Top Items:
Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Unclassified Syria briefing exposes rifts among key lawmakers — Thursday night's briefing by top Obama administration officials exposed divisions among key lawmakers on what to do in Syria. — Lawmakers on the unclassified conference call said the officials made it clear that President Obama …
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Mark Murray / First Read:
NBC poll: Nearly 80 percent want congressional approval on Syria — Nearly 80 percent of Americans believe President Barack Obama should receive congressional approval before using force in Syria, but the nation is divided over the scope of any potential strike, a new NBC News poll shows.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, New York Times, NBCNews, Crooks and Liars, msnbc.com and The Dish
Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:
U.S. military officers have deep doubts about impact, wisdom of a U.S. strike on Syria — The Obama administration's plan to launch a military strike against Syria is being received with serious reservations by many in the U.S. military, which is coping with the scars of two lengthy wars …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, Sense of Events, Israel Matzav and Wall Street Journal
Politico:
Nancy Pelosi the hawk tells President Obama to act on Syria — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pressed top administration officials Thursday night to take military action to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad in response to reports that he used chemical weapons in his nation's ongoing civil war.
Discussion:
CNN, Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, Hullabaloo, Guardian, ThinkProgress, The PJ Tatler, New York Times, Goppers, Weekly Standard and Reuters
Washington Post:
FULL TRANSCRIPT: Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks on Syria on Aug. 30 — Secretary of State John Kerry delivered the following remarks Aug. 30 at the State Department on the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. — KERRY: President Obama has spent many days …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, BBC, Spectator, Guardian, Hot Air, The Week, NBCNews, Weasel Zippers, All Foreign Affairs Content and Telegraph
Kevin Liptak / CNN:
As Obama considers Syria strikes, Bush and Carter weigh in — (CNN) - Two of President Barack Obama's White House predecessors offered their views of his impending decision on Syria Friday as global support for strikes in the country faltered. — Former President George W. Bush …
Discussion:
Politico, Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Obama and Kerry Press Case for U.S. Action in Syria — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday forcefully presented a case for a strike on Syria, as President Obama said he was considering a “limited” attack and Secretary of State John Kerry declared there was “clear” and “compelling” …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, American Spectator, Hit & Run, Washington Free Beacon, Wall Street Journal, Politico and USA Today
Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
George W. Bush Talks Syria on Fox: ‘I Was Not a Fan of Mr. Assad’
George W. Bush Talks Syria on Fox: ‘I Was Not a Fan of Mr. Assad’
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and BizPac Review
Fox News:
Once staunch opponent of Bush Iraq policy, Obama faces similar path on Syria
Once staunch opponent of Bush Iraq policy, Obama faces similar path on Syria
Discussion:
The Reaction
Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:
Syria and the ‘Lessons’ of Iraq
NBCNews:
Kerry calls attack against Syrian civilians ‘crime against humanity’
Kerry calls attack against Syrian civilians ‘crime against humanity’
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Red Alert Politics
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
After British Vote, Unusual Isolation for U.S. on Syria
After British Vote, Unusual Isolation for U.S. on Syria
Discussion:
NPR
CNN:
‘War-weary’ Obama says Syria chemical attack requires response
‘War-weary’ Obama says Syria chemical attack requires response
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, The Hinterland Gazette, AL.com, KDVR.com, Business Insider and New York Times
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Aim of U.S. Attack: Restore a ‘Red Line’ That Became Blurred
Aim of U.S. Attack: Restore a ‘Red Line’ That Became Blurred
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Via Meadia and emptywheel
David Barrett / Telegraph:
David Miranda was carrying password for secret files on piece of paper — A journalist's partner who was detained carrying thousands of British intelligence documents through Heathrow airport was also holding the password to an encrypted file written on a piece of paper, the government has disclosed.
Discussion:
Politico, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, Joe. My. God. and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »
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Robert Booth / Guardian:
UK took three weeks to act over data at New York Times, says Guardian
UK took three weeks to act over data at New York Times, says Guardian
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Jawa Report and The Switch, more at Mediagazer »
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
White House, Republican senators give up on budget talks — The Obama administration and a group of Republican senators abandoned efforts Thursday to hammer out a budget deal and avoid a showdown over the national debt, saying they had failed to resolve their long-standing dispute over taxes.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Heritage Foundation, Hullabaloo and Hot Air
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Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Court rules White House visitor logs can remain secret
Court rules White House visitor logs can remain secret
Discussion:
Red Alert Politics
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
A Test of GOP Resolve on ObamaCare
A Test of GOP Resolve on ObamaCare
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Allie Jones / The Atlantic Wire:
Alabama Republican Wants to Ban Toni Morrison's ‘The Bluest Eye’ from Schools — Bowing to Tea Party pressure, Alabama State Senator Bill Holtzclaw said this week that he thinks The Bluest Eye, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's novel about a little black girl who wishes for blue eyes, should be banned in schools.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Heather / Crooks and Liars:
O'Reilly Admits He Made a ‘Mistake’ Saying No Republicans Invited to March on Washington — Hey, what do you know? Bill O'Reilly actually kind of apologized for saying something that wasn't true on the air. After one media outlet after another reported on the fact that Senator Tim Scott …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Joe. My. God.
Liam Stack / The Lede:
Facebook Post Said to Be by Assad's Son Dares Americans to Attack — A Facebook post said to be written by the 11-year-old son of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and “liked” or commented on by several people who appear to be the children and grandchildren of other senior members …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Guardian, Gawker, AL.com and FP Passport
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Max Fisher / WorldViews:
9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask
9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Unsaved World — The rupiah is falling! Head for the hills! On second thought, keep calm and carry on. — In case you're wondering, the rupiah is the national currency of Indonesia, and, like many other emerging-market currencies, it has fallen a lot over the past few months.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman
Washington Post:
What ‘The Butler’ gets wrong about Ronald Reagan and race — Steven F. Hayward, Paul Kengor, Craig Shirley and Kiron K. Skinner are Ronald Reagan historians. — One cold evening in Dixon, Ill., in the early 1930s, a young man known as Dutch Reagan brought home two African American teammates from his Eureka College football team.
Discussion:
The Hinterland Gazette, Power Line and Ed Driscoll
Ben Terris / NationalJournal.com:
Pelosi: I Don't Want to Be Speaker Again — “No, that's not my thing. I did that.” — D.C. is a wait-and-then-hurry-up kind of town. After more than a month away, Congress returns to a full plate. Legislators need to find a way—and quickly—to pass some kind of short-term budget and deal with the debt ceiling.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Hill, Yahoo! News and Weasel Zippers
IC ON THE RECORD:
DNI Clapper Directs Annual Release of Information Related to Orders Issued to Telecom Providers Under National Security Authorities — August 29, 2013 — In June, President Obama directed the Intelligence Community (IC) to declassify and make public as much information as possible …
Discussion:
The Switch, The Daily Caller, Lawfare, The Verge, Hillicon Valley, AL.com, emptywheel, GigaOM, Techdirt and epic.org, more at Mediagazer »
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Bryce Covert / ThinkProgress:
Poverty Has Same Effect On The Brain As Constantly Pulling All Nighters — The mental strain of living in poverty and thinking constantly about tight finances can drop a person's IQ by as much as 13 percent, or about the equivalent of losing a night of sleep, according to a new study.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Impolitic, sciencemag.org, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Gawker