RICK PERLSTEIN
Freddie Gets Favored Upon the news of a federal bailout of quasi-public mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, comrade Dean Baker nails the long and short of it: "The government uses conditions all the time when it offers help to low and moderate income people. ... It is only when it comes to giving money to extremely rich people that we find it impossible to impose conditions."

Obama, McCain Duel Over Iraq - John Broder, International Herald Tribune
McCain's Plan for the Next Cold War - John Judis, The New Republic
Obama's Confusing Foreign Policy - Michael Goodwin, NY Daily News
May We Mock, Barack? - Maureen Dowd, New York Times
Swing State Review: Ohio, Part 1 - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
Obama Backers Beg for Clarity - Jason Horowitz, New York Observer
The Election Isn't About Obama - Michael Tomasky, The Guardian
Why the Race is Tied - Dick Morris, The Hill
Fear and Fretting on the Campaign Trail - Russ Smith, Wall Street Journal
A Baffling Global Economy - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Losing Faith in Free Markets? - Peter Gosselin, Los Angeles Times
Blame Socialism for Economic Threats - Terence Corcoran, National Post
A Year of Living Dangerously for the World - Martin Wolf, Financial Times
The New Reality in Iraq - F. Kagan, K. Kagan & J. Keane, Wall St. Journal
The Withdrawal Dynamic is Shifting - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian
Would the World Prefer a Weaker America? - Thomas Friedman, NYT
America's Satire-A-Thon - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics

Editorials
Drill Now! Congress Blocks the Bit - New Hampshire Union Leader
Drilling Fever: Bush Plays Politics - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Obama Wrong to Stick with Iraq Timetable - Washington Post
At the Border, Your Laptop is Just Another 'Container' - USA Today

Political News & Analysis
Candidates Find Some Accord on Afghanistan - Washington Post
Obama Calls for Focus on Afghanistan - Los Angeles Times
John McCain: The Return of the Reformer - The Politico
Obama Steers Clear of Michigan Muslims - Bloomberg

Transcripts & Speeches


Strategy for Victory in Afghanistan - John McCain
A New Strategy for a New World - Barack Obama
McCain's Speech to La Raza - John McCain
Obama's Address to the NAACP - Barack Obama
Roundtable on Freddie & Fannie - Special Report w/Brit Hume

Best of the Blogs
Bloggers and Journalism - James Joyner, OTB
Obama on Islamic Extremism - Ezra Klein, TAP
Educating the Ignorant Kumbaya Candidate - Michelle Malkin
Tom Friedman is Befuddled - Glenn Greenwald, Salon
Ready to Invade Pakistan? - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air

Naomi Klein: Bush Sees Crises in Fuel, Food, Housing and Banking as Chance to Exploit Us More

By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: People are desperate for solutions but instead they're handed policies that don't solve the crises, and are highly profitable for corporations.

Obama Wants to Shrink One War, But Expand Two Others

Tom Hayden, AlterNet

ForeignPolicy: Obama is serious about a withdrawal plan for Iraq, but he's committed himself to expanding the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dumb Idea.


The Three Biggest Myths the Bush Administration Wants You to Believe About Offshore Drilling

Faiz Shakir, The Progress Report

Environment: Conservatives are preying on concern over gas prices by propagating false myths that drilling for oil off our coasts will lower the cost of gas.


Why I Don't Flush

Graham Hill, Huffington Post

Water: The toilet is the biggest water culprit in the home -- gulping down nearly one third of your total water consumption.

Five Reasons to Love $4 Gas

Foreign Policy

Sure, it's ruining the global economy and making everyone miserable, but there's an underappreciated upside to the high price of oil.


High-Quality, Universal Health Care Is Possible -- With No Premiums or Deductibles

Maggie Mahar, Health Beat

Health and Wellness: What's more, this new plan from Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel would rein in health care inflation and insulate our health system from lobbyists.


First Guantánamo Interrogation Video Released: Prisoner Moans 'Kill Me'

Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian

Rights and Liberties: Footage showing interrogation at detention camp released by Canadian teenager's lawyers.

Phil Gramm's Self-Help Seminar: Stop Whining, Get Off Your Fat Ass, and Imagine Yourself Rich!

Post by ZP Heller
Video: How to recover from a "mental" recession. More »

• Full Post

Scenes From an Iraqi Childhood (or, Why They Hate Us and Why We Must Leave)

by Mohammed Ibn Laith, Gorilla's Guides - 6:04 AM

NPR Has a Good Laugh Over Torture

by Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog - 6:00 AM

U.S. Media Continue to Black Out Iranian Diplomatic Overtures

by Steven D., Booman Tribune - 4:14 AM

McCain Does Not Believe Gay People Can Be Parents

by Keli Goff, Huffington Post - 3:00 AM

Bush Joins In: Says Economic Woes Are All in Our Heads

by Blue Texan, Firedoglake - 4:43 PM

McCain's Shifting Stance on Immigration Continues With 'Dream Act' Flip-Flop

by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report -

It's the Economists, Stupid
Paul Waldman
July 15, 2008 | web only


Phil Gramm's tone-deaf remark about a "mental recession" demonstrates that he doesn't get the seriousness of our current economic situation.

But it also shows that in picking advisers, on the economy or otherwise, John McCain doesn't have a clue.

Phil Gramm and John McCain in Phoenix, Ariz. Monday, March 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The group blog of The American Prospect
Shine a light.[/color]
Posted at 4:19 p.m.



A respectable liberal blog
Obama on Islamic extremism.
Posted at 3:57 p.m.


Dean Baker's economic commentary
[color="#800000"]Why do Republicans support insurers?

All the Young Bankers
Thomas Geoghegan
July 16, 2008
A new generation now finances the Democratic Party -- but at what cost?

Obama and the Independent School District
Lee Cary
The signature initiative of an Obama campaign for a second term would be nationalizing public education, kindergarten through grade 12. If it happens, say goodbye to the Independent School District (I.S.D.) as we've known it. More

The Party of Defeat
Richard Baehr
The political success of the effort by the Party of Defeat was tied to creating a story, repeated constantly by members of Congress, former political figures, and cooperative journalists, that the Iraq war was a mistake. More

Can Senator Obama Avoid His Iraq Trap?
Ray Robison
Senator Barack Obama who told a crowd at the Chicago History Museum last March that he would "listen to the generals" where President Bush had not. So how would he carry out his plan to withdraw from Iraq promptly if they recommend staying? More

Senator Lieberman on Obama's Speech: Not Tough, Smart or Principled
July 15, 2008
Senator Lieberman 's critique of Obama's pre-fact finding tour statement on Iraq is on the mark: More

New leader for the AEI
July 15, 2008
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the highly regarded Washington think tank has named Arthur Brooks as it's eleventh president. More

Alfred E. Obama is Not Funny!!
July 15, 2008
If you think that Muslims burning the Danish Mohammed Cartoons don't have a sense of humor, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Just wait til the Political Correct Commissars catch you laughing at Barack Obama. More

Obama Scrubs website of surge criticism
July 15, 2008
Unbelievable but true. More

Poll Shows Increased Support for Sticking it out in Iraq
July 15, 2008
This Washington Post-ABC News poll shows surprising support for John McCain's Iraq policy of removing our troops based on conditions on the ground and not as a result of a hard and fast timetable that Barack Obama favors More

AGW: Short on science, long on religion
July 15, 2008
Here is a link to an excellent summary of two important articles from the Global Warming "Denier" camp More

Obama's Op-Ed on Iraq - Premise Untrue, And a History Lesson
July 15, 2008
The story behind Obama's editorial (My Plan For Iraq") just keeps on getting better and better. More

Obama's 'Ground Game' is to Marvel At
July 15, 2008
Obama's got the cash and the enthusiasm to dwarf the GOP efforts at GOTV More

The Tony Snow family trust
July 15, 2008
Tony Snow died young, left behind a family, and at the height of his earning potential, took a comparatively low-paying job in the White House. As a result, his children's financial future is by no means assured, especially their college educations. More

Obama the Political Chameleon
July 15, 2008
Tossing the entire left wing of the party off the bus. More

Special rules for Obama?
July 15, 2008
Sooner or later people are going to recognize the exquisite sensitivity of the Obama campaign to ridicule as weakness. More

An Ad Campaign that McCain should adopt
July 15, 2008
The Washington Post political columnist Chris Cillizza writes about a very effective ad campaign started by Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota that may hold promise not just for Coleman (who faces a well-funded, if controversial, opponent-comedian Al Franken) but for all Republican candidates. More

White House Loses Appeal to Keep Visitor Logs Secret
by Jason Leopold / July 15th, 2008

The White House lost an appeal to keep secret visitor logs containing the identities of evangelical Christian leaders who visited the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s home, according to an opinion issued Friday by a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the Bush administration’s claims that Secret Service visitor logs are the property of President George W. Bush and are not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The White House assumed control of the visitor logs when watchdog groups and the media sought access to the files.

The panel of three …

(Full article …)

THE ROVING EYE
Obama's brave (new?) world
At first glance, Democratic Senator Barack Obama's "new overarching strategy" for Iraq and Afghanistan is streets ahead of the approach proposed by his US presidential rival, Republican Senator John McCain. But from the planned withdrawal of troops from Iraq to dealing with the Taliban, Obama's vision, when it comes to implementation, will likely founder on the harsh realities that have so frustrated the George W Bush administration. - Pepe Escobar (Jul 16, '08)

Glenn Greenwald:
The Motivation for Blocking Investigations Into Bush Lawbreaking


Tom Hayden:
Obama, Iraq and Afghanistan


Walden Bello:
The Anti-Climate Summit


Robert Parry:
The High Cost of Bush’s Iraq Gambit

GERAGHTY: Obama: The New Yorker cover 'probably fueled some misconceptions about me.'


YORK: From Fannie Mae scandal to Obama campaign.


LOPEZ: NRI provides a Colorado oasis.


BERAN: The Sage of Sagamore Hill was not a conservative.


PARKER: No cartoon -- or cartoonist -- would go unpunished.

• Michael Medved : The Candidate As Cult Leader
• Walter E. Williams : Oklahoma Rebellion
• Donald Lambro : Obama's Iraq policy still a work in progress
• Brent Bozell III : Less Accessible Obama
• Austin Bay : Darfur's J'Accuse!
• Ben Shapiro : I Got Married Last Week
• Michael Gerson : The Whale Oil Economy
• Tom Tancredo : Mexican Asylum Applicants: Early Sign of a Failed State?
• John Stossel : Tear Down the Stop Signs!
• Debra J. Saunders : Backseat Driving from Sacramento
• Tony Blankley : Tacking to the Center Is Tacky
• Terence Jeffrey : Government Guaranteed
• Jacob Sullum : Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Pill Policy
• Jonah Goldberg : Throwing Gas on the Oil Fire
• Paul Greenberg : The Kibitzers
• Kathleen Parker : America's Satire-a-Thon
• Thomas Sowell : Autism Cures?
• Chuck Colson : Oil and the Poor
• Michelle Malkin : Diplomas Won't Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack
• Amanda Carpenter : Obama Ducks Afghan Duty in Senate
• David Strom : An Unpopular Truth
• Janice Shaw Crouse : Lessons On Life and Living from Tony Snow
• Matt Purple : Liberal Blogosphere: Satire of Obama is Unacceptable
• Bill Steigerwald : Unhappy 35th Birthday, DEA
• Amanda Carpenter : Michelle Obama's $600 Earrings
• Michael Steele : Small Business in 2008
• John McCaslin : Saudi Pre-Nup
• Jerry Bowyer : How Chuck Schumer Set Off a Bank Panic

ANDREA BATISTA SCHLESINGER
Don't Worry, Says the American Enterprise Institute. Be Happy! I'm not surprised that the new head of the American Enterprise Institute is an expert on happiness. They must need a dose.


ROBERT SCHEER
The Real Legacy of the 'Reagan Revolution' truthdig.com — Hows about some 'tough love' for those bankers suddenly in trouble? Or the sink-or-swim approach of 'welfare reform," to end their addiction to government handouts? Or, perhaps a heavy dose of "faith-based" personal responsibility initiatives to get those knaves who messed up our entire housing market back on the straight and narrow? Ridiculous. Nothing but the bleeding-heart, big-government, throw-money-at-the-problem approach will do when it comes to salvaging corrupt corporations.

PAUL WALDMAN
It's the Economists, Stupid prospect.org — Phil Gramm's tone-deaf remark about a "mental recession" shows that in picking advisers, on the economy or otherwise, John McCain doesn't have a clue.

DEAN BAKER
Drilling Without Oil, Tax Cuts Without Growth truthout.org — It is absurd for McCain to present himself as the candidate of jobs and growth. We are doing his policies now. They don't work.

MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD
Irresponsible Bush Clueless on the Economy progressive.org — With the stock market sliding down around the 11,000 marker, with unemployment up, and gas prices up, and food prices up, and home foreclosures up, Bush acknowledged, in his usual perfunctory manner, that "these are tough economic times for the American citizens." But what does he know?

NAOMI KLEIN
Disaster Capitalism: State of Extortion thenation.com — Once oil passed $140 a barrel, even the most rabidly right-wing media hosts had to prove their populist cred by devoting a portion of every show to bashing Big Oil. Some have gone so far as to invite me on for a friendly chat about "disaster capitalism." It usually goes well — until it doesn't.

OLIVIA ZALESKI
Bush On The Environment: Top 5 Stupidest Things Said huffingtonpost.com — President George W. Bush held a press conference to address national concern over the economy and escalating gas prices, and reconfirm his support to lift the ban on offshore drilling. It's great to see Bush take on the nations concerns, but he said at least five dumb things that must be addressed.

KATE SHEPPARD
Drill Here? Shill Here. gristmill.grist.org — "Green conservative" Newt Gingrich is delivering his "Drill here, drill now, pay less" petition to Congress. Who's funding the campaign that Gingrich is touting as a grassroots, bipartisan effort?

PAC asks McCain 'Simple Question' By BEN SMITH | 7/16/08 10:49 AM Planned Parenthood asks why some insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control.

Bush's personal aide returns at top By MIKE ALLEN | 7/16/08 10:34 AM It's apparently the last senior staff announcement for this White House.

Bush walks like a duck as GOP bolts By DAVID ROGERS & PATRICK O'CONNOR | 7/16/08 4:37 AM Hours after receiving Bush's veto on Medicare legislation, lawmakers overrode him. By a lot.

What does Rahm want? By JOHN BRESNAHAN | 7/16/08 4:39 AM Promotion to senator, House speaker or a top White House job isn't out of the question for Emanuel.

Big mouths: GOP rewards talkers By RYAN GRIM | 7/16/08 4:37 AM The House Republican Conference boosts morale by handing out spirit awards for floor speeches.

In Nov., vote for divided government By JOHN FEEHERY | 7/16/08 4:51 AM In an Ideas piece, writer argues that electing Obama would give Democrats a blank check.

Fannie, Freddie spent $200M to buy influence
By LISA LERER | 7/16/08 4:44 AM With a highly sophisticated lobbying operation, the political tentacles of the mortgage giants extend far beyond their checkbooks. See also: Talking head John McCain: The return of the reformer
By KENNETH P. VOGEL | 7/15/08 7:22 PM The Arizona senator is once again embracing his campaign finance reform credentials after a primary in which he sought to avoid them.

Media Coverage of Obama and McCain: "Nuts" or a "Disgrace"?

By Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America

Media and Technology: The Beltway press has become dysfunctional, failing to see news when it happens and hyping non-stories that require no real reporting.

The Dark Side: Jane Mayer on How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals

Eric Umansky, ProPublica

Rights and Liberties: The investigative reporter who connected the dots on detention, rendition and torture, discusses her new book, The Dark Side.


Why Our Food Waste May Be Our Greatest Asset

Ruben Anderson, The Tyee

Environment: Composting is key to reducing waste costs, cutting global warming emissions, and increasing urban food security.


Tides Brings Visionaries Together to Contemplate the Progressive Future

Don Hazen, AlterNet

With its one-of-a-kind "Momentum" conference, Tides is tapping the progressive community's brightest minds to tackle the nation's biggest challenges.

Obama Gets on Topic with Women

Kelly Nuxoll, Huffington Post

Reproductive Justice and Gender: And he has help from Clinton, whose post-primary season message to her supporters is: Get over it and move on. I have.


Why We Won't See Relief from the Oil Shock Any Time Soon

Dilip Hiro, Tomdispatch.com

The current oil shock, the fourth in the past 30-plus years and the deadliest so far, shows every sign of continuing for a long, long stretch.


Rigidly Male-Dominated Societies Are Violent; The U.S. Is No Different

Riane Eisler, The Wip

Reproductive Justice and Gender: Until people (including progressives) stop thinking of "women's issues" secondary, the U.S. will continue on its path of poverty and war.

Naomi Klein: Bush Sees Crises in Fuel, Food, Housing and Banking as Chance to Exploit Us More

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: People are desperate for solutions but instead they're handed policies that don't solve the crises, and are highly profitable for corporations.


Obama Wants to Shrink One War, But Expand Two Others

Tom Hayden, AlterNet

ForeignPolicy: Obama is serious about a withdrawal plan for Iraq, but he's committed himself to expanding the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dumb Idea.


The Three Biggest Myths the Bush Administration Wants You to Believe About Offshore Drilling

Faiz Shakir, The Progress Report

Environment: Conservatives are preying on concern over gas prices by propagating false myths that drilling for oil off our coasts will lower the cost of gas.


White House Tries to Define Contraception As Abortion

Cristina Page, RH Reality Check

The Department of Health and Human Services is dismissing medical experts and instead using a definition of pregnancy based on polling data.


Why I Don't Flush

Graham Hill, Huffington Post

Water: The toilet is the biggest water culprit in the home -- gulping down nearly one third of your total water consumption.


Five Reasons to Love $4 Gas

Foreign Policy

Sure, it's ruining the global economy and making everyone miserable, but there's an underappreciated upside to the high price of oil.


High-Quality, Universal Health Care Is Possible -- With No Premiums or Deductibles

Maggie Mahar, Health Beat

Health and Wellness: What's more, this new plan from Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel would rein in health care inflation and insulate our health system from lobbyists.


First Guantánamo Interrogation Video Released: Prisoner Moans 'Kill Me'

Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian

Rights and Liberties: Footage showing interrogation at detention camp released by Canadian teenager's lawyers.

Sen. Dole Must Want a Jackass Award: Tries to Name AIDS Bill After Jesse Helms

by Rachel Weiner, Huffington Post - 3:25 AM

G8 Dispatches: Organizing for Justice: Inside the Anti-G8

by Marina Sitrin, David Solnit, Asha Colazione, Sarah Lazare, AlterNet - 4:51 PM

New York Times Blames Obama for not Eliminating Racism in America

by Zenbowl, Daily Kos - 4:37 PM

Don't Just Change Your Lightbulbs, Change Our Leadership

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet - 3:20 PM

Maureen Dowd Whines: 'Obama's So Hard to Mock and Marginalize'

by Jill Hussein C. - 1:55 PM

House GOPers Defeat Back-up Paper Ballot Bill

by Steven Rosenfeld -

Scoring The New Yorker Cover Debate
Adam Serwer
July 16, 2008 | web only


Sunday night the new issue of The New Yorker hit newsstands. By Monday morning, everyone had an opinion: it was offensive, it failed as satire, it worked as satire, liberals have no sense of humor.

Here's a rundown of the cover's defenders and attackers.

(AP Photo)

Jesse, Barack, and African-American Support
J.R. Dunn
Jesse Jackson's infamous "hot mic" remarks have raised to the surface tensions seen earlier within the black community. More

Call Me a Proud, Scared Conservative
Kyle-Anne Shiver
Barack Obama is quite fond of disparaging what he has derisively labeled, "the politics of fear." More

Obama and the Independent School District
Lee Cary
The signature initiative of an Obama campaign for a second term would be nationalizing public education, kindergarten through grade 12. If it happens, say goodbye to the Independent School District (I.S.D.) as we've known it. More

McCain & Obama Education Plans Are Worlds Apart
July 17, 2008
McCain spent about half of his speech yesterday to the N.A.A.C.P. outlining his education plans for America, an approach much different than the plan proposed by Senator Obama. More

A revolution in schools?
July 17, 2008
A revolution may be occurring in big city schools. What will Barack Obama have to say about this? More

Archaeologists and political correctness
July 16, 2008
I suppose I should by now be inured to the news the academics, NGOs and scientific organizations are often agenda-driven propagandists and not truth seekers, but this report cinches it: More

Gallup: Congressional Approval Ratings Hits All Time Low, Again
July 16, 2008
Gallup is reporting that their latest Congressional Approval poll has resulted in the lowest approval rating for Congress ever recorded: 14%. More

Special Forces leaders being promoted
July 16, 2008
Four out 40 (10%) of the president's nominees for Brigadier General are Special Forces officers, which is a much higher than normal proportion. More

How Wrong are the Democrats on Drilling?
July 16, 2008
A common response of the Democrats when confronted with citizens advocating for increased offshore drilling is that the results are "years off into the future" More

'Undivided' Jersualem evasions dissected
July 16, 2008
Rick Richman masterfully dissects the evasions of Barack Obama on an undivided Jerusalem. More

Bush refuses to play Nanny on energy conservation
July 16, 2008
It's been a while since I've had much good to say about President Bush so here you go all you Bush fans. More

Consumer Prices Up 1.1% in June
July 16, 2008
That's the highest monthly increase in three years. Inflation for the last 12 months stands at 5% which is the highest since 1991. More

Global Warming: The Courage To Do Nothing
July 16, 2008
Is the scientific debate over on global warming? Not according to the American Physical Society* in this year's July's issue of Physics and Society . More

If you want something done right, do it yourself
July 16, 2008
Don't look now but Pakistan is apparently about to be in for a very rude awakening. More

Bovine emissions 23 times more damaging than CO2
July 16, 2008
It appears that our efforts to control C02 emissions may be misguided, as the real culprit in global warming could be cows. The More

Pat LaMarche:
Freddie and Fannie Hit Snooze on American Dream


Ira Chernus:
McCain Shifting Public’s View on Iraq?


Sarah van Gelder:
Americans Say No to War with Iran: Will Washington Listen?


Dave Zweifel:
Mayors Make Good Move On Health Care


Dilip Hiro:
The Current Oil Shock


Kevin Grandia:
Coal to Liquid Plan Means a Kentucky Fried Earth

Jeffrey St. Clair
Star Whores: How John McCain Doomed Mt. Graham

Paul Craig Roberts
War Crimes Paradox

Conn Hallinan
To the Edge in the Middle East

Dave Lindorff
Torture for Torturers?

William S. Lind
Running the Narrows in Iraq

Why Do You Get Them But I Can’t?
by Tim Buchholz / July 16th, 2008

Every day we seem to be inching more and more toward more war. According to Ali Akbar Dareini’s article in the AP, “Iran test-fired nine long- and medium-range missiles Wednesday during war games that officials said aimed to show the country can retaliate against any U.S. and Israeli attack.” He also says that “Israel’s military sent warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean for a large military exercise in June that U.S. officials described as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.” Our boys too are running war games, preparing for a possible attack on the Strait of Hormuz, …

(Full article …)

Drought and Israeli Policy Threaten West Bank Water Security
by Stephen Lendman / July 16th, 2008

Fresh water is precious everywhere but especially in one of the driest, hottest places on earth: the Middle East. Water is a strategic resource and the reason countries like Israel do everything possible to secure a reliable supply. In the words of former prime minister Moshe Sharett: “Water to us is life itself.” It shapes Israeli policy going back to the early Mandate period.

A Brief History

Post-WW I, Zionists wanted the Sykes-Picot borders altered to include the Jordan River, Lower Litani, east coast of the Sea of Galilee and Lower Yarmouk headwaters and tributaries. These affect Palestine, southern Lebanon, Syria and …

(Full article …)

You Can’t Tell a Magazine by Its Cover
by Kevin Zeese / July 15th, 2008

The New Yorker Magazine, cover that will soon be a right wing tee shirt — a cartoon of Obama in Arab garb, Michelle as a AK47 toting revolutionary, the US flag burning in their fireplace and Osama bin Laden’s photo hanging on the wall — is getting all the attention. But the more important article for those wanting to understand Obama is on the inside.

“Making It: How Chicago Shaped Obama” by Ryan Lizza is a lengthy and interesting sketch of Obama in his Chicago years. Lizza documents Obama’s carefully planned entry into Chicago politics — making the connections …

(Full article …)
Wall Street Journal a “Front” for State Terrorists
by Garry Leech / July 15th, 2008

The title of this article might startle many readers, but it is no more shocking than the contents of a recent Wall Street Journal column written by Mary Anastasia O’Grady that brazenly supports Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s accusations that human rights organizations in Colombia are “fronts” for terrorists. O’Grady goes so far as to claim that the tactics used by the Colombian military in its recent rescue of 15 hostages prove President Uribe’s accusations. Clearly, the title of this article spoofs O’Grady’s absurd claims by suggesting that her public endorsement of Uribe’s accusations make the Wall Street Journal a front …

(Full article …)
White House Loses Appeal to Keep Visitor Logs Secret
by Jason Leopold / July 15th, 2008

The White House lost an appeal to keep secret visitor logs containing the identities of evangelical Christian leaders who visited the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s home, according to an opinion issued Friday by a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the Bush administration’s claims that Secret Service visitor logs are the property of President George W. Bush and are not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The White House assumed control of the visitor logs when watchdog groups and the media sought access to the files.

The panel of three …

(Full article …)
Who Owns Obama?
by Pham Binh / July 15th, 2008

Show me whose hand you eat from, and I’ll show you whose song you sing.

That’s the proverb that comes to mind when looking at Barack Obama’s recent and not-as-recent flip-flops on everything from publicly financed elections to the recent FISA bill legalizing warrantless wiretapping and email snooping by the government. The bill also gives companies like Verizon, which cooperated with the Bush administration’s illegal wiretapping after 9/11, immunity from lawsuits.

In Obama’s announcement that he would opt out of the system of public financing, he claimed that the system “is broken” because of …

(Full article …)

• Larry Elder : Rev. Jackson, the Fat Lady is Singing
• Cal Thomas : School for Scoundrels
• Ken Blackwell : The Gathering Threat to Freedom
• Rep. Thelma Drake : Reduce Boutique Fuels, Reduce the Price of Gasoline
• Peter J. Wirs : Did Obama Plant Bogus Dowd Column to Victimize Himself?
• Rebecca Hagelin : Government is Costing You a Bundle
• Victor Davis Hanson : America is Not Post-Anything
• Robert D. Novak : Cost of Cronyism
• Emmett Tyrrell : The Prophet Obama -- Not Funny
• Debra J. Saunders : Obama's Pander on Immigration
• Paul Weyrich : A Potential Nuclear Threat?
• Ann Coulter : This is Not a Drill
• Mario Diaz : Justice and Fairness Dead in Judicial Confirmation Process
• Dick Morris and Eileen McGann : Why the Race Is Tied
• Laura Mazer : Goodbye, Tony Snow: Writer, Father, Friend
• Amanda Carpenter : Obama Surrogate Targets Mrs. McCain
• Paul Edwards : The Bush Doctrine: Can We Effectively Impose Democracy?
• John McCaslin : Still the Idol
• Phil Harris : Immoral Indignation And Log-Infested Eyes
• Kristen Fyfe : The Culture War is Being Waged in the Hearts and Minds of America's Teens

America Is Not a Post-Anything - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics
In Iraq, Affection for Obama... but His Proposal? - Tavernise & Oppel, NYT
Is Barack In a Box on Iraq? - Dick Morris & Eileen McGann, New York Post
A New Electorate in the Making? - Rhodes Cook, UVA Center for Politics
It Should Be Democrats' Year - But May Not Be - Susan Estrich, FOX News
5 States That Will Pick the President - Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call
McCain and Bush's Uneasy Alliance - James Carney, Time
Don't Dare Disagree With Obama - Bill Maxwell, St. Petersburg Times
Voters Want Economic Leadership - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal
What McCain Economic Policy? - Harold Meyerson, Washington Post
Fannie, Freddie, & the Cost of Cronyism - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
What Kind of Leader Will Obama or McCain Be? - Gergen & Zelleke, CSM
Why I Still Kinda Like John McCain - Jonathan Chait, The New Republic
Obama Right to Keep Iran Military Option - Rick Santorum, Philly Inquirer
Bush Flip Flop on Iran Better Late Than Never - James Klurfeld, Newsday
Never Forget the Truth About Communism - Lee Edwards, Pittsburgh TR
They Must Be Joking - Joe Conason, New York Observer
RCP Blog: Obama Raised $52 Million in June

Editorials
Talking Sense on Iraq - New York Times
Run on Washington - Wall Street Journal
Rep. Rangel's Tin Cup - Washington Post
Boxed in Bernanke - The Economist

Political News & Analysis
The Running Mate Question: Hill Vet or Change Agent? - Washington Post
In Iraq, Mixed Feelings About Obama Troop Plan - New York Times
Obama Campaign Raised $52m in June - Associated Press
NAACP Gives McCain Respectful Reception - Los Angeles Times

Transcripts & Speeches


Strategy for Victory in Afghanistan - John McCain
A New Strategy for a New World - Barack Obama
Interview with Barack Obama - Larry King Live
Panel Discusses Foreign Policy Speeches - Special Report w/Brit Hume
Interview with Barack Obama - The NewsHour

Best of the Blogs
The Obamas as Elitist - John Cole, Balloon Juice
Time for a GOP Urban Agenda? - Patrick Ruffini, Next Right
Obama Tries Rewriting History - Rick Moran, PJM
McCain on Afghanistan - Hilzoy, Obsidian Wings
Obama Boldly Not Fighting The Last War - Tom Maguire, JustOneMinute

GERAGHTY: Obama raised $52 million in June.


YORK: $52 million in June for the Obama campaign.


YORK: From Fannie Mae scandal to Obama campaign.


NOVAK: Phil Gramm was only half wrong.


BERAN: The Sage of Sagamore Hill was not a conservative.

Teddy Roosevelt & More


VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: We want to be known again as a can-do producer nation that sweats as much as it thinks. “Enter the Post-Post Era” 07/17 12:00 AM

MICHAEL NOVAK: Phil Gramm was only half wrong. “Our ‘Horrible’ Economy” 07/17 4:00 AM

ELISE VIEBECK: GOP political rookie and War on Terror veteran Nathan Bech challenges a Democratic incumbent. “Service-Oriented” 07/17 4:00 AM

MICHAEL KNOX BERAN: The Sage of Sagamore Hill was not a conservative. “McCain’s Cult of Teddy Roosevelt” 07/16 6:00 AM

ISAIAH J. POOLE
Winning the Oil Drilling Debate The facts are on the side of progressives, but conservatives have seized the initiative on framing the issue as one of increasing the supply of American oil to lower prices — even though the government's own data concludes that drilling in places such as the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve would have negligible impact on prices, and we wouldn't see that impact until well past 2020.

NATHAN NEWMAN
What Today's Economy Means for Workers Wages tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Most workers are seeing a drop in real wages, but in that they are just joining the fate of lower-income workers who have long seen their wages dropping in the face of inflation.

PAUL ABRAMS
Getting the Economy from Vicious to Virtuous huffingtonpost.com — Policies founded upon lies rarely work. The economy has deteriorated, and will continue to spiral downward, but the reasons for the vicious cycle have been ignored, and thus the cures not even discussed. That represents a victory for the radical rightwing ideologues and a major defeat for the people of the United States.


NICHOLAS VON HOFFMAN
Portrait of a Panic thenation.com — The American economy has not been in such serious trouble in seventy-five years. You cannot expect government officials to say that, however. Commerce, like religion, depends on faith.

YVES SMITH
Death of Globalization Consensus nakedcapitalism.com — Some prominent former staunch advocates of liberalized trade regimes are having serious doubts to the point that they are actually airing them in public. The big issue appears to be — surprise — that trade is not delivering the benefits in practice that it is alleged to produce in theory.

CHRIS TOENSING
Exiting Iraq Is Easier Than They Say thenation.com — What concrete steps can the United States take, immediately and during a withdrawal, to minimize further bloodshed, and encourage peace and stability in Iraq? And how can our nation and others contribute to Iraq's eventual recovery from its excruciating ordeal?

Boxing in Obama on Iraq - Morris and McGann, New York Post opinion

The shadow of the Iraq War still hovers over the 2008 presidential race. In deed, though it's the issue that made Barack Obama (giving him his running room to Hillary Clinton's left), it may now become his chief vulnerability. Weak on national-security issues, untried, inexperienced and (perhaps) naive, Obama can find the Iraq issue hard to handle - if John McCain plays it right. Obama has long since won the issue of Iraq-past - opposing the war before anyone and voting continuously and solidly against it when others waffled. Yet McCain is winning Iraq-present: A majority of Americans believe that the surge is working. Casualties are down so far that the pessimistic left has shifted its doom-and-gloom to Afghanistan. But McCain's key opportunity is to exploit the issue of Iraq-future.

The Elephant in the Room - Rick Santorum, Philadelphia Inquirer opinion

Over the past weeks much has been made of Barack Obama's hard right turn toward the center of the political spectrum. There's been no greater about-face than his embrace of the Bush Doctrine on the next likely foreign policy crisis - Iran. The Bush Doctrine refers to the strategy of preemptive warfare that President Bush set forth in 2002. It's the idea that the United States will not wait for menacing enemies to attack us; we will attack preemptively in certain cases. But how, you might ask, can the candidate of MoveOn.org and the antiwar-forever crowd be aligned with Bush on preemptive strikes against Iran? Here's how: Last month, Obama declared, "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - everything." When a would-be commander in chief says "everything" three times in one sentence - and says so publicly - he is not just talking about continued diplomacy and sanctions. He's saying that he has not taken the military option off the table. With that statement, Obama, the definitive antiwar candidate, ended any serious debate over preemption in the post-9/11 world.

John McCain on Afghanistan - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club

John McCain laid out his strategic thinking in the War on Terror in an integrated way, examining in particular the link between the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. In describing the situation McCain extends the logic of the Iraq counterinsurgency effort and employs the framework of the “lessons learned” to the global campaign against Islamic extremism. One of the lessons of the Surge has been the need to create lasting security in one place before haring off in pursuit of mobile enemy forces. This was sometimes referred to in the media as the “ink spot” theory of counterinsurgency. McCain, in addressing overall strategy, warns that Obama’s plan to evacuate in Iraq in order to “get” Osama Bin Laden is precisely a repetition of the cardinal mistake of leaving an operation half-finished in order to begin a new one.

Obama's Summer of Success - Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe
The Audacity of Vanity - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
What Would Obama Die For? - David Paul Kuhn, Wall Street Journal
America Braces Itself for a Second Dip - Rishna Guha, Financial Times
The Coming Activist Age - David Brooks, New York Times
Offshore Drilling is a Distraction - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Los Angeles Times
Democrats Should Let Us Drill - Sen. Mitch McConnell, Wall Street Journal
Al Gore's Bold Solutions - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
Laugh, Obama, Laugh - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics
Campaign Promises to Keep - Ashley Johnson, National Journal
Obama Tour Will Inspire the Disenchanted - Gerard Baker, London Times
McCain, Obama Err to Placate Party Bases - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call
Dems Finding Success in Center - Reid Wilson, Politics Nation
Evangelicals Haven't Embraced Dem Agenda - Naomi Schaeffer Riley, WSJ
Going Jaw to Jaw with Our Enemies - Ted Sorensen, Boston Globe
Hezbollah Achieves a Total Victory - Mona Charen, National Review
What to Expect If Israel Attacks Iran - Benny Morris, New York Times
RCP Electoral Maps: Obama 255, McCain 163, Toss Ups 120, No Toss Ups

Editorials
Killer's Welcome Shows Hezbollah's True Colours - The Australian
Iran Talks Are Back On - The Guardian
Obama's 'Judgment' on the Surge - Wall Street Journal
Nelson Mandela at 90 - Dallas Morning News

Political News & Analysis
A Cast of 300 Advises Obama on Foreign Policy - New York Times
McCain Stops in West Michigan - Muskegon Chronicle
Obama, McCain Plans Need Pakistan to Join In - Bloomberg
DNC Has Fundraising Breakthrough in June - The Hill

Transcripts & Speeches


A Generational Challenge to Repower America - Al Gore
McCain at the NAACP - John McCain
Panel on Candidates and Iraq - Special Report w/Brit Hume
The Campaign and Race Relations - The NewsHour
Interview with Mitt Romney - The Situation Room

Best of the Blogs
Failing to Revere Michelle - Lisa Schiffren, The Corner
NeoCons and Moral Nationalism - Donald Douglas, American Power
The HIV Travel Ban Is Repealed - Andrew Sullivan, Daily Dish
Health Care for All - Sen. Bernie Sanders, Huffington Post
Nixon's Piano - Scott Lemieux, LG&M

Food: A luxury Item?

Frei Betto, Latin America in Movement

The average price of food has tripled in the last twelve months. We may soon be buying our groceries from a boutique.


AlterNet's Weekly Zeitgeist: Phony Drilling, Afghan Escalation, Never-Ending Financial Crisis and Much More

Don Hazen, AlterNet

From Bush's oil hoax to the New Yorker's sorry attempt at satire, our Zeitgeist list tracks the progressive issues of the week.


The Do-It-Yourself Economy

Ellen Goodman, Washington Post Writers Group

We plan our own pensions and assemble our own cheap furniture. I pray the Internet ad for a do-it-yourself eye surgery kit is a hoax.