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Iran's Disputed Election — Following up from last Friday's entry about Iran's Presidential Election, Tehran and other cities have seen the largest street protests and rioting since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Supporters of reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, upset at their announced loss …
Discussion:
The Lede, Associated Press, Jules Crittenden, The Spirit of Man, Reason, American Power and Sono Annoiato
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Cantor faces off with White House over Iran — The White House maintained its cautious tone on the disputed election and subsequent upheaval in Iran on Monday, while a GOP leader lashed out at “the administration's silence.” — Meeting with the press before President Obama's speech …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers


Ahmadinejad won. Get over it — Without any evidence, many U.S. politicians and “Iran experts” have dismissed Iranian President Ahmadinejad's reelection Friday, with 62.6 percent of the vote, as fraud. — They ignore the fact that Ahmadinejad's 62.6 percent of the vote in this year's election …

Good news: State Dep't refuses to condemn Iranian crackdown; Update: 2 to 3 million at rally — So says Fox News, via the Standard. Lefties keep assuring me on Twitter that western meddling will only make it easier for the regime to demonize the protesters, but (a) the demonization's …


Shots fired at huge Iran protest — Huge crowds cheered Mir Hossein Mousavi when he appeared at the rally — Shots have been fired at a rally in Iran where hundreds of thousands of people were demonstrating against last week's presidential election results.
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Reuters, FiveThirtyEight, niacINsight, Time, ShortWoman, Xinhua News Agency, Jihad Watch, Neuroworld, On Deadline, PERRspectives and Danger Room

Getting Out Of The Way — I know why some believe that the president …
Discussion:
Eunomia

Reality Check — Iran apologist Roger Cohen in today's Times:
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs

The Iranian election: Barack Obama's cowardly silence

The President Meets with Prime Minister Berlusconi, Comments on Iran

Dave: I Take ‘Full Responsibilty’ For ‘Beyond Flawed’ Palin Joke, and I'm Sorry — David Letterman is making a full-throated apology for his controversial joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter. — During a taping of tonight's edition of his CBS “Late Show,” Letterman went much further …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Gawker, Raw Story, Runnin' Scared, Top of the Ticket, Hot Air, Macsmind, Liberal Values and NewsBusters.org blogs
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Letterman Apologizes — Again — to Governor Palin and Her Family — David Letterman directly apologized to Gov Sarah Palin and her daughters on his program Monday night, saying he took responsibility for a joke that had offended Ms. Palin, her family, and her supporters.

Letterman re-addresses Palin: ‘I had no idea [Willow] was there’ — David Letterman re-addressed the controversy surrounding his jokes about Sarah Palin's family during the taping of CBS' “Late Show” on Monday. — Letterman said he had no idea Palin was at the Yankees game with her 14-year-old daughter …

AMA to Obama: Feh. — From my vantage point about ten feet away from the television set, here's a thumbnail sketch of President Obama's speech to the American Medical Association today. — Reform will deliver beter quality medicine. (Tepid applause.) — Reform will reduce the cost burden on employers and the government.
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State GOP staffer sends racist image of Obama. — Over the weekend, a GOP official in South Carolina posted a comment to Facebook comparing Michelle Obama to an escaped gorilla. Now, in a second instance of Republicans playing the race card against the Obamas, Wonkette notes that a racist e-mail …
Discussion:
Lean Left
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Sen Diane Black's (R-Gallatin) legislative aid circulates racist email


Pol: Gorilla is ‘related’ to First Lady
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Strata-Sphere, Politics Daily, TPMDC, Feministe, Liberal Values, Opinion L.A., FITSNews, Ta-Nehisi Coates, WyBlog and Washington Monthly

South Carolina GOP Operative Apologizes For Racist Tweet Against Obama
Discussion:
The New Republic

Why is Dennis Ross being ousted as Obama envoy to Iran? — Dennis Ross, who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be relieved of his duties, sources in Washington told Haaretz. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Fox News, Weekly Standard, Jeffrey Goldberg, Wonkette and The Washington Independent
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Cheney: I Hope Panetta Was ‘Misquoted’ in Claiming My Wish for Attack — After the CIA director apparently told The New Yorker that he thinks the former vice president is crossing his fingers for another attack on America, Dick Cheney says he hopes his “old friend” didn't really say those words.
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Cheney Responds to Panetta
Discussion:
The Plum Line, White House Watch, Crooks and Liars, Salon, Think Progress, CBS News and Prairie Weather

“Conservatives” Are Single-Largest Ideological Group — Percentage of “liberals” higher this decade than in early '90s — PRINCETON, NJ — Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.

Down Time Rescheduled — A critical network upgrade must be performed to ensure continued operation of Twitter. In coordination with Twitter, our network host had planned this upgrade for tonight. However, our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran.
Discussion:
The Field on the Narcosphere, TechCrunch, Daily Dose, Mashable!, Wonkette and Webware.com


Is Sonia Sotomayor Mean? — · The White House is fond of pointing out that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has more years on the bench, as a trial court and appellate judge, than any previous Supreme Court nominee. — With that record comes not just hundreds of written opinions, but thousands of oral arguments.
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Exclusive: House Dems Planning Major Changes To Secret CIA Briefings Of Congress — In a move that could spark another fight with the GOP over CIA intelligence and secrecy, House Dems are quietly preparing to make major changes to the ways the CIA briefs Congress on covert actions …

Pundit Glenn Beck on ‘Common Sense,’ More — Radio and television personality Glenn Beck was online Monday, June 15 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his new book, “Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine.” — Chicago: Glenn, On June 6 you said" …


CSRT CENSORSHIP — The ACLU has filed a federal lawsuit demanding the release of un-redacted transcripts of Guantánamo Bay prisoners describing abuse and torture suffered in CIA custody. The lawsuit follows a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking transcripts …