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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, Slate, National Review, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Louder With Crowder, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Week, The Wrap, Lawyers, Guns & Money, twitchy.com, Patterico's Pontifications, The New Civil Rights Movement, New York Post, Fox News, Jewish Insider, Unfogged and Balloon Juice
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At the New York Times, Bedbugs — “Evidence of bedbugs” was discovered on every floor of the newsroom.
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, Slate, ImmigrationProf Blog and American Greatness


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, Roll Call, The Week, Daily Wire and Axios


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

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


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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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.


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


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:
Hullabaloo


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 »


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

Pat Toomey: Odds for background checks better than ever
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Raw Story


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


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:
Political Wire
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Democrats have stopped self-censoring about Trump's unfitness
Discussion:
The Resurgent, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Daily Caller


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.


‘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 …
Discussion:
Vox


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.


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


‘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 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


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, CNN, Reuters, Politico, Washington Post, BizPac Review, Jerusalem Post, The Week and RedState


Iran rejects meeting with Trump unless U.S. sanctions are lifted — ISTANBUL — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday dashed hopes of a potential meeting with his U.S. counterpart in the foreseeable future, saying that the United States should lift all sanctions before Iran agrees to talks.
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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 …


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 …


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


‘You are helping him’: Vulnerable Democrats grilled on impeachment — IRVINE, Calif. — Democrats hoping to avoid clashes over impeachment when they left Washington this summer are being confronted with a difficult reality at sometimes hostile town hall events.