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Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama — (CNSNews.com) - Following a testy exchange during today's briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control …
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Health Care Stagecraft — President Obama held an “online town hall” health care meeting in Annandale, Virginia today. It was televised and, coincidentally, I happened to catch the emotional centerpiece of the production on CNN. Obama gave a long introductory pitch in support of his health care plan …


WashPost sells access, $25,000+ — For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off the record, non-confrontational access to “those powerful few” — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper's own reporters and editors.

Job Losses Rise in June as Unemployment Reaches 9.5% — The pace of job losses quickened in June after slowing just a month earlier, casting a shadow over the Obama administration's attempts to stanch months of declines in the labor market. — The American economy shed 467,000 jobs last month …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Matthew Yglesias, Atlantic Correspondents, Hot Air, Calculated Risk, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Economix, Financial Times, Daily Kos, DailyFinance, Taylor Marsh, Associated Press, Don Surber, Clusterstock, Wonkette, NPR Blogs, AmSpecBlog, Gateway Pundit and The Reaction
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Payrolls Fall More Than Forecast, Unemployment Rises
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org


39 trips for Sanford with no security in '09 — EXCLUSIVE: Governor's secret trip prompts scrutiny — Gov. Mark Sanford left the Governor's Mansion without a security escort, 38 times in 2008. In the first six months of this year, he left the mansion without security, 39 times.
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The Page
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Blubbering Love Gov. Mark Sanford tears up again over ‘soul mate’ Maria Belen Chapur … He's still crying for you, Argentina! — A blubbering Gov. Mark Sanford broke down in tears as he dubbed his Argentine mistress his “soul mate” during a rambling interview with The Associated Press, audiotapes of the sitdown reveal.
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics


U.S.: American Soldier Captured in Afghanistan — A U.S. soldier missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan since Tuesday is believed to have been captured by Taliban militants, the military said Thursday. — In a statement issued from U.S. military headquarters in Kabul, officials said …
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Taliban capture U.S. soldier — KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — A U.S. soldier has been captured by militants in Afghanistan, the U.S. military and the Taliban said Thursday. — The unidentified soldier has been missing since Tuesday. U.S. forces are exhausting all resources to find the soldier, the military said.

Barney Frank: Let's spend TARP profits before taxpayers can get them — When President Obama announced on June 9 that some financial institutions would be allowed to repay Troubled Asset Relief Program dollars, he said the massively expensive TARP bailout had made money for the federal government.
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Palin E-mails Show Infighting With Staff — Exclusive: Spat Over Todd Palin's Membership In Secessionist Party Was Major Distraction On Critical Day In '08 Campaign … Internal campaign e-mails exchanged three weeks before Election Day offer a rare look at just how frustrated …

A few victory laughs for Sen.-elect Franken — Al Franken is funny again. — The senator-elect alternated between jokes and emotion Wednesday in a victory rally that was, as he acknowledged, more than two years in the making. — “It was close,” Franken began, garnering a big laugh for his even bigger understatement.
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SEIU
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Time for an Israeli Strike? — With Iran's hard-line mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unmistakably back in control, Israel's decision of whether to use military force against Tehran's nuclear weapons program is more urgent than ever. — Iran's nuclear threat was never …
Discussion:
The Opinionator, US Department of State, Israel Matzav, Jules Crittenden and The Washington Independent


U.S. Nuns Facing Vatican Scrutiny — The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition. — Nuns were the often-unsung workers who helped build …
Discussion:
Politics Daily

Cracks In Obama Facade As Disapproval Grows, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; But Voter Outlook On Economy, Nation Improve — President Barack Obama's first five months in office have seen his job approval remain stable overall - currently at a politically healthy 57 - 33 percent …


Finding Debt a Bigger Hurdle Than Bar Exam — All his life, Robert Bowman wanted to be a lawyer. He overcame a troubled childhood, a tragic accident that nearly cost him a leg and a debilitating Jet Ski collision. — He put himself through community college, worked and borrowed heavily …


Terror from the Right — 75 plots, conspiracies and racist rampages since Oklahoma City … What follows is a detailed listing of major terrorist plots and racist rampages that have emerged from the American radical right in the years since Oklahoma City.


Black Reporters on the Beat of Michelle Obama — While Michelle Obama was meeting with doctors and patients at the Upper Cardozo Health Center, nearly two dozen journalists stood behind a white rope in a small room upstairs, most finally growing so tired during the hour-long wait that they sat on the floor.

California on brink of IOUs — The Golden State is running short on cash. If Gov. Schwarzenegger can't strike a deal, the state may start issuing IOUs to contractors, agencies and taxpayers. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Here come the California IOUs, again.


Congress's Travel Tab Swells — Spending on Taxpayer-Funded Trips Rises Tenfold; From Italy to the Galápagos — WASHINGTON — Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows …


Times Square Tea Party Denounces Obama, Media, Imaginary Tax Rates, Etc. — They had another one of those Tea Party things this evening, this time right next to the Times Square subway station on Broadway. The anti-Obama pep rally occupied part of the street and part of the sidewalk …

Obama administration touring competitive rural districts — Cabinet secretaries will fan out this summer to hear concerns and possibly sway some more-conservative voters. — Reporting from Washington — The White House bills it as a “listening tour,” a chance for President Obama's Cabinet …

Let the Usurpers Writhe — TEHRAN — Think of normalized relations with the United States as the big prize. Who gets to deliver it? One thing is certain: Iran's ruthless usurpers are determined to ensure reformists are never in a position to claim the breakthrough.