton's Fall From Grace — Back in June I wrote about a new book by two conservative evangelical writers who took great issue with the take on Thomas Jefferson's church-state views offered by the famous controversialist David Barton, who more than any one person is cited by Christian Right folk as …
Discussion:
tpmmuckraker … and The Reality-Based Community
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:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite, U.S. News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
BuzzFeed:
President Obama Only Answers Ridiculous Questions — 8 questions President Barack Obama has actually answered in recent days. He's ducked the White House press corps for eight weeks. “I just flirted with the President of the United States of America,” the radio host says.
Discussion:
Power Line and Washington Free Beacon
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:
CBS San Francisco, Little Green Footballs, iOwnTheWorld.com, Israel Matzav and Joe. My. God.
Rebecca Leber / ThinkProgress:
Pro-Gun Group Floods Public Library With Armed Protesters, Compares Gun Regulation To Jim Crow — Thirty gun-toting activists protested a public library's concealed carry policy this week, startling the patrons inside by taking the demonstration — and guns — indoors.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, WTVR-TV and Richmond Times-Dispatch
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