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The White House may really be about to win on Syria — The AP tweets: — Assuming that sticks, it's game. The White House just achieved its goal. — Remember: The White House's aim here wasn't to topple Assad, or even hurt him. It was to affirm and reinforce the international norm against chemical weapons.
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Obama's Remarks on Syria — Following is the complete text of President Obama's speech about Syria from the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, as transcribed by Federal News Service. — MR. OBAMA: My fellow Americans, tonight I want to talk to you about Syria, why it matters and where we go from here.
Discussion:
The Dish, CBS News, USA Today, addictinginfo.org and The PJ Tatler


Parsing Syria Developments Ahead of Obama's Address — The nature of the domestic and international debate about a military intervention in Syria has been evolving. Here are the basics. — What did Mr. Obama say in his address to the nation on Tuesday night?


Syria, chemical weapons, and the worst day in Western diplomatic history — Monday 9 September, 2013, was the worst day for US and wider Western diplomacy since records began. — At the Foreign Office here in London we had the bizarre spectacle of US Secretary of State John Kerry giving …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Commentary Magazine, Ed Driscoll, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air and National Review

Obama Pleads His Case on Syria: ‘I Believe We Should Act’
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, NewsBusters and ABC News

Putin Didn't Save Obama, He Beat Him
Discussion:
Right Turn, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, National Review and Roll Call

Making Sense of Syria — This is what I think we're seeing: — The president has backed away from a military strike in Syria. But he can't acknowledge this or act as if it is true. He is acting and talking as if he's coolly, analytically, even warily contemplating the Russian proposal and the Syrian response.
Discussion:
Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review and The Gateway Pundit
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The Syria Solution: Obama Got Played by Putin and Assad — This, apparently, is how diplomacy happens these days: Someone makes an off-hand remark at a press conference and triggers an international chain reaction that turns an already chaotic and complex situation completely on its head …
Discussion:
Wonkblog, Taylor Marsh, thenation.com/blogs/163255, Mediaite, The Democratic Daily, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, The Fix, Borowitz Report, ABC News, BBC, National Review, Politico, Questions and Observations, Hot Air, CNN, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Mahablog, JustOneMinute, The Week, BuzzFeed, New York Times, ABC News, Gawker, Instapundit and americanthinker.com


Putin: Syria chem arms handover will work only if US calls off strike — Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Syria's chemical arms handover will only work if the US and its allies renounce the use of force against Damascus. — “Certainly, this is all reasonable …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Trust.org, Politico, msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, USA Today, Michelle Malkin, The Back Channel, Guardian, NBCNews, The Hill and Outside the Beltway

Obama speech big reveal: Will consider Russian proposal on Syria
Discussion:
World News, Hot Air, The Week, msnbc.com, The Plum Line and Outside the Beltway

President Barack Obama has ordered the U.S. military to maintain …
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Times and Associated Press

DNI Clapper Declassifies Intelligence Community Documents Regarding Collection Under Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — In June of this year, President Obama directed me to declassify and make public as much information as possible about certain sensitive …
Discussion:
New York Times, Guardian, The Verge, Engadget, Hillicon Valley and emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »
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NSA Violated Privacy Protections, Officials Say
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and Washington Wire

Government Releases NSA Surveillance Docs and Previously Secret FISA Court Opinions In Response to EFF Lawsuit
Discussion:
Wired, ACLU, Firedoglake and Techdirt


‘A Grand Betrayal’: Conservatives Slam GOP's Gambit On Defunding Obamacare — The initial reviews from conservatives Tuesday are in and they're staunchly negative. The proposed House Republican plan to force the Senate to vote on defunding Obamacare — while removing the threat …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and National Review
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Fight Delayed — Majority Leader Eric Cantor spent 90 percent …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Hot Air, Capitol Report, Los Angeles Times, Paul Krugman, Business Insider, The Plum Line, The Hill, ThinkProgress and Politico


House GOP Pushes New Gambit To Defund Obamacare
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly and RedState

The right's new dirty trick to hold government hostage
Discussion:
Center for American Progress, First Read, Daily Kos, The Hill and ThinkProgress


De Blasio First in Mayoral Primary; Unclear if He Avoids a Runoff — Bill de Blasio, whose campaign for mayor of New York tapped into a city's deepening unease with income inequality and aggressive police practices, captured far more votes than any of his rivals in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, according to exit poll results.
Discussion:
Gawker, Gothamist, Politicker and Towleroad News #gay
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Ex-Gov. Spitzer, Stringer Face Comptroller Primary
Discussion:
Associated Press and Politico


George Zimmerman's Lawyer Mark O'Mara Quits … George Zimmerman's lawyer said today he will no longer represent the man acquitted of murder in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin. — The announcement came one day after Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, called police to say that Zimmerman …


CNN Instant Poll: Did Obama move the needle on Syria? — Washington (CNN) - A majority of Americans who watched President Barack Obama's prime time address to the nation on Tuesday said they favor the approach to Syria that the president spelled out in his speech, according to an instant poll.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Business Insider
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Colorado's Civil War — A recall election turned a local fight into the latest front in the national gun control debate — All politics is local, the saying goes. But is it true anymore? Voters in Colorado may decide today. — Bigfoot out-of-towners have been pouring tons of money …
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Sydney Leathers shows up at Anthony Weiner election party — The woman whose sexually explicit allegations about Anthony Weiner derailed his mayoral campaign showed up at his Election Night watch party, reports said. — Sydney Leathers, the young woman who offered graphic details …
Discussion:
Reuters, ABC News, Business Insider, Mediaite and Gawker
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Anthony Weiner Office Visited By Sydney Leathers On Election Day (PHOTO)
Discussion:
Twitchy and The Daily Caller


Cenk Uygur to Dana Perino: 'You're wrong, I'm right. Get the f*ck out of the country' — On Monday's edition of “The Young Turks,” host Cenk Uygur sent a special message to former White House spokesperson Dana Perino, who last week said she is “tired” of atheists demanding that Christian ideology be separated from public policy.
Discussion:
Mediaite and Joe. My. God.
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Richard Dawkins defends “mild pedophilia,” says it does not cause “lasting harm” — The biologist and author described the sexual abuse that occurred among his former classmates as “mild touching up” — In a recent interview with the Times magazine, Richard Dawkins attempted to defend what he called …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Other McCain, The Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and Friendly Atheist


Warning: Obamacare May Be Hazardous to Your Health — We've talked a lot about Obamacare's costs—how it will hurt the economy, kill jobs, and cost you and your family more when you pay for health care. — But there's an even more important cost: your health. — Obamacare will affect the quality of care in this country.
Discussion:
BizPac Review and Doug Ross
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America, we must stop ObamaCare before it becomes hazardous to our health
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


COLORADO FIRST STATE IN COUNTRY TO FINALIZE RULES FOR RECREATIONAL POT — In 136 small-type pages, Colorado this week became the first state in the country to adopt final rules for recreational marijuana businesses. — The rules, released late Monday, cover everything from pot shop licensing …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Hit & Run, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and ABC News