Top Items:
Talking Points Memo:
Obama Administration Responds To Rand Paul On Drones — The U.S. government cannot target an American citizen who is not engaged in combat on American soil, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday during his daily press briefing. — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) …
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Lois Romano / Politico:
Rand Paul: ‘Seriously’ weighing 2016 bid — Before Thursday, Rand Paul — tea party firebrand — hadn't vaulted into the top tier of Republican power players. — But all that seemed to change this week. The Kentucky Republican senator showed serious clout by holding a 13-hour filibuster …
Discussion:
Mediaite, BuzzFeed, Hot Air, NationalJournal.com and National Review
Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post:
Rand Paul Filibuster Leaves Senate Democrats Struggling To Explain Absence — WASHINGTON — While many Senate Democrats said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) raised legitimate concerns about the Obama administration's drone program during his epic filibuster of John Brennan's nomination as CIA director …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Shakesville, The Last Refuge, Crooks and Liars and Post Politics
Grace Wyler / Business Insider:
IT'S WAR: John McCain And Lindsey Graham Just Ripped Into Rand Paul On The Senate Floor — U.S. Sen. John McCain blasted fellow Republican Rand Paul on the Senate floor this morning for his 13-hour filibuster to block John Brennan's confirmation as CIA Director. — “Calm down, Senator,” McCain said, in an apostrophe to Paul.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Little Green Footballs, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Washington Times, The Hinterland Gazette, Firedoglake, American Spectator, The Impolitic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Taylor Marsh and The Week
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Paul fires back: Sens. McCain, Graham think the ‘whole world is a battlefield’
Paul fires back: Sens. McCain, Graham think the ‘whole world is a battlefield’
Discussion:
NO QUARTER USA NET and Weasel Zippers
Sarah Wheaton / New York Times:
Senate Confirms Brennan as C.I.A. Chief
Senate Confirms Brennan as C.I.A. Chief
Discussion:
Slate, Politico, Lowering the Bar, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, The Maddow Blog and Gawker
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
2 G.O.P. Senators Assail Colleague's Filibuster Over Drones
2 G.O.P. Senators Assail Colleague's Filibuster Over Drones
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The PJ Tatler, Lawfare and Hit & Run
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
John Brennan confirmed as CIA director following White House drone statement
John Brennan confirmed as CIA director following White House drone statement
Discussion:
CNN, News Desk, The Fix, ACS Blog, Mediaite, Pew Research Center, The Dish, p m carpenter's commentary, The Plum Line, Post Politics, Daily Kos, Shakesville and The Spectacle Blog
Kate Nocera / Politico:
Rand Paul filibuster blasted by John McCain, Lindsey Graham
Rand Paul filibuster blasted by John McCain, Lindsey Graham
Discussion:
Power Line
Wall Street Journal:
Rand Paul's Drone Rant
Rand Paul's Drone Rant
Discussion:
The Progressive Magazine Feed, The Week, Hit & Run, Slate, GlobalPost, Guardian, The Daily Beast, Washington Wire, msnbc.com, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, First Read, Mediaite, American Spectator, Politico, Firedoglake, PoliticusUSA, New York Times, American Power, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Raw Story, National Review, TheBlaze.com, International Business Times and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »
Senator Ted Cruz:
Press Release of Senator Cruz
Press Release of Senator Cruz
Discussion:
Lawfare, Jihad Watch, Weasel Zippers, Althouse and New York Times
Internet Broadcasting / WPLG-TV:
Rand Paul ‘happy’ with drone response, ready to allow vote
Rand Paul ‘happy’ with drone response, ready to allow vote
Discussion:
The Week, Hit & Run and ProfessorBainbridge.com
Catalina Camia / Associated Press:
Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest
Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest
Discussion:
FP Passport, The Daily Caller and ABCNEWS
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Holder's Letter to Rand Paul: ‘No,’ the U.S. Can't Use Drone to Kill Citizen Not Engaged in Combat on U.S. Soil
Holder's Letter to Rand Paul: ‘No,’ the U.S. Can't Use Drone to Kill Citizen Not Engaged in Combat on U.S. Soil
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, The Jawa Report and Washington Times
Walter Shapiro / Yahoo! News:
Rand's stand: How the filibustering blusterer made the Senate (briefly) a better place
David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:
McCain, Graham Slam Rand Paul's ‘Ridiculous’ Filibuster
McCain, Graham Slam Rand Paul's ‘Ridiculous’ Filibuster
Discussion:
Via Meadia, msnbc.com, The Reliable Source, American Spectator, Shakesville and Washington Post
Bill Clinton / Washington Post:
It's time to overturn DOMA — In 1996, I signed the Defense of Marriage Act. Although that was only 17 years ago, it was a very different time. In no state in the union was same-sex marriage recognized, much less available as a legal right, but some were moving in that direction.
Discussion:
Power Line, The Caucus, Telegraph, Associated Press, The New Civil Rights Movement, CNN, msnbc.com, Politico, The Hill, The PJ Tatler, Gawker and The Week
Lee Smith / Weekly Standard:
Samira Ibrahim Speaks — Yesterday, THE WEEKLY STANDARD first reported that the State Department was about to bestow an International Woman of Courage Award on an anti-Semite and 9/11 fan. Egypt women's rights activist Samira Ibrahim had left a record on her Twitter feed of statements quoting Hitler …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Israel Matzav, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
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Shira Kallus Zwebner / The Times of Israel:
Yup, Samira probably sent those tweets — The row over Samira Ibrahim's tweets (written up by my fellow blogger Marc) is raging. Mainstream US journalists are now beginning to cover the story, and Jeffery Goldberg has written that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum raised concerns …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Twitchy, Israel Matzav, American Power and National Review
Bradley Klapper / The Huffington Post:
US postpones award for Egyptian woman over tweets — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is postponing an award for an Egyptian activist who rallied worldwide attention against forced “virginity tests” on female protesters because of anti-American and anti-Semitic comments discovered on her Twitter account.
Discussion:
Politico, Israel Matzav, Weasel Zippers and Weekly Standard
Carl Levin:
Sen. Carl Levin announces he will not seek re-election in 2014 — WASHINGTON - Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced today that he will not seek re-election in 2014. He released the following statement: — I have decided not to run for re-election in 2014.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, emptywheel, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Agonist and National Review
RELATED:
Chris Christie / CNN:
TRENDING: Poll: Clinton, Christie fare best in possible 2016 showdowns
TRENDING: Poll: Clinton, Christie fare best in possible 2016 showdowns
Discussion:
Politico
Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:
The Good, Racist People — Last month the actor Forest Whitaker was stopped in a Manhattan delicatessen by an employee. Whitaker is one of the pre-eminent actors of his generation, with a diverse and celebrated catalog ranging from “The Great Debaters” to “The Crying Game” to “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.”
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Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
The Racism of “Good People” — If you are a white person who has on occasion felt aggrieved at the persistence of allegations of white racism in America, do yourself and your conscience a favor and read Ta-Nehisi's Coates' guest column today in the New York Times.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Talking Points Memo:
Fox News Host Offer To Pay For One Week Of White House Tours — Fox News Host Eric Bolling on Thursday offered to pay for one week's worth of White House tours after the administration temporarily suspended them due to cutbacks under sequestration. “If I can get the White House doors open …
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
White House tours cost $74,000 a week for Secret Service
White House tours cost $74,000 a week for Secret Service
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Hill, TheBlaze.com and Weekly Standard
New York Times:
New York Hearing Set as Son-in-Law of Bin Laden Is Caught — WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden's son-in-law was recently arrested in the Middle East, was transferred to the United States and is now in a New York jail, according to two people briefed on the matter.
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Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:
Homeland Chair: Osama bin Laden's Son-in-Law ‘Cooperating’
Homeland Chair: Osama bin Laden's Son-in-Law ‘Cooperating’
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Jawa Report
Devin Leonard / Businessweek:
How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—and Its Plans for ‘Star Wars’ — One weekend last October, Robert Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney (DIS), sat through all six Star Wars films. He'd seen them before, of course. This time, he took notes. Disney was in secret negotiations to acquire Lucasfilm …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, FirstShowing.net and Deadline.com
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
New Study Finds Firearms Laws Do Nothing to Prevent Homicides — That's the headline you should be seeing, but won't. Instead, you will see headlines like this one, on CNN: “Study links gun laws and lower gun mortality.” Or this one, from the Chicago Tribune: “States with strict gun laws found to have fewer shooting deaths.”
Discussion:
Reuters, archinte.jamanetwork.com, Clayton Cramer's Blog and CNN
Dan Friedman / NY Daily News:
New York National Rifle Association official barred from carrying a gun — An order of protection stemming from a domestic disturbance at his Long Island home in 2010 prevents Richard D'Alauro, the NRA's field representative for the city and its suburbs, from carrying the weapons.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Gothamist, msnbc.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and The Immoral Minority
Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Pelosi Backs Bill That Would Raise Minimum Wage To $10 An Hour — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called on Republican House leadership to take up legislation recently introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) that would raise the federal minimum wage above $10 an hour.
Discussion:
The Hill and The Raw Story
Tim McDonnell / Mother Jones:
The Scariest Climate Change Graph Just Got Scarier … Back in 1999, Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann released the climate change movement's most potent symbol: The “hockey stick,” a line graph of global temperature over the last 1,500 years that shows an unmistakable …
Discussion:
sciencemag.org, jobsanger, Dot Earth and Hullabaloo
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Obama sets end-of-July goal for bipartisan agreement on deficit — President Obama wants to complete a grand bargain to reduce the deficit by the end of July, an aggressive timeline coinciding with the expiration of the nation's debt limit. — Obama told a small group of Republican senators …
Politico:
Lisa Madigan moves toward run in Illinois — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan spoke with several of the nation's top progressive groups during a visit to Washington D.C. last week, further fueling expectations that the popular Democrat will run for governor in 2014.