Top Items:
Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:
Republicans to Tackle Cuts in Food Stamp Program — House approval of a scaled-back farm bill is setting up what could be an even bigger fight over food stamps and the role of domestic food aid in the United States. — Food stamps have been a part of farm bills since the 1970s to gain urban Democratic votes for the rural measure.
Discussion:
Reuters and Associated Press
RELATED:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Oh, snap! The GOP misfires on food stamps. — There was a rare moment of candor on the House floor this week. — Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), a committee chairman and the man who led House Republicans to their majority in 2010, was explaining why he and his colleagues decided to drop the food stamp program from the farm bill.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and The Plum Line
New York Times:
In the House, a Refusal to Govern — On two crucial issues this week, the extremists who dominate the Republican majority in the House of Representatives made it clear how little interest they have in the future prosperity of their country, or its reputation for fairness and decency.
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, The Plum Line, Taking Note and Outside the Beltway
New York Times:
House Republicans Push Through Farm Bill, Without Food Stamps
House Republicans Push Through Farm Bill, Without Food Stamps
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Week, addictinginfo.org, A plain blog about politics, The Fix, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, CNN and The Hill
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
House approves farm bill in big win for Boehner, GOP leaders
House approves farm bill in big win for Boehner, GOP leaders
Discussion:
Yahoo! News and Daily Kos
Brad Plumer / Wonkblog:
House Republicans finally pass a farm bill — with no money for food stamps
House Republicans finally pass a farm bill — with no money for food stamps
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Fix, In These Times, Post Politics, addictinginfo.org and The Lonely Conservative
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
House Republicans Pass Bloated Socialist Monstrosity
House Republicans Pass Bloated Socialist Monstrosity
Discussion:
The Week and Balloon Juice
David Edwards / The Raw Story:
Gohmert repeatedly shouts ‘Objection!’ to silence claims food stamp cuts hurt hungry families
Gohmert repeatedly shouts ‘Objection!’ to silence claims food stamp cuts hurt hungry families
Discussion:
aflcio.org, Post Politics, Daily Kos and Mock, Paper, Scissors
Charles Abbott / Reuters:
White House threatens veto of farm bill that drops food stamps
White House threatens veto of farm bill that drops food stamps
Discussion:
The Hill, Shakesville, Hot Air, msnbc.com, The Heritage Foundation, USA Today and Politico
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Mitch McConnell's problem: How can he threaten to obstruct the Senate even more? — There's a reason the Senate majority rarely goes through with filibuster reform: The minority can make the aftermath hellish. — Will Harry Reid actually change the rules? (Michael Reynolds/EPA)
Discussion:
The World's Greatest …
RELATED:
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
One Senate staffer's theory: Mitch McConnell actually wants to get nuked
One Senate staffer's theory: Mitch McConnell actually wants to get nuked
Discussion:
Daily Kos and A plain blog about politics
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Harry Reid escalates nuclear threat in a big way
Harry Reid escalates nuclear threat in a big way
Discussion:
The Hill, msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Booman Tribune
Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
McConnell: Reid will be ‘worst’ Senate leader in history if he goes nuclear
McConnell: Reid will be ‘worst’ Senate leader in history if he goes nuclear
Discussion:
CNN
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Reid: McConnell Broke His Word On Filibuster, So The Nuclear Option Is On The Table
Reid: McConnell Broke His Word On Filibuster, So The Nuclear Option Is On The Table
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Yahoo! News and Daily Kos
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Democrats Poised to Limit Filibusters, Angering G.O.P.
Democrats Poised to Limit Filibusters, Angering G.O.P.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, First Read, Senator Harry Reid, ACS Blog, The Hill, Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly and The Impolitic
Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
Exclusive: Rick Perry's October trip to Israel sign of another White House bid — Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he will visit Israel in October, a move that signals to the political world that he is seriously considering making another presidential run in 2016.
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Trail Blazers Blog and Algemeiner.com
Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Eliot Spitzer submits signatures in N.Y.C. race — Eliot Spitzer submitted 27,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot in the Democratic primary for New York City comptroller tonight, an effort completed less than four days after a rocky start. — Spitzer delivered the signatures …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, CNN and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
RELATED:
Guardian:
Revealed: how Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages — • Secret files show scale of Silicon Valley co-operation on Prism — • Outlook.com encryption unlocked even before official launch — • Skype worked to enable Prism collection of video calls
David Brooks / New York Times:
Pass the Bill! — It's beginning to look as though we're not going to get an immigration reform law this year. House Republicans are moving in a direction that will probably be unacceptable to the Senate majority and the White House. Conservative commentators like my friends Bill Kristol …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Prairie Weather
Reuters:
New front opens in Syria as rebels say al Qaeda attack means war — (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Friday the assassination of one of their top commanders by al Qaeda-linked militants was tantamount to a declaration of war, opening a new front for the Western-backed fighters struggling against President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Discussion:
The Hill, ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com and USA Today
CBS News:
Could “North Colorado” be America's 51st state? — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — There's a growing effort to create a 51st state out of parts of northeast Colorado and southwestern Nebraska. — Ten counties started talking about seceding last month. Now some people in Lincoln and Cheyenne counties …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Taking Note
RELATED:
Reuters:
Rights groups summoned to meet fugitive Snowden — (Reuters) - Former intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden asked to meet human rights groups at a Moscow airport on Friday to discuss what he called threatening and illegal behavior by the United States to prevent him gaining asylum.
Discussion:
Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and McClatchy Washington Bureau
John Fund / National Review:
Obama's Alinskyite Administration — Judicial Watch, a conservative legal foundation, has used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover documents that show Eric Holder's Justice Department used a “community relations” unit to support and stage-manage public protests in Florida …
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Another IRS Scandal Waiting to Happen — Federal Elections Commissioner Donald McGahn wants to rein in the bureaucracy of this sensitive agency. The political left is furious. — The Obama administration claims it wants to ensure that the rank political abuse perpetrated by the Internal Revenue Service is never repeated.
Emily Swanson / The Huffington Post:
Abortion Poll Finds Support For 20-Week Ban — Most Americans would favor sweeping new national restrictions on abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll. But the poll also shows many Americans remain conflicted in their views on abortion.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Fix, Hot Air, The Hill, Weasel Zippers, LifeNews.com and Washington Free Beacon
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:
Public Esteem for Military Still High — Clergy in the Middle, Lawyers at the Bottom — Navigate this page: — Americans continue to hold the military in high regard, with more than three-quarters of U.S. adults (78%) saying that members of the armed services contribute “a lot” to society's well-being.
Discussion:
NewsBusters, Hot Air, Yahoo! News and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Is Doubling Down on White Voters a Viable Strategy for the Republican Party? — Alan I. Abramowitz and Ruy Teixeira, Guest Columnists July 11th, 2013 — Perhaps the key question in American presidential politics is how the growing and overwhelmingly Democratic nonwhite vote will affect future elections.
Discussion:
New York Times, Sky Dancing, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress and Booman Tribune
Alexander Burns / Politico:
Bob McDonnell's stunning fall from grace — In 2010, the political world pegged Bob McDonnell as a president in the making. Last year, they put him on every VP list. As recently as May, they called the popular Virginia governor a political model for his would-be successors in Richmond, Democrat and Republican alike.
Discussion:
Business Insider