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Sarah Palin: Why She Resigned — Sarah Palin Talks to ABC News About Why She Resigned — After her bombshell announcement Friday that she was resigning as governor of Alaska 18 months before the end of her first term, and questions about her political future ricocheting from Alaska to Washington D.C. …
Discussion:
The Note, The Mudflats, The Gun Toting Liberal, CNN, Stanley Fish, The Daily Dish, Associated Press, Boston Globe, The Reaction, The Confluence, Emptywheel, Pam's House Blend, pandagon.net, Firedoglake, Ezra Klein, The Caucus, Raw Story, TPMCafe, MoJo Blog Posts, PoliBlog, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, The Political Carnival, Commentary, archy, TBogg and JONATHAN TURLEY
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The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin: A Round-Up — Some readers have asked me to put all the various odd lies of Sarah Palin that the Dish has compiled in one helpful place. So that's what we've done. A couple of months ago, I asked an intern to re-fact-check all of them to make sure new details hadn't emerged that might debunk some.

David Brooks is a predictable swine — When he begins with a long paean to the Founding Fathers — in this case, George Washington — you can bet money that the Republican Iago is about to plunge his dagger deep into someone's back: … Right. A logical grouping:


The sins of Sarah Palin — Sarah Palin is a sinner. She has violated several commandments and thoroughly deserves the savage beating that she is now getting from political mandarins and media elites. — If it were not for one simple fact, I would say she was through in politics.
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin.com

40% of GOP Voters Say Resignation Hurts Palin's Chances in 2012 — Forty percent (40%) of Republican voters nationwide say Sarah Palin's decision to resign as governor of Alaska hurts her chances of winning the party's presidential nomination in 2012. — A new Rasmussen Reports national …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard, Anchorage Daily News, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Plum Line, Hot Air and TPMDC


TIME's Interview with Exiting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Right Wing News, theblogprof, The Return Of Scipio and Conservatives4Palin.com

Many Americans Still See Political Future for Palin
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog

Reid to Baucus: Stop Chasing GOP Votes on Health Care — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday ordered Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to drop a proposal to tax health benefits and stop chasing Republican votes on a massive health care reform bill.
Discussion:
The New Republic, D-Day, Open Left, Think Progress, TPMDC, STRANAHAN dot COM, Daily Kos and MyDD
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Sanders Takes On Emanuel, Warns Of Dem Opposition To Baucus Proposal — Two major progressive voices in the health care debate took White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to task on Tuesday for suggesting that a public option with triggers could be a potential compromise on reform.

Obama to Rahm: Shut. Up. — Today's Wall Street Journal: … This forced Obama to interrupt his diplomacy in Russia to release this statement: … What happened here? Rahm likely was blabbering to a reporter and just went with his natural gut instinct — to be weak, and cave to Republicans.
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Al Gore likens fight against climate change to battle with Nazis — Al Gore today compared the battle against climate change with the struggle against the Nazis. — The former US Vice President said the world lacked the political will to act and invoked the spirit of Winston Churchill …
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The Man Who Crashed the World — Almost a year after A.I.G.'s collapse, despite a tidal wave of outrage, there still has been no clear explanation of what toppled the insurance giant. The author decides to ask the people involved—the silent, shell-shocked traders of the A.I.G. Financial Products unit …


GOP Ad Paints Franken As Angry Maniac — Using Footage Of Him Talking About Paul Wellstone — The National Republican Senatorial Committee has just released a new Web ad featuring footage of Senator Al Franken that makes him look like an out-of-control, Red Bull-guzzling cross between Jim Carrey and the Hulk.

Dan Froomkin hired by The Huffington Post — (updated below) — In yet another sign of how online media outlets are strengthening as their older establishment predecessors are struggling to survive, The Huffington Post has hired Dan Froomkin to be its Washington Bureau Chief and regular columnist/blogger.

UPDATED: Alberto Gonzales, former U.S. attorney general, expected to teach at Texas Tech University — Alberto Gonzales, who resigned as the Bush administration's embattled attorney general nearly two years ago, has lined up a fall-semester teaching spot at Texas Tech University, the university confirmed today.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Wonkette, Liberty Street, Law Blog, Think Progress, Off the Kuff, The Political Carnival and Emptywheel

Former Gitmo Inmate Leading Fight Against U.S. in Helmand — As U.S. forces are pushing ahead with the massive Operation Khanjar in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand, Mullah Zakir is leading the Taliban fight against them. — FOXNews.com — A former Guantanamo Bay inmate …


Rove deposed in U.S. attorney probe — Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was deposed Tuesday by attorneys for the House Judiciary Committee, according to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the panel's chairman. — Rove's deposition began at 10 a.m. and ended around 6:30 p.m, with several breaks, Conyers said.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo

Pope Urges Forming New World Economic Order to Work for the ‘Common Good’ — VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday called for a radical rethinking of the global economy, criticizing a growing divide between rich and poor and urging the establishment of a “true world political authority” …


Of NICE and Men — Speaking to the American Medical Association last month, President Obama waxed enthusiastic about countries that “spend less” than the U.S. on health care. He's right that many countries do, but what he doesn't want to explain is how they ration care to do it.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Atlas Shrugs, The Lonely Conservative, Townhall.com, Say Anything and Fausta's Blog

McCain counters Obama on Honduras — Speaking about the recent coup in Honduras, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said President Manuel Zelaya clearly “was in violation of his country's constitution.” McCain made his comments on Twitter this afternoon: … McCain's statement runs in direct conflict …
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Howard Dean: Private Health Care Is Breaking Our Economy — And the Republicans are all a bunch of liars. And Washington is as scared of change as a cult. And other things you'd expect Howard Dean to say in a hot-button debate. Except, when it comes to this particular hot-button debate …

George Allen's road back? — A book is often a start on that road, and Regnery announced today that they're publishing one by the former Virginia senator: — The book, due out next year, will be called, “The Triumph of Character: What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports.”


Los Angeles Targets Cannabis Clubs — LOS ANGELES — Daniel Halbert moved here from Phoenix this year to invest his life savings in what he hoped was a golden opportunity: the medical-marijuana business. — But on Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council told him to shut down his dispensary …


The Real Quagmire in the Middle East — The Middle East is a hard place for idealists, especially for the Western liberal variety. My feelings of optimism for the region have been ground down over time like rocks under slow-moving glacial ice. — Last time I visited Israel …

GAO: Major Security Flaws at Federal Buildings — The police agency in charge of protecting thousands of federal buildings nationwide has failed to keep bomb-making materials out of several high-security facilities in the past year, according to Congressional testimony provided by Senate aides.
Discussion:
Truthdig


Senators Settling Into New Roles to Weigh Sotomayor Nomination — WASHINGTON — More than two decades ago, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee as a nominee for a district court judgeship in Alabama and was rejected by the panel over charges of racial insensitivity.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times