Top Items:
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
The Scottish Independence Vote — “A majority of Scots want to live in a center-left society, while a majority of English want to live in a center-right society.” Why that may be a bigger problem for the United Kingdom than regional splits are for the United States.
Discussion:
Eschaton
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Scots, What the Heck? — Next week Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom. And polling suggests that support for independence has surged over the past few months, largely because pro-independence campaigners have managed to reduce the “fear factor” …
Discussion:
Macleans.ca, National Review and Telegraph
Boris Johnson / Telegraph:
Scottish independence: Decapitate Britain, and we kill off the greatest political union ever — The Scots are on the verge of an act of self-mutilation that will trash our global identity — Right: it's time to speak for Britain. If these polls are right, then we are on the verge of an utter catastrophe for this country.
Discussion:
National Review, Guardian and Samizdata
TMZ.com:
Ray Rice — ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT ... Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch (Video) — ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT — Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch (Video) — EXCLUSIVE — This is what a two game suspension looks like — Ray Rice delivering a vicious punch to his fiancee's face, knocking her out cold ... and TMZ Sports has the shocking video.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, abc7news.com, Hot Air, Robert Littal Presents …, The Raw Story, Mediaite, kdvr.com and myfox8.com
New York Times:
Destroying ISIS May Take Years, U.S. Officials Say — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is preparing to carry out a phased campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria that may take three years to eventually destroy the terrorist army — requiring a sustained effort that could last until …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, VodkaPundit, Lawfare, Mediaite, emptywheel and Reuters
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Politico:
The threat to American democracy — We are at a pivotal moment in American history. — Building the United States of America has been long, arduous and rife with setbacks. But throughout the years, we have undoubtedly moved toward a more inclusive democracy. We expanded the right to vote.
Discussion:
BillMoyers.com
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Theodore B. Olson / Wall Street Journal:
Harry Reid Rewrites the First Amendment — When politicians seek to restrict speech, they are invariably trying to protect their own incumbency.
BBC:
Royal baby: Prince William and Kate expecting second child — The Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with her second child. — Kensington Palace said that - as when the duchess was pregnant with Prince George - she was suffering from “very acute morning sickness” and was being treated by doctors at the palace.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Jawa Report, Gawker, Truth Revolt and princeofwales.gov.uk
David Remnick / New Yorker:
World-Weary — Even the most forgiving judge of Barack Obama, one willing to overlook his preference for chipping onto the sunlit greens of Martha's Vineyard rather than brooding in the fluorescent glare of the Situation Room, must admit that the President has sometimes been a thick-tongued steward of his own foreign policy.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute
Juan Williams / The Hill:
Johnson ready for clash — The big news of the moment is President Obama's decision, revealed Saturday, to delay executive action on immigration reform until after November's midterm elections. — But, make no mistake, such action is coming sooner or later.
Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:
As Two Men Go Free, a Dogged Ex-Prosecutor Digs In — LUMBERTON, N.C. — The most memorable moment of the trial that put Henry McCollum and Leon Brown behind bars for three decades for a hideous 1983 rape and murder was a display of brilliant courtroom theatrics.
Washington Post:
How the federal corruption case against the McDonnells came together — RICHMOND — On the day after her husband publicly apologized for accepting gifts and loans from a wealthy dietary supplement executive, Maureen McDonnell tearfully summoned her manicurist for a late-night visit to the historic governor's mansion of Virginia.