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A professor called Bret Stephens a ‘bedbug.’ The New York Times columnist complained to his boss. — The tweet seemed harmless enough to David Karpf. The associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University took a story that bedbugs had infested the New York Times newsroom …
Discussion:
Splinter, Mediaite, National Review, Slate, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Louder With Crowder, Breitbart, The Week, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, twitchy.com, The Wrap, Patterico's Pontifications, New York Post, Fox News, The New Civil Rights Movement, Jewish Insider, Unfogged and Balloon Juice
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At the New York Times, Bedbugs
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Splinter, The Daily Beast, Breitbart and Fox News

Not From the Onion: The NY Times Newsroom Literally Has a Bedbug Problem on Several Floors
Discussion:
twitchy.com and Big League Politics


Farmers' Frustration With Trump Grows as U.S. Escalates China Fight — WASHINGTON — Peppered with complaints from farmers fed up with President Trump's trade war, Sonny Perdue found his patience wearing thin. Mr. Perdue, the agriculture secretary and the guest of honor at the annual Farmfest gathering …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo


Incoming Harvard Freshman Deported After Visa Revoked — While most Harvard freshmen settle into their dorms Tuesday, one new student, Ismail B. Ajjawi '23, faces ongoing negotiations with immigration officers to allow him to enter the United States and study at the College.
Discussion:
VICE, Splinter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The New Civil Rights Movement, Slate, ImmigrationProf Blog and American Greatness


The Fed Shouldn't Enable Donald Trump — The central bank should refuse to play along with an economic disaster in the making. — U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China keeps undermining the confidence of businesses and consumers, worsening the economic outlook.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Raw Story and The Week
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Trump Went to the Mat for Putin at the G-7 Summit — Five years ago, Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine and stole a chunk of its territory, the first redrawing of an international border since World War II. As punishment, Russia was expelled from the G-8, a blow to Vladimir Putin's prestige.
Discussion:
Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire
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Johnson Comments on Russia Visa Denial
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Caller, The Week, Roll Call, TheBlaze, Daily Wire and Axios


Playing Hooky, Coddling Dictators, and Dissing Americans: Highlights from Trump's G7 Weekend
Discussion:
Raw Story, BizPac Review, One America News Network and Politico

Trump's Obama envy is getting even worse
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Raw Story, CNSNews and ThinkProgress


Column: Has Trump's cheese finally slid off his cracker? — Last week there was a sharp uptick in speculation that President Trump is a few fries shy of a Happy Meal. — Obviously, this is not the first time the idea has popped up that the commander-in-chief's cheese might have slid off his cracker.


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Understands Democracy Better Than Republicans Do — The idea that proponents of greater electoral equity have to quiet down because we live in a ‘republic’ is absurd. — Spend enough time talking politics on the internet — or in any other public forum …
Discussion:
Louder With Crowder, twitchy.com and Hullabaloo


Joe Walsh ‘Completely Ghosted’ His Campaign Manager Days Before White House Run — “It's obvious to me that the campaign plan that we have all worked hard on together in anticipation of a launch today isn't going to happen,” Jacob Perry wrote. — August 16 was supposed …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, IJR, Fortune and Reason
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That time Sacha Baron Cohen got Joe Walsh to promote arming small children
Discussion:
CNN, The Week, Conservative Review and American Greatness


Right-Wing Star Andy Ngo Exits Quillette After Damning Video Surfaces — The writer and photog is out of a job after being caught in incriminating undercover footage with right-wing activists. His former employer insists the two events aren't related. — The conservative op-ed website …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Portland Mercury, more at Mediagazer »


As Trump Swerves on Trade War, It's Whiplash for the Rest of the World — BIARRITZ, France — Remember when President Xi Jinping of China was the “enemy”? That was so Friday. As of Monday, according to President Trump, Mr. Xi was “a great leader” and a “brilliant man.”
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Reuters, Politico, BizPac Review, CNN, Washington Post, Jerusalem Post, RedState and The Week
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Trump's net approval rating sinks in every battleground state — President Trump's net approval rating has plunged in every key battleground state since taking office in January 2017, according to Morning Consult's tracking poll. — Why it matters: These are the states that Republicans …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair and The Texas Signal


SF restaurant owner says Bernie Sanders was ‘cranky,’ rude to staff — Sen. Bernie Sanders was in town for the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting and dined out with staff at San Francisco's iconic John's Grill on Thursday, according to Politico.


Bernie Out-Raises Biden in Obama-Trump Swing Counties — The Vermont presidential contender has the most donors throughout the country as well as in the counties that swung from Obama to Trump. — Former Vice President Joe Biden has built his early polling lead in the 2020 Democratic primary …
Discussion:
Vox and Political Wire
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Democrats have stopped self-censoring about Trump's unfitness
Discussion:
The Resurgent and The New Civil Rights Movement


‘Pocahontas’ Could Still Be Elizabeth Warren's Biggest Vulnerability — Elizabeth Warren came to last week's Native American presidential forum in Sioux City, Iowa, with, as you might expect, a plan. And she executed it perfectly. — First, the Massachusetts senator expressed sorrow for the …


A Senator's Lake House vs. a Town Fighting Flooding — For years, there has been fierce debate over water levels at a popular lake. Senator James Inhofe, who has a vacation home there, took the matter to Washington. — MIAMI, Okla. — On the shimmering waters of Grand Lake …


Nervous Republicans focus energy on protecting Senate ‘firewall’ — The GOP majority in the Senate is shaping up as a firewall for Republicans who are worried that President Trump might falter and lose the White House next year. — Republicans see winning back the House majority as a tough climb in 2020 …
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John Hickenlooper Is the New Joe Lieberman
Discussion:
Denver Post and American Prospect


‘Hell, No!’: Trump Finally Goes Too Far, Even For Rick Santorum — Santorum says Trumps plan to use the presidency to promote one of his resorts would be a “violation of the law.” — President Donald Trump used the power of the presidency to promote one of his resorts on Monday …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Raw Story, The Week and New York Times


Trump's Trade War Linked To Amazon Rainforest Destruction — As U.S. soybeans sit in silos, Brazilian farmers push to break new ground to satisfy the Chinese market. — As unsold U.S. soybeans are stored in silos across the farm belt, Brazilian farmers and corporations scramble to satisfy the voracious Chinese market.
Discussion:
New York Times, National Observer and Earther


How white nationalists aligned themselves with the antiabortion movement — Last fall, speaking to a far-right Austrian magazine, the Iowa Republican congressman Steve King succinctly laid out his theory of Western decline. The problem, he suggested, was a demographic born at the nexus of reproduction and immigration.


Trump pushes back on ‘nasty rumor’ of bed bug infestation at his Doral golf resort — President Trump on Tuesday blamed “Radical Left Democrats” for spreading a “false and nasty rumor” about a bedbug infestation at his golf resort in Doral, Fla., after he said he would like to hold next year's Group of Seven summit at the property.
Discussion:
Fox News, Political Wire, twitchy.com and Mediaite


Investigators scrutinizing video outside Epstein's cell find some footage unusable, according to people familiar with the inquiry — At least one camera in the hallway outside the cell where authorities say registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself earlier this month had footage …
Discussion:
Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, New York Post, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit and The Week


Trial of High-Powered Lawyer Gregory Craig Exposes Seamy Side of Washington's Elite — WASHINGTON — It is a trial tailor-made to grab the attention of this city's power brokers: In a federal courtroom this month, one of Washington's most prominent lawyers — a former White House counsel …
Discussion:
Politico


Democrats' Emerging Tax Idea: Look Beyond Income, Target Wealth — Lawmakers and 2020 candidates offer a range of options focused on capturing some of the trillions of dollars in assets belonging to the nation's richest — The income tax is the Swiss Army Knife of the U.S. tax system …


In Mississippi Delta, Catholic abuse cases settled on cheap — GREENWOOD, Mississippi (AP) — The IHOP in Southhaven, Mississippi, was an unlikely place to settle a sex abuse claim against the Catholic Church. But in January a white official from the Franciscan religious order slid …


Child predator George Nader visited White House at least 13 times to meet with Steve Bannon — Convicted child sex offender George Nader visited the White House at least 13 times to meet with President Trump's then-chief strategist Steve Bannon, records indicate, raising questions about possible gaps in security and judgment.
Discussion:
Raw Story