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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:
Bloomberg Business, Raw Story, Deadline, Hot Air, Shot in the Dark, CNN, Washington Post, Althouse, Mashable and Wall Street Journal
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Why Donald Trump will be good for the Republicans in 2016 — Everyone thinks Donald Trump's candidacy will be a disaster for the Republican Party. But here are three ways his presence could actually help the GOP. — Donald Trump, ignoring my political advice, announced Tuesday …


Donald Trump has spent years courting Hillary and other Dems — Donald Trump jumped into the crowded and rowdy Republican presidential field on Tuesday, but the business magnate has astutely played both sides of the aisle for years, and has been especially cozy — financially and personally — with Hillary Clinton.
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, BuzzFeed, People.com, The Daily Caller and Vox


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 …


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, The Week and Politico


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:
Washington Monthly, OnPolitics, Bloomberg Business, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times and NPR


Donald Trump Hired Paid Actors To Attend Presidential Launch Event
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, Twitchy, Daily Mail, Politico, New York Times and Bloomberg Business

Garish Tastes, Awful Hair: Donald Trump Is America
Discussion:
McClatchy Washington Bureau, RedState, Betsy's Page, NBC News, Taylor Marsh, The Week, The Federalist, Ed Driscoll and Bloomberg View

Trump Says He'd ‘Win Easily’ If He Ran With Oprah
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Hill, CBS DC, Daily Mail, Washington Post and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Donald Trump's festival of narcissism
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, Shakesville, Hit & Run, Daily Kos and FiveThirtyEight

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:
PoliticusUSA, The Nation, Political Wire and Daily Kos
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Walker leads nationally in new poll
Discussion:
@politifact, neo-neocon and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion


House Democrats endorse former President Clinton's paid speeches — House Democrats say there's nothing wrong with Bill Clinton getting paid to give speeches while Hillary Clinton runs for president. — Critics of the speeches, including former Clinton administration official Robert Reich and others …
Discussion:
CNN, RedState, naked capitalism and New York Times
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Path Forward For Obama And Boehner's Trade Agenda Is A Game Theory Jumble
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Slantpoint

GOP leaders hatch trade workaround
Discussion:
The Hill, The Huffington Post, US News, CNBC, Hullabaloo and Common Dreams

AT&T just got hit with a $100 million fine after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data — The Federal Communications Commission slapped AT&T with a $100 million fine Wednesday, accusing the country's second largest cellular carrier of improperly slowing down Internet speeds for customers who had signed up for “unlimited” data plans.
Discussion:
WKRN-TV


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, Fox News Insider and Mashable

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:
Scripting News
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Rachel Dolezal has a right to be black
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Daily Beast, PoliticusUSA, Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion


Roger Ailes's Demotion Signals Power Shift Within Murdoch Empire — Rupert Murdoch issues a stinging rebuke. — Shares — For much of the past 15 years, Roger Ailes has operated with virtual impunity inside Rupert Murdoch's media empire. Nothing, it seemed, could induce Murdoch …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hollywood Reporter, The Huffington Post, Politico and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »


A Victory for Obamacare's Challengers Will Be a Disaster for Republican Candidates — Once the conservative legal strategy that gave rise to King v. Burwell got off the ground, Republicans in Congress probably had no choice but to become cheerleaders for, or active participants in, the ensuing litigation.
Discussion:
Politico, Slantpoint, Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos
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House Republicans to huddle on Obamacare ruling response
Discussion:
Daily Kos

Taken — I took some time this weekend to re-read Jennifer Gonnerman's piece on the odyssey of Kalief Browder. I wanted to understand how, precisely, it happened that a boy was snatched off the streets of New York, repeatedly beaten, and subjected to the torture of solitary confinement, and yet no one was held accountable.


Police seized his life savings without charging him for a crime. Now he's fighting back. — Charles Clarke entered the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport last February eager to go back to his mother after a months-long visit with relatives.
Discussion:
Hit & Run


Pope's Views on Climate Change Add Pressure to Catholic Candidates — WASHINGTON — As the steamy hurricane season descends on Miami, the city's Roman Catholic archbishop, Thomas G. Wenski, is planning a summer of sermons, homilies and press events designed to highlight the threat that a warming planet …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Business Insider, Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos

Satya Nadella email to employees on aligning engineering to strategy — As we approach a new fiscal year, I'd like to share with you how we are aligning our structure to our strategy and the changes to our Senior Leadership Team. — Over the past year, I have said that Microsoft aspires …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Politico


Calif. rules Uber driver is an employee — A San Francisco-based driver for ride-hailing service Uber is an employee, according to a ruling by the California Labor Commission. — The ruling, filed on Tuesday in state court in San Francisco, was the latest in a host of legal …
Discussion:
Slate, The Hill, BuzzFeed, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Verge