Top Items:
Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:
Witless Ape Rides Escalator — Donald Trump is in the race. — Donald Trump may be the man America needs. Having been through four bankruptcies, the ridiculous buffoon with the worst taste since Caligula is uniquely positioned to lead the most indebted organization in the history of the human race.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Hot Air, Shot in the Dark, Mashable and Althouse
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John Amato / Latest from Crooks and Liars:
Charles Krauthammer On Donald Trump: 'A Campaign That's Run On Know-nothing Xenophobia.' — Donald Trump likes Charles Krauthammer about as much as anyone would like a snake bite. He's called the conservative columnist many things including being an overrated clown and a dummy …
Chris Good / ABC News:
Trump Says He'd ‘Win Easily’ If He Ran With Oprah … According to Donald Trump, a 2016 ticket of Trump for president and Oprah Winfrey for vice president would be a lock for the White House. — “I think Oprah would be great. I'd love to have Oprah,” Trump told ABC News. “I think we'd win easily, actually.”
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CBS DC, Daily Mail, Political Wire and Washington Post
Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: What Candidate Trump Means For The GOP … By MICHAEL FALCONE — NOTABLES —DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE'D ‘WIN EASILY’ IF HE RAN WITH OPRAH. According to Donald Trump, a 2016 ticket of Trump for president and Oprah Winfrey for vice president would be a lock for the White House, ABC's CHRIS GOOD notes.
Discussion:
Independent Journal Review, Bloomberg Business and Politico
P. J. O'Rourke / The Daily Beast:
Garish Tastes, Awful Hair: Donald Trump Is America — He's the king of bad taste in a country that loves bad taste. And all the candidates (him included) are pygmies anyway. Go, Donald! — Who are these jacklegs, highbinders, wirepullers, mountebanks, swellheads, buncombe spigots …
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Donald Trump's festival of narcissism — “I'm really rich,” Donald Trump informed supporters at his presidential campaign announcement. — “I'm proud of my net worth. I've done an amazing job.” — RSS — “I'm really proud of my success. I really am.”
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Shakesville, Hit & Run and Outside the Beltway
Jason Newman / Rolling Stone:
Neil Young, Donald Trump Spar Over ‘Rockin’ in the Free World' Use — Young claims campaign was not authorized to use track, but Trump spokesperson says song was legally obtained — When Neil Young released his anthemic track “Rockin' in the Free World” off 1989's Freedom …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business and NPR
David Corn / Mother Jones:
Neil Young to Donald Trump: Don't Rock in My Free World
Neil Young to Donald Trump: Don't Rock in My Free World
Discussion:
Salon, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, ABC News and Raw Story
Randy Lewis / Los Angeles Times:
Neil Young: Donald Trump ‘not authorized’ to rock in the free world
Neil Young: Donald Trump ‘not authorized’ to rock in the free world
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Seven Days and The Week
New York Daily News:
Full transcript of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential announcement
Full transcript of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential announcement
Discussion:
The Week, Informed Comment and The Daily Signal
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Trump's Fake 2000 Campaign: Gun Bans, Single-Payer Health Care, And Taxes
Trump's Fake 2000 Campaign: Gun Bans, Single-Payer Health Care, And Taxes
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BREITBART.COM and Liberaland
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Blumenthal says he didn't write Libya intel he sent Clinton — Sidney Blumenthal did not write or know the source of any of the Libya intelligence he passed on to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Blumenthal told House Benghazi investigators on Tuesday, according to sources in the room.
Discussion:
Vox, The Last Refuge, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo
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Martin Matishak / The Hill:
Issa escorted out of Benghazi deposition — Former House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) tried to crash former Hillary Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal's deposition before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Tuesday. — Issa marched into the closed-door deposition …
Martin Matishak / The Hill:
Ex-Clinton aide didn't write Benghazi memos
Ex-Clinton aide didn't write Benghazi memos
Discussion:
Hot Air, Bloomberg Business and New York Times
Gil Kaufman / MTV:
Meet The Valedictorian Who Turned Graduation Into A ‘Shake It Off’ Flashmob — Their parents had no idea what was coming. — The commencement speech arms race is no joke this year. It takes something pretty special to grab attention during a season when one valedictorian got …
Discussion:
Ryan Seacrest, Mashable and Fox News Insider
Tamara Winfrey Harris / New York Times:
Black Like Who? Rachel Dolezal's Harmful Masquerade — Rachel A. Dolezal, who stepped down Monday as president of the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., could have been a powerful ally to African-Americans. The participation of white allies has always been important to anti-racism work.
Discussion:
Slantpoint and Althouse
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Camille Gear Rich / CNN:
Rachel Dolezal has a right to be black
Rachel Dolezal has a right to be black
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, NBC News and New York Times
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Walker, Bush, Rubio lead GOP field; Clinton Still Dominant — PPP's newest national Republican poll continues to find a bunched up race at the top. Scott Walker leads with 17% to 15% for Jeb Bush, 13% for Marco Rubio, 12% for Ben Carson, 11% for Mike Huckabee, 8% for Ted Cruz and Rand Paul …
Discussion:
The Hill, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Political Wire, The Nation, Fox News and Daily Kos
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Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:
Rubio, Bush, Paul Are Clinton's Top Opponents in Swing-States Poll
Rubio, Bush, Paul Are Clinton's Top Opponents in Swing-States Poll
Discussion:
CNN, Politico and Political Wire
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Dems give GOP 45-day highway deadline — Senate Democrats are giving Republicans 45 days to negotiate a long-term highway funding extension. — And while they aren't ruling out supporting another short-term fix when funding runs out at the end of July, they suggest it will be difficult …
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Politico:
GOP leaders hatch trade workaround
GOP leaders hatch trade workaround
Discussion:
The Hill, US News, The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo, CNBC and Common Dreams
Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Senate votes to ban use of torture — The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to ban the U.S. from ever again subjecting prisoners to waterboarding, “rectal feeding” and other brutal interrogation practices widely condemned as torture. — In a 78-21 vote, lawmakers on both sides …
Discussion:
Newsweek, CNN, The Atlantic, Slate, The Huffington Post and Washington Post
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Paul Lewis / Guardian:
Senate passes torture ban despite Republican opposition
Senate passes torture ban despite Republican opposition
Discussion:
LewRockwell, Shakesville, Hullabaloo and ThinkProgress
Bjorn Lomborg / USA Today:
What Pope Francis should do to really help the poor: Bjorn Lomborg — How can we best aid the world's most vulnerable? — Pope Francis's concern for the poor is clear, so it is understandable that climate change is the topic of his forthcoming Encyclical — a Papal letter that is sent out to the world.
Discussion:
American Thinker, Power Line and EcoWatch
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Coral Davenport / New York Times:
Pope's Views on Climate Change Add Pressure to Catholic Candidates
Pope's Views on Climate Change Add Pressure to Catholic Candidates
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, msnbc.com and Guardian
Lenore Skenazy / Hit & Run:
Male Teen Has Consensual Sex with Female Teen. He Gets 25 Years as Sex Offender, Banned from Internet. — Computer science student Zach Anderson, 19, met a girl, 17, on the “Hot or Not?” app. He was from Elkhart, Indiana. She was 20 minutes over the border in Niles, Michigan. They hooked up.
Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:
What I learned from covering the Bushes for more than 30 years — If anyone should be feeling an overwhelming sense of Groundhog Day this presidential election, c'est moi. — Frankly, I've been covering Bushes for so long, I feel like I ought to be parachuting out of airplanes.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune