A SHIFTING TIDE?

Never let the facts get in the way of a good narrative

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/right-wingers_stand_by_their_fabricated_mexican_dr.php
According to anonymously-sourced reports pushed by right-wing blogs last weekend, members of Mexico's notorious Zetas drug gang crossed the border into Texas and, "in what could be deemed an act of war," seized two ranches near the border town of Laredo. The situation was dire, wingers warned, but a government enforced media blackout kept knowledge of the raid from the general public.

Really?

No, not really. . . . [read on]

But they weren’t OUR tax cuts

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/say-what-republicans-filibuster-tax-cutting-jobs-bill.php
Republicans Filibuster Tax-Cutting Jobs Bill

Five Repubs to support Kagan for SC. Ben Nelson won’t

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/30/889052/-Five-Republicans-to-support-Kagan,-Ben-Nelson-to-oppose

http://mydd.com/2010/7/30/ben-nelson-is-the-worst-lawmaker-in-us-history

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/30/ben_nelson_no_kagan

More: http://www.slate.com/id/2261947/
[Dahlia Lithwick] Anyone who watched Elena Kagan's performance before the Senate judiciary committee last month saw that under the bright lights of public scrutiny, she is quick-witted, conversational, and rarely cowed. She's funny and charming, but she's not real big on deference. And so one question that lingers, as the former solicitor general prepares to join the highest court in the land: Will those qualities help or hurt Elena Kagan in the darkened marble halls of the Supreme Court? . . .[read on]

No, there are no Republican moderates. Not really

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024976.php

Paul Krugman on Elizabeth Warren

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/opinion/30krugman.html
Why does the Obama administration keep looking for love in all the wrong places? Why does it go out of its way to alienate its friends, while wooing people who will never waver in their hatred? . . . [read on]

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/30/krugman-on-warren/

Go Tony!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/anthony-weiners-spitting-mad-rant-against-republicans-on-the-house-floor-video.php

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/republicans-911-responders-die-and-die-quic

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/anthony_weiners_rant_captures.html

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/30/weiner_don_t_get_excited


Yes, the Charlie Rangel situation is a mess of bad timing for the Dems. But let’s watch how the media pumps his “trial,” versus the ACTUAL trial of a real crook, Republican John Ensign

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024969.php

John Boehner’s (R-OH) political makeover

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/30/boehner_image_pelosi

For months, Charlie Cook has been confidently predicting disaster for the Dems in the fall elections. Lately, though, he’s been hedging his bets

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/po_20100717_5341.php
A Glimmer Of Hope For Democrats (07/17/2010)

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/co_20100724_7408.php
Adding Up The Democratic Math (07/24/2010)

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cookreport.php
A Turning Point For Democrats? (07/31/2010)

More from those wacky Republican state platforms

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/30/888666/-Yes,-Virginia,-they-come-in-EXTRA-crazy

The new “Southern Strategy”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/confederate-rump-strategy-foxbreitbart.html

Glenn Beck has a long history of disavowing any violence that might be inspired by his hateful conspiracy tirades. Here’s another one – and you know there will be more to come, because that is what he does: plant poisonous ideas into the minds of deranged, susceptible loons

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/glenn_beck_not_my_fault_oakland_shooter_may_have_t.php

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/dana-milbank-notices-the-wingnuts-have.html

Tea Party Comix (not for the faint of heart)

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/the_strange_case_of_the_mysterious_uber-racist_tea.php

Bonus item: George who? Part three

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/30/late-night-the-democrats-secret-weapon/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

MOVE ALONG, NOTHING TO SEE HERE

Amazing how quickly the media circled the wagons and decided to tell us that the WikiLeaks documents on the Afghan war were no big deal, nothing new, etc.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/wikileaks-media-reaction_n_663782.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/medias-war-coverage-pushi_n_664129.html

Unintended consequences?

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/top-military-officer-wikileaks-has-blood-on-its-hands/
Top U.S. Officer: WikiLeaks Might Have ‘Blood on Its Hands’

More: http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/62468

As predicted

http://mydd.com/2010/7/29/healthcare-refor
Healthcare Reform Gaining Popularity

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/chart-day-healthcare-reform

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/republicans-successful-in-convincing-republicans-to-hate-aca/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/29/888717/-Kaiser-poll:-Health-care-reform-support-reaches-new-high

Prepping for a big fight over Social Security

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/29/social-security-coalition-kicks-off-by-pointing-out-myths/
Today, a coalition of 50 organizations dedicated to ensuring no benefit cuts to Social Security launched in Washington. The coalition, including top labor unions, progressive groups like MoveOn.org and Democracy for America, and a host of others, released seven principles that will guide their policy prescriptions . . .

Maybe . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/28/elizabeth-warren-possible-republican-support_n_662653.html
Divisions Emerge Among Republicans Over Elizabeth Warren

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/convincing-case-elizabeth-warren

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/29/republicans-side-with-warren/

Damn straight

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/breaking-shirley-sherrod-plans-sue-a
Shirley Sherrod plans to sue Andrew Breitbart

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/29/shirley-sherrod-suing-andrew-breitbart/

Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sells out . . . again

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/lindsey-graham-birthright-citizenship-is-a-mistake-video.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/lindsey-grahams-uncynical-apolitical-crusade-against-birthright-citizenship/

Strange bedfellows: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/hayworth-pregnant-women-are-flying-here-so-their-kids-can-be-citizens-video.php

Those wacky Republicans

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/iowa-gop-embraces-plan-to_n_663621.html
Iowa GOP Embraces Plan To Strip Obama's Citizenship For Accepting Nobel Prize

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/profiles_in_fear-mongering.php
Which Republican leaders are most implicated in whipping up the anti-mosque hysteria?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/dems-call-on-gopers-to-renounce-phyllis-schlafly-over-remarks-about-unmarried-women-audio.php
Dems Call On GOPers To Renounce Phyllis Schlafly Over Remarks About 'Unmarried Women'

More: http://mydd.com/2010/7/30/phyllis-schlaflys-remarks

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024962.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/29/888806/-Not-breaking:-Phyllis-Schlafly-still-hates-women

Yes, he really said that

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/29/888774/-NV-Gov:-Sandoval-%28R%29-isnt-worried-about-SB-1070-because-his-kids-look-white
NV-Gov: Sandoval (R) isn't worried about SB 1070 because his kids look white

The new Flat Earth Society

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/rand-paul-mountain-top-removal-mining-enhances-the-land.php
Rand Paul: Controversial Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Isn't So Bad -- It Enhances The Land!

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024952.php

Could be smart for the Dems: try to get the Repubs to say whether they back the teabagger agenda or not (either way they lose voters)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024948.php

Those teabaggers: so narrow and inflexible they even go after the chair of their very own teabagger caucus in Congress!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/28/michele-bachmanns-roy-blu_n_662239.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/29/888670/-MO-Sen:-Teabaggers-want-Bachmann-to-stay-away

Bonus item: George who? Part two

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/republicans-fear-george-bushs-new-book

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

MIXED MESSAGES

Good news

http://mydd.com/2010/7/28/key-parts-of-immigration-law-in-arizona-blo
Key Parts of Immigration Law in Arizona Blocked

Analysis: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/28/888428/-SB-1070-Largely-Enjoined:-The-Opinion

Jan Brewer (R-AZ) has some trouble with her messaging

http://tucsoncitizen.com/mark-evans/archives/326
“This fight is far from over. In fact, it is just the beginning, and at the end of what is certain to be a long legal struggle, Arizona will prevail in its right to protect our citizens. . . .

“For anyone willing to see it — the crisis is as clear as is the federal government’s failure to address it. . . .

“I will battle all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, for the right to protect the citizens of Arizona. . . .

“We have already made some progress in waking up Washington. But the question still remains: will Washington do its job, and put an end to the daily operations of smugglers in our nation, or will the delays and sidesteps continue? I believe that the defenders of the rule of law will ultimately succeed with us in our demand for action.”

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/07/29/20100729arizona-immigration-law-injunction.html
In Tucson, Brewer said the ruling amounts to “a little bump in the road” . . .

More: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/jan-brewers-fearmongering-destroying

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/28/888001/-Two-top-Brewer-advisers-lobbied-for-prison-giant-CCA

Coulda been worse – a LOT worse

http://mydd.com/2010/7/28/the-blinder-zandi-report
A paper by economists Alan Blinder, an economist at Princeton and a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, finds that without the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that bailed out the nation's financial sector, the bank stress tests, the emergency lending and asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, and the Obama Administration’s fiscal stimulus program - the much maligned American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) - the nation’s gross domestic product would be about 6.5 percent lower this year.

Additionally, Dr. Blinder and Dr. Zandi find that the US economy would have lost an additional 8.5 million jobs, on top of the more than 8 million lost so far; and the economy would be in the midst of a deflationary asset spiral, instead of low inflation. . . .

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/recession-response-has-worked/

Guess who’s interested in this technology?

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/exclusive-google-cia/
The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come. In a white paper, the company says its temporal analytics engine “goes beyond search” by “looking at the ‘invisible links’ between documents that talk about the same, or related, entities and events.” . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/28/AR2010072806141.html
White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/even-yet-more-warrantless-searches
[Kevin Drum] I forget. How many NSLs do the FBI and other federal agencies already send out every year? 30,000? 50,000? What's it up to now? Whatever it is, I guess it's still not enough. That business of getting approval from a judge is just so annoying, after all. . . .

Emptywheel: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/28/obama-administration-wants-to-make-domestic-surveillance-power-grab/

A last-gasp “energy bill”

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/28/888475/-Reid-introduces-stripped-down-energy-bill

The return of “death panels”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/vitter-breitbart-revive-death-panel-smear-in-attack-on-fda-breast-cancer-drug-decision.php

The new GOP star?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/mathfail-john-thunes-plan-to-eliminate-deficits-in-10-20-years.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024942.php

Still beating up on Shirley Sherrod

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/sherrod-critic-she-used-lynching-to-gin-up-democratic-voters.php

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/jeffrey-lord-democrats-have-always-been.html
Jeffrey Lord: Democrats Are, By Definition, Racists

Wow. I agree with Mark Halperin!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/halperin_says_it_the_problem_i.html
The Sherrod story is a reminder -- much like the 2004 assault on John Kerry by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- that the old media are often swayed by controversies pushed by the conservative new media. In many quarters of the old media, there is concern about not appearing liberally biased, so stories emanating from the right are given more weight and less scrutiny. . . . [read on]

Why the Dems won’t be able to change the filibuster rule

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/28/five-senate-democrats-endorse-continued-republican-obstructionism-of-democratic-agenda

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/the-filibuster-fans/

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/filibuster-reform-is-a-question-of-when-not-if/

The Democratic message for the fall: you might be mad at us, but they’re worse

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/democratic-message-we-may-be-incompetent-but-theyre-crazy/60575/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/dems-to-define-gop-with-republican-tea-party-contract-with-america-video.php

http://www.slate.com/id/2261887/

Glenn Beck: still shilling for the gold merchants

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/07/glenn-beck-goldline/

Bonus item: George who? Keeping Bush under wraps

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/28/will_bush_memoir_will_hurt_republicans.html

[NB: Think about it. Former two-term President, and you won't see him on the campaign trail for ANYONE.]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

What we did

http://www.slate.com/id/2261911/
What the WikiLeaks data reveal about civilian and enemy casualties of war. An interactive chart.

The war that was going to pay for itself (remember?)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/27/888020/-Bush-DoD-lost-$8,700,000,000-in-Iraqi-oil-revenue
[LAT] The Defense Department is unable to properly account for $8.7 billion out of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil revenue entrusted to it between 2004 and 2007. . . [read on]

Thanks for nothing

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/dodd-no-recess-appointment-for-warren-who-still-may-not-be-confirmable.php
Dodd: No Recess Appointment For Warren, Who Still May Not Be Confirmable

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/dodd-nixes-elizabeth-warr_n_661115.html

http://washingtonindependent.com/92615/counting-warren-votes

DISCLOSE: the campaign finance reform bill that nobody seems to like

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/27/lieberman_disclose_act

http://washingtonindependent.com/92605/disclose

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/afl-cio-officially-opposi_n_660838.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024922.php

How they roll

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/bring_on_the_hookers.php
[NYT] DHB, which specialized in making body armor used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, paid for more than $6 million in personal expenses on behalf of Mr. Brooks, covering items as expensive as luxury cars and as prosaic as party invitations, Ms. Schlegel testified.

Also included were university textbooks for his daughter, pornographic videos for his son, plastic surgery for his wife, a burial plot for his mother, prostitutes for his employees, and, for him, a $100,000 American-flag belt buckle encrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

The defense is arguing that the prostitutes were legit business expenses "if Mr. Brooks thought such services could motivate his employees and make them more productive." . . .

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/mil_contractor_on_trial_for_illegally_buying_porn.php

How bad will the fall elections be?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/rough-road-ahead-november-looms-as-progressives-question-priorities-video.php

The Republican scorched earth policy is winning

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/27/political_divisiveness_at_an_all_time_high.html
Political Divisiveness at an All Time High

The party who gave us a government shutdown in 1995, who have governed by obstruction for two years, now lay out their new campaign goal: put us in power and we’ll bring the Federal government to a halt entirely

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/boehner-gets-specific-on-plan-to-halt-federal-regulation.php

Default? http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/martin-wolf-on-republican-plans-for.html

“The Contract ON America”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/28/democrats_unveil_gops_contract_on_america.html

And now this

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38630
Hayes: If the GOP Regains Congress in the Midterms It Will Actually Make You Miss Ken Starr

Michael Steele: the gift that keeps on giving

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/next-dnc-attack-line-rnc_n_659916.html
Next DNC Attack Line: RNC Can't Handle Its Own Budget, Let Alone Nation's

T-Paw gets his fifteen minutes

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/t-paw-comes-out/60494/

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/26/tim-pawlenty-debut-the-un-palin-un-romney-makes-his-white-hous/

The jokes write themselves

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/the_best_anti-gay_expert_we_could_find.php
Former Rep. and now Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum's campaign for governor has been nose-diving for a couple months. And one of the first bumps on the road was when the main he hired with tax payer dollars to be the state of Florida's official anti-gay expert was caught returning from a European vacation with a male escort. McCollum is now explaining that in fact Rekers was the best anti-gay expert they could find . . . [read on]

Bring on the crazies!

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/check-out-blue-americas-gop-2010-app-st

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/republicans-bring-crazy.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/27/887867/-KY-Sen:-The-latest-on-Rand-Paul-hilarity

SO crazy: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/the-dirty-dozen-tom-tancredos-top-12-moments-of-nativism-racism-and-fear-mongering-video.php
Tom Tancredo's Top 12 Moments Of Nativism, Racism And Fear-Mongering (VIDEO)

I’ll take that chance

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/27/progressives_2012_palin
Sarah Palin would be a cinch to defeat in 2012. But her nomination by the GOP could still have dire consequences

What nobody wants to say

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/27/palin_endorsement_backfires_in_new_hampshire.html
A new Public Policy Polling survey in New Hampshire finds Kelly Ayotte's (R) appeal to moderate voters crumbled in the wake of her endorsement by Sarah Palin and her lead over Paul Hodes (D) in the U.S. Senate race has shrunk to its lowest level yet . . .

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/more_evidence_sarah_palin_shou.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/post-palin-ergo-propter-palin/60497/

You knew it was coming. What lesson does the media draw from the Andrew Breitbart video scam? You just can’t trust those damn bloggers

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/breitbart-loving-media-now-targets-anon

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/breitbart-hyping-media-calls-for-legal-sanctions-against-bloggers-to-solve-problem-of-their-own-creation/

More: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/media-upset-about-wikileaks-because-t

Bonus item: Al Franken. Netroots conference. Enjoy

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/sen-al-franken-netroots-nation

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

MORE DISCLOSURES

Still sifting through the WikiLeaks Afghanistan documents

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/26/mr_obamas_vietnam_the_new_pentagon_papers/
Mr. Obama's Vietnam

http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2010/07/the-war-logs-the-largest-pentagon-leak-ever.html
The newspapers admit they kept some secrets too sensitive for publication buried . . .

More: http://mydd.com/2010/7/26/in-the-end-all-we

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/26/wikileaks_docs_show_dangers_for_contractors

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/chem-weapons-scare-bin-laden-clue-in-wikileaks-wardocs-dump

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024891.php

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/are-the-wikileaks-war-docs-overhyped-old-news/

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/26/dod_says_wikileaks_not_a_threat

See? Is that so hard?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024904.php
[Steve Benen] Last year's stimulus worked exactly as it was intended to work -- in some ways, it even exceeded expectations . . . [read on]

BP: the banality of evil

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#38421142
[NB: Watch this!]

More: http://mydd.com/2010/7/26/bp-lets-ceo-hayward-off-the-hook

http://washingtonindependent.com/92570/report-hayward-to-receive-930000-upon-stepping-down

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/26/887767/-BP-still-hasnt-funded-$20-billion-recovery-account

Elizabeth Warren for CFPB, after all?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/26/887845/-Elizabeth-Warren

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/administration-warming-to-warren-as-she-becomes-new-progressive-hero.php

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/26/will-the-cfpb-get-gutted-before-it-even-starts/

With a 5-4 court, what happens if one of the conservatives steps down during Obama’s admin?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/26/a_possible_mother_of_all_battles.html

“L” is for losers

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/26/885761/-A-richness-of-embarrassments

The kind of party they are

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/strategy_comes_into_focus.php
[Josh Marshall] The GOP strategy for the final 2010 election is coming into focus: Senate Republicans are asking for hearings on alleged Obama DOJ bias against white people.

Remember, these are the charges brought by J. Christian Adams, one of the activist political hires brought in at the DOJ by the folks who ran the US Attorney firings. The Bush purge of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, the Breitbart/Sherrod smear. It all comes together. And it's the story of the next three months.

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/judiciary_republicans_want_probe_into_new_black_pa.php

Rather than backing down and admitting that Andrew Breitbart and his media enablers slandered Shirley Sherrod, the right’s strategy has been to redouble their attacks against HER

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/wingers_wo_dictionaries.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/26/887812/-Former-Reagan-aide-attacks-Shirley-Sherrod

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024900.php

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/adam_serwer_archive?month=07&year=2010&base_name=by_far_the_most_pathetic_thing

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38609

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38568

The real scandal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/sherrod-scandal-is-a-cons_n_659560.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/26/887807/-Both-sides-DONT-do-it

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/no_both_sides_dont_do_what_bre.html

Always eager to have it both ways, the GOP establishment features Breitbart in an upcoming fundraiser. Is he still welcome?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/steele-to-hold-rnc-event----co-starring-andrew-breitbart.php

John Boehner (R-OH) tells his colleagues to keep it in their pants

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/26/boehner_warns_of_unseemly_behavior.html
"Washington is abuzz with rumors of late-night partying and of House Republicans inappropriately hanging out with female lobbyists," Roll Call notes. . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/26/gop_lobbyist_parties

Grab the popcorn! Uber-wingnut Tom Tancredo enters the Colorado governor’s race, and the sparks are already flying

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/fun-colorado-tom-tancredo-ditches-go

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/tancredo_takes_the_fun_out_of_the_crazy.php

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/nice_start.php
Tom Tancredo has already gotten into a shouting match on the radio with Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/more_jesus_less_jesus.php

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/07/uncategorized/tancredo-to-run-for-colo-gov-as-independent/
[Mark Kleiman] … thus almost certainly handing the governor’s office to the Democrats on a platter.

Some people shouldn’t throw certain words around

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/colorado-republican-ken-buck-caught-on-tape-again-calling-birthers-dumbasses.php
Colorado Republican Ken Buck Caught On Tape (Again!) -- This Time Calling Birthers 'Dumbasses'

Sharron Angle’s (R-NV) hopeless press strategy

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/dont-meet-the-press----sharron-angles-head-for-the-hills-media-strategy.php
Don't Meet The Press

So, uh, if Islam isn’t a religion, then Muslims, err, don’t deserve religious freedom, see? That’s logic!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/tennessee-lt-gov-religious-freedom-doesnt-count-if-youre-muslim-video.php

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/gainsville_church_plans_to_burn_korans_on_911_mean.php
Florida 'Church' Plans To Burn Korans On 9/11

I love these sanctimonious hypocrites who betray their own preachings, confess, repent, and then . . . eventually . . . try to undo it all

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/ted_haggard_i_over-repented_for_my_meth-gay_prosti.php

Bonus item: the difference is that when WE peddle cross-edited video, we mark it as a JOKE

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/andrew-breitbart-hearts-a_n_659313.html



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

“MORE GRIM”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26warlogs.html
A six-year archive of classified military documents made public on Sunday offers an unvarnished, ground-level picture of the war in Afghanistan that is in many respects more grim than the official portrayal. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072502092.html

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/07/25/wikileaks/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] The most consequential news item of the week will obviously be -- or at least should be -- the massive new leak by WikiLeaks of 90,000 pages of classified material chronicling the truth about the war in Afghanistan from 2004 through 2009. . . .

The White House has swiftly vowed to continue the war and predictably condemned WikiLeaks rather harshly. It will be most interesting to see how many Democrats -- who claim to find Daniel Ellsberg heroic and the Pentagon Papers leak to be unambiguously justified -- follow the White House's lead in that regard. . . . [read on]

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/25/wikileaks-release-of-secret-afghan-war-archives/
[Siun] At first glance, the reports included in these files will not be a surprise to readers here since we have been recounting the persistence of unjustified attacks on civilians and the callous response of U.S. and ISAF command for years — but these new accounts are so very disturbing and the breadth of detailed information this release provides is astonishing. . . .

Lots more: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/afghanistan-document-dump

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/assessing-wikileakss-raw-data/60376/

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/wikileaks-drops-90000-secret-war-docs-fingers-pakistan-as-insurgent-ally/

The raw documents: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/series/afghanistan-the-war-logs

The disappearing middle class

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/stats-show-shrinking-middle-class.html

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/wont-somebody-please-think-of-needy.html

We will ALL regret it

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024884.php
One of the more dramatic disappointments of the year is the apparent failure of comprehensive energy/climate reform*, which seemed to fail with a whimper this week. The Senate Democratic leadership felt like it had no choice but to scrap the effort, at least for now, in the face of an unyielding Republican filibuster.

Thomas Friedman spreads the blame around today, before concluding, "We will regret it." . . .

Finally?

http://mydd.com/2010/7/26/reid-vows-to-change-senate-filibuster-rules
Reid Vows to Change Senate Filibuster Rules

The Repubs had a long-term plan, they stuck with it, and now they’re reaping the rewards. What lesson should the Dems draw from this?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/25/the_most_conservative_court_in_decades.html
The Most Conservative Court in Decades

The Democratic House is angry at the Democratic Senate. I can see why

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/24/house-democrats-the-senat_n_658306.html

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38589

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/25/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_n_658476.html

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/david-brooks-some-tea-partys-best-fri

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

ACCOUNTABILITY

Well, maybe

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/obama-in-surprise-message-to-netroots-consider-what-weve-accomplished.php
Las Vegas -- President Obama greeted progressive activists and liberal bloggers this morning via video message, telling the group during the final full day of Netroots Nation that he gets their frustration that "change hasn't come fast enough."

"I hope you take a moment to consider all we've accomplished so far," Obama said. . . . Obama promised, "we're not done." He said that the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is in the works and touted his own plan to draw down 90,000 troops from Iraq. . . .

The president, suffering among this crowd for not being as progressive as they'd hoped, said that he wants the netroots to "keep making your voices heard, to keep holding me accountable, to keep up the fight."

Obama said "change is hard ... change is possible," and ended with, "let's finish what we've started."

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024883.php

Intolerable

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/alberto-gonzales-i-feel-angry-i-had-go-thr
[Heather] Well, here's what you get when you allow the crimes of the Bush administration to go unpunished. Alberto Gonzales coming on the T.V. playing the aggrieved victim card . . . [read on]

There’s the old “I didn’t say what I said” ploy

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/angle-backtracks-on-social-security-ive-never-said-i-wanted-to-scrap-it-video.php

Theocracy watch

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024880.php
[Steve Benen] Prominent right-wing activist David Barton recently equated anti-government zealots in the so-called Tea Party "movement" to the Founding Fathers. Yesterday, Barton went a little further, comparing the far-right activists to Jesus Christ. Seriously. . . .

Hired guns

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/poisoning-well-bp-buys-professors-and.html
[CBS] BP has been trying to hire marine scientists from universities around the Gulf Coast in an apparent move to bolster the company's legal defense against anticipated lawsuits related to the Gulf oil spill . . .

See, press people? It isn’t hard to do

http://www.slate.com/id/2261552/
Breitbart lied about Shirley Sherrod. Now he's lying about the NAACP.

Weaklings: http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/24/come-saturday-morning-truth-balance-and-the-traditional-media/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/real-millionaire-crybies-of-airwaves-it.html

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/07/24/anonymity

Breitart’s a sleaze merchant and a liar. But he couldn’t have accomplished what he did without a big boost from Fox News

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/fox-news-shirley-sherrod_n_657512.html

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/25/sunday-talking-heads-july-25-2010/
ABC’s This Week: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ). Roundtable: Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, Donna Brazile, Stephen Hayes.

CBS’ Face The Nation: Abigail Thernstrom, Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University. Cornel West, Princeton University. John Fund, Wall Street Journal Columnist. Michael Gerson, Washington Post Columnist.

CNN’s State of the Union: Gen. Michael Hayden on national intelligence. FinReg with Mort Zuckerman. Christopher Edley Jr., Dean of University of California, Berkeley School of Law and past member of the Commission on Civil Rights, and contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute City Journal and conservative commentator John McWhorter on race.

NBC’s Meet The Press: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Roundtable: The New York Times’ David Brooks, The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne, Former Obama White House Communications Director Anita Dunn, National Urban League President Marc Morial, CNBC’s Rick Santelli.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

OOGIE-BOOGIE

The conservative agenda

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/five-circles-of-conservative-hell.html

Bush Redux

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/opinion/23krugman.html
[Paul Krugman] The truth, however, is that the only problem Republicans ever had with George W. Bush was his low approval rating. They always loved his policies and his governing style — and they want them back. . . [read on!]

Here’s what we’ll be hearing about for the next few months: more Republican oogie-boogie

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/23/lame_duck_fear
Conservatives terrified of lame duck session

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/23/AR2010072304101.html
Federal budget deficit to exceed $1.4 trillion in 2010 and 2011

Here’s what we WON’T hear: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/22/secretary-lahood-republic_n_655916.html
Secretary LaHood: Republicans Tell Me In Private The Stimulus Is Working

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/23/886861/-Politifact-debunks-GOPs-scare-tactic-on-taxes
Politifact debunks GOP's "scare tactic" on taxes

Excellent question

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/07/23/intelligence
[Glenn Greenwald] Why has the Post series created so little reaction?

In case you were worried about it

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/23/stop_hyperventilating_obama_will_not_choose_war_wi/
[Steve Clemons] Stop Hyperventilating: Obama Will Not Choose War with Iran

The fight over Elizabeth Warren starts to heat up

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/barney-frank-presses-obama-to-appoint-elizabeth-warren-to-head-consumer-bureau.php?ref=fpb
Barney Frank Presses Obama To Appoint Elizabeth Warren To Head Consumer Bureau

More: http://www.salon.com/news/elizabeth_warren/index.html

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/23/warrens-nomination-becoming-more-of-a-reality/

Good point

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/the-missing-circuit-court-nominees/
[Matt Yglesias] One of the mysteries of the Obama administration, discussed a bit but not really resolved at an excellent panel on judicial issues I attended this morning, is why he’s been so slow to put names forward to fill vacancies on the federal courts. It’s true that there’s been a fair amount of obstruction, but the obstruction has been facilitated by the White House’s lackadaisical attitude toward the issue.

Part of what I wonder here is isn’t the failing a broader institutional one. After all, Democrats had eight years of George W Bush to draw up lists of potential nominees — it should have been possible for the Senate caucus, in consultation with outside groups, to produce on day one a list of well-vetted candidates that the Majority Leader and the Judiciary Chairman were prepared to go to bat for.

Let’s see, a professional liar, who peddles in lies, when caught in a lie . . lies about it, of course

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/breitbart_i_was_targeting_naacp.php
“No. Seriously. On everything I hold dear. This was never about Sherrod. . . .”

More lies: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/what-did-breitbart-know-and-when-did-he-kno

http://www.slate.com/id/2261552/

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/23/exclusive-andrew-breitbart-tells-abc-i-got-lucky-with-matt-drudge/

The Right circles the wagons to protect Breitbart

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/ann-coulter-stands-andrew-dimbulb-sez

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/elizabeth-hasselbeck-concern-trolling-shirl

And the “on the one hand/on the other hand” media helps – because there are prominent left bloggers who routinely post falsely edited videos too, right?

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/anderson-cooper-gives-breitbart-cover-paint

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/23/politico_breitbart_rage

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/do_both_sides_really_do_what_b.html
Do "both sides" really do what Breitbart does?

Well, this is something: Rush Limbaugh slams Fox News (for not being as relentless at race-bating as he is)

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38530

In what universe is someone like this a “leader” of their party?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/23/886839/-Bachmann-outlines-GOP-majority-agenda
Bachmann outlines GOP majority agenda

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/michele-bachmanns-vision-mother-of-all-repeal-bills-video.php
Michele Bachmann's Vision: 'Mother Of All Repeal Bills'

Repeal appeal

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/hidden-danger-how-the-gop-could-kill-health-reform-without-repealing-it.php
How The GOP Could Kill Health Reform Without Repealing It

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024867.php

Still fighting the Civil War

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/gop-rep-and-tn-gov-candidate-wamp-states-might-have-to-consider-separation-from-this-government.php
GOP Rep. And TN-GOV Candidate Wamp: States Might Have To 'Consider Separation From This Government

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/not_that_theres_anything_wrong_with_that.php
Remember back in the day, one of the reasons Trent Lott got into trouble after his Strom Thurmond comments was that it turned out he had long-standing ties to a neo-segregationist group called the "Council of Conservative Citizens", the successor group to the White Citizens Councils from the Civil Rights Era.

Well, they're back. . . .

Ask them. Ask every one of them

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024868.php
[Steve Benen] All of this, of course, brings me back to a point that I continue to ponder -- how seriously are Republicans prepared to take this whole impeachment idea?

Obviously, President Obama hasn't committed any crimes, and there are no sane reasons for anyone to try to impeach him. But House Republicans have been known to take some stupendously crazy steps, so it's hardly unreasonable to ask now -- before the election. . . .

Is it on the table for 2011 or not? Voters should know what to expect from the next Congress. At this point, there's no reason for the GOP to avoid the question -- they're the ones who brought it up, and apparently keep bringing it up. So, what's it going to be?

What Republican scares the DNC most as a Presidential candidate in 2012?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/john-thune-scares-dnc-exe_n_657607.html

Don’t mess with Rachel

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38548
Maddow: Because when you got all “I'll kick your network's butt” and “madam” on me, you weren't really trying to tout your network's ratings. You were trying to take the attention off me saying that your network continually crusades on flagrantly bogus stories designed to make white Americans fear black Americans, which Fox News most certainly does for a political purpose, even if it upends the lives of individuals like Shirley Sherrod, even if it frays the fabric of a nation and even if it makes the American dream more of a dream and less of a promise.

You can insult us all you want about television ratings Mr. O'Reilly and you'll be right that yours are bigger for now and maybe forever. You are the undisputed champion.

But even if no one watches us all except for my mom and my girlfriend and the people who forgot to turn off the T.V. after Keith, you are still wrong on what really matters and that would be the facts, your highness. . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024865.php

Why Daniel Schorr (1916-2010) was different

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/daniel-schorr-remembered.html

Politico’s amoral view of journalism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/politicos-age-of-rage-mor_n_657352.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/politico-says-both-sides-do-it-sun.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/politico_yes_palin_degrades_di.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/politico_editor_defends_honori.html

Bonus item: Thank god we have someone to keep us aware of these dangers

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/fox_news_big_mexican_women_are_helping_afghan_soldiers_go_awol_in_us.php
Fox News: 'Big Mexican Women' Are Helping Afghan Soldiers Go AWOL In U.S.!

[NB: No, not The Onion!]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE BLAME GAME

Sigh. Now we have sit through another of those Beltway Bubblies that’s all about how the Obama admin didn’t “handle” something properly, and not about the underlying fact of deceptive video editing and irresponsible journalism

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/shame_on_obama.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/a_question_for_the_press_corps.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024853.php

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40117.html

Who leaked? http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/white-house-concerned-about-meeting-leak/60213/

It’s the NAACP’s fault: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/22/886700/-Politico-editor:-Its-the-NAACPs-fault-Breitbart-attacked-Sherrod

Remember ACORN? http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/22/886542/-ACORN-and-Sherrod:-Do-the-traditional-media-have-integrity-and-honor

Damn

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/dems-abandon-comprehensive-energy-legislation.php
Dems Abandon Comprehensive Energy Legislation

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024851.php

Now what? http://washingtonindependent.com/92248/if-climate-bill-is-dead-what-can-environmentalists-expect-this-year

More reactions to the massive WP series on the intelligence bureaucracy

http://www.slate.com/id/2261462/
[Fred Kaplan] Don't believe the cynics, the lazybones, the tree-full-of-owls academics, or the apparatchik-apologists who dismiss it as simplistic, pointless, wrongheaded, or dangerous. The Washington Post's three-part series this week on "Top Secret America" is as important as the paper's PR campaign suggests. . . .

He told

http://washingtonindependent.com/92287/lt-dan-choi-discharged-under-dont-ask-dont-tell
Lt. Dan Choi Discharged Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

A political genius, we are constantly told

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/newt-gingrich-calls-on-united-states-to-adopt-saudi-arabian-standards-of-religious-freedom/
Newt Gingrich Calls On United States to Adopt Saudi Arabian Standards of Religious Freedom

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/gingrich_on_ground_zero_mosque_we_should_be_more_l.php

The Party of . . . What?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/bachmann-all-we-should-do-is-issue-subpoenas-if-gop-wins-house-audio.php
Bachmann: 'All We Should Do Is Issue Subpoenas' If GOP Wins House

Not ready for prime time: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/slideshow_meet_capitol_hills_new_tea_party_caucus.php
Bachmann Bungles Rollout Of House Tea Party Caucus

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024847.php

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/10/07/rnc-chaos-threatens-gop-chances-for-house-takeover/60263
RNC Chaos Threatens GOP Chances for House Takeover

Something in the water in Colorado?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/22/tancredo_issues_ultimatum.html
Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) demanded that the two GOP gubernatorial candidates in Colorado drop out of the race, the Denver Post reports. . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/22/vote_for_me_because_i_do_not_wear_high_heels.html
A new video shows Ken Buck (R), who is leading the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Colorado, repeatedly using the word "bullshit" and saying that voters should choose him over his female primary opponent "because I do not wear high heels." . . .

Burning her bridges

http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/22/sarah-palin-strikes-back-at-journolists-sick-puppies/
In exclusive remarks to The Daily Caller, Palin described “hordes of Obama’s opposition researchers-slash ‘reporters’” descending upon Alaska in the days after she was picked by McCain.

She said the media became a key reason she decided not to finish out her term as governor and faults, in part, the McCain campaign for failing to vigorously defend her. . . .

“It was too obvious to me, my family, my administration and anyone else who knew me (and my record) that we were in a defenseless position the minute I gave my acceptance speech and the hordes of Obama’s opposition researchers-slash ‘reporters’ had descended upon Alaska,” Palin told The DC. . . .

Regarding a television interview with Katie Couric widely seen at the time as a turning point in the public’s perception of Palin, which critics argued illustrated Palin’s inexperience, Palin said the interview was selectively edited.

“It didn’t help, either, that the hours and hours of interviews with the likes of Katie Couric resulted in a few minutes here and there of selected snippets of my annoyed answers.

“The media incentivized political opponents to file false ethics charges and expensive, wasteful, frivolous lawsuits against me, my family and my staff, in an obvious attempt to destroy us,” Palin said.

When those lawsuits — which Palin said she won, but the media didn’t cover — caused legal costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Palin had finally had it, she said.

“I said, ‘Enough. Political adversaries and their political friends in the media will not destroy my State, my administration, nor my family. Enough.’ I knew if I didn’t play their game any longer, they could not win. I would not retreat, I would instead reload, and I would fight for what is right from a different plane.” . . .

"With the shackles off, I relish my freedom to call it like I see it, while starving the media beast that was devouring the false reports about me, my staff and my loved ones." . . .

"The lamestream media is no longer a cornerstone of democracy in America. They need help. They need to regain their credibility and some respect. There are some pretty sick puppies in the industry today. They really need help."

And she never HAD any bridges

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/angle-holds-press-conference-takes-no-questions-and-leaves-video.php
Angle Holds 'Press Conference,' Takes No Questions And Leaves

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024842.php

Oh, really?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/22/vandehei_on_huffington_and_breitbart
Politico editor stands by comparison of Huffington Post to Breitbart

The oldest trick in the book: when you call out people who are racist, YOU are injecting race into the political discourse

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/politico-executive-editor-says-those.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/narrative-shifts-ap-asks-if-black.html
[AP] "Black racism. Is it a problem?" [read on]

Glenn Beck U

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/talkin-bout-my-glenn-eration.php

Rachel Maddow U

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/61246

Bonus item: Hilarious!

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38530

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

TURNING OVER IN HIS GRAVE

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/obama_signs_wall_street_reform.php
The President signs the most sweeping financial reforms in a generation, at the Ronald Reagan Building . . .

Follow-up on the Washington Post series

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/how-congress-fueled-the-rise-of-private-spies/
How Congress Fueled the Rise of Private Spies

Scot free

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/ap_case_closed_in_us_attorney_firings_with_no_char.php
AP: Case Closed In U.S. Attorney Firings With No Charges

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/former_bush_official_may_get_probation_sentence_in.php
Former Bush Official May Just Get Probation

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/21/shocking-result-in-us-attorney-purgegate-scandal/

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/21/the-empty-rhetoric-of-the-doj-us-attorney-purgegate-report/

When Obama came in, he brought in a new team to clean up the rancid OLC in the Justice Dept. Now, they’re all gone

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/61037

More on the Shirley Sherrod story from yesterday. Wonderful to see the apologies from the NAACP and the Ag Dept for jumping to conclusions based on believing the most unreliable of sources – and wonderful to watch Fox and Breitbart deny any responsibility for the paroxysms of racist hatred they knowingly whipped up

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/breitbart_feels_sorry_for_shirley_sherrod_video.php
Andrew Breitbart, who posted the clip of USDA official Shirley Sherrod that got her fired, said today that he feels sorry for Sherrod. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/21/886239/-Breitbart-says-its-all-a-hoax
Breitbart says it's all a hoax

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201007210024
Will media fall for Breitbart's attempt to spin his spectacular failure?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024831.php
BREITBART'S VERSION OF REGRET

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/the-breitbart-circus/60137/
The Breitbart Circus

http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/205190/shirley-sherrod-and-the-shame-of-conservative-media
Shirley Sherrod and the shame of conservative media

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/the_lone_holdout.php
Fox's Shep Smith: We didn't run Breitbart's edited video on my show because "we did not and do not trust the source"

The Post and Times make excuses for them: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072201265.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/21/sherrod-scandal-washingto_n_654478.html

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/61037

Vilsack apologizes

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/vilsacks_apology.php

“The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet”

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/07/the-scariest-unemployment-graph-ive-seen-yet/60086/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-unemployment-about-to-go-back-up.html
Is unemployment about to go back up?

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/20/prerecession-jobless-rate_n_652700.html

The GOP solution? Nothing

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/boehners-recipe-for-creating-jobs-go-backward-a-couple-years.php
In a meeting with several reporters this afternoon, House Minority Leader John Boehner outlined the top three measures he'd pursue if he becomes Speaker of the House next Congress to create new jobs. But, those who thought he'd outline specific programs and how they would create jobs were disappointed with a familiar litany of wish-list items: repeal health care reform, eschew climate legislation, and renew the Bush tax cuts.

In other words, repeal a program that largely hasn't yet taken effect; prevent new legislation that is also not in effect; and keep a current tax structure in place. . . .

More: http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/jobless-benefits-tax-fairies-black-kettles-and-mitch-mcconnell

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/gop-economy-does-better-under-dems

GOP trying to avoid the next sex scandal

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/is-boehner-policing-the-personal-lives-of-gopers.php

Not just assholes, but mean, vindictive assholes

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/21/886188/-Even-after-filibuster-is-broken,-Senate-Republicans-delay-unemployment-bill
Even after filibuster is broken, Senate Republicans delay unemployment bill

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/republicans_delay_vote_on_unem.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/pure-delay/

I love it when politicians complain that their comments were “taken out of context” – when what they actually mean is “I wish I hadn’t said that!”

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/20/885838/-Rep.-Peter-King-provides-context-by-denying-what-he-said

Whee!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/21/886196/-RNC-treasurer-accuses-Michael-Steele-of-hiding-debt
RNC treasurer accuses Michael Steele of hiding debt

More: http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/rnc-fails-report-7m-debt-fec

“Rove-linked group uses secret donors to fund attacks”

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/rove-linked-group-uses-secret-donors-to.html
Now there's a surprise . . .

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/21/american-crossroads-gps-n_n_654407.html

Looks like the Wrestling Lady in Connecticut is going to get a Republican primary challenger after all

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/its_back_on_in_connecticut.php

http://mydd.com/2010/7/21/ct-sen-s

Meet the Tea Party Caucus

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/meet-the-tea-party-caucus.php

[NB: Giants, I tell you – the best and the brightest.]

Damn

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/if_not_her_then_who.php
Nearly all signs point to Elizabeth Warren not getting the nod from Obama to head up the newly created consumer financial protection bureau.

It appears that the White House and Senate Democrats simply don't have the stomach for a fight over this position . . .

Why not? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/20/why-is-the-white-house-af_n_653217.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/early-signs-point-to-tough-landscape-for-elizabeth-warren.php

Bonus item: The kind of party they are

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/note-right
[Kevin Drum] There have been three big conservative outrages that have choked the airwaves over the past couple of weeks. #1 was about a bunch of scary black men, the New Black Panther Party. #2 was about a bunch of scary Muslims who want to build a triumphal mosque on the sacred soil of Ground Zero. #3 was about a vindictive black woman who works for the government and screws the white people she deals with. The running theme here is not just a coincidence.

Honest to God, someone on the right needs to start talking about this. Not David Frum or Andrew Sullivan, who have long since been purged from the ranks of real right wingers. Someone that conservatives actually listen to. Pronto. Who's going to start?

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***