August 6, 1787

First draft of Constitution debated

In Philadelphia, delegates to the Constitutional Convention begin debating the first complete draft of the proposed Constitution of the United States.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5237

August 6, 1945

Atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima

On this day in 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world's first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=6542

August 6, 1965

Johnson signs Voting Rights Act

On this day in 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. The bill made it illegal to impose restrictions on federal, state and local elections that were designed to deny the vote to blacks.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=50717

We’ve heard a lot in recent months about President Obama’s strength among the young. Indeed, he won 18- to 29-year-olds by a stunning 66 percent to 32 percent in November. But the latest Gallup poll shows that young people may be having second thoughts. In January, 75 percent of them approved of the job Obama was doing as president. That’s now 58 percent, a 17 percentage point drop. A quick look at the other end of the age spectrum, those 65 and older, shows a 12 point drop, from 61 percent in January to 49 percent today.

http://blog.american.com/?p=3638

Cash-for-clunkers flush with cash again

On the eve of its summer recess, the Senate on Thursday cleared a $2-billion extension to keep the federally subsidized car trade-in program alive, sparing the White House a PR-dilemma after the first $1 billion ran dry in a matter of days. After rejecting a series of amendments that would have effectively paralyzed the program, the Senate approved the House-passed bill on a 60-37 vote, taking $2 billion from a renewable energy program to keep the dollars flowing to consumers and car dealerships.

Seven Republicans voted for the bill, and four Democrats opposed the measure, which President Barack Obama plans to sign immediately so the clunkers program can keep humming along.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25898.html


Here is the roll call:

YEAs ---60
Akaka (D-HI) Alexander (R-TN) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bingaman (D-NM) Bond (R-MO) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brownback (R-KS) Burris (D-IL) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Dodd (D-CT)	Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Gillibrand (D-NY) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Menendez (D-NJ)	Merkley (D-OR) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (D-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Voinovich (R-OH) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---37
Barrasso (R-WY) Bennett (R-UT) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC)	Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Kyl (R-AZ) Leahy (D-VT) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McCaskill (D-MO)	McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-NE) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Warner (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS)

Not Voting - 3
Byrd (D-WV)	Kennedy (D-MA)	Mikulski (D-MD)

Matthews: 'Is Sarah Palin a Poster Girl for Racism?'

On Wednesday's Hardball, MSNBC host Chris Matthews hosted a discussion with Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker and Salon's Joan Walsh as the trio discussed Parker's latest column, "A Tip for the GOP: Look Away," in which she argues that the Republican party is hurt by being centered in the South with its history of racial politics. Matthews, who would later theorize that Sarah Palin will exploit white racism by visiting "cul de sacs of whitedom," set up the segment by reading a line from Parker's column which compares Palin to a white character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird who falsely accuses a black man of raping her, leading to his false conviction and death in prison. Matthews:

Here`s a quote that really grabbed me: "That same rage was on display again in the fall of 2008, but this time the frenzy was stimulated by a pretty gal with a mocking little wink. Sarah Palin may not have realized what she was doing. But southerners, weaned on Harper Lee, heard the dog whistle." Kathleen, "heard the dog whistle." Is Sarah Palin a poster girl for racism? Yes or no?

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2009/08/06/matthews-sarah-palin-poster-girl-racism

California city shuts down girl's lemonade stand

By Eddie Jimenez | Fresno Bee

Eight-year-old Daniela Earnest has made lemonade out of lemons in more ways than one this week.

Hoping to raise money for a family trip to Disneyland, the Tulare girl opened a lemonade stand Monday. But because Daniela didn't have a business license, the city of Tulare shut it down the same day.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/73160.html

Nets Take Turns Failing to ID Convicted Democrat William Jefferson

On Thursday, all three network morning news programs reported the conviction of former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson on bribery charges, but only NBC’s Today identified him as a Democrat. CBS’s Early Show and ABC’s Good Morning America simply referred to him as a "former congressman."

Fannie Mae seeks $10.7B in US aid after 2Q loss

Fannie Mae seeks $10.7 billion in new US aid after posting $15.2 billion second-quarter loss

• By Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer
• On Thursday August 6, 2009, 7:00 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fannie Mae is seeking nearly $11 billion in new government aid after posting another massive quarterly loss as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps growing.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fannie-Mae-seeks-107B-in-US-apf-3979081619.html?x=0&.v=10

Presidents, like normal people, tend to seek in others what they admire about themselves. Which brings us to the par-5 12th hole at Woodlawn golf course in Fort Belvoir, Va., on Father's Day. Vice President Joe Biden, an 8 handicap, has leaked a 3-wood into the trees near the green. He stands amid the underbrush, talking with his match-play teammate, the President of the United States.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1914663,00.html

He's Not an Objective Journalist, But He Plays One on MSNBC Promos

"[W]e've got to be journalists. We've got to keep the facts straight."

That's Chris Matthews referring to the professional standards governing his "Hardball" program in an MSNBC promo that aired in a commercial break halfway through the program's August 6 edition.

'Clunkers' Program Hits a Speed Bump

August 06, 2009 6:01 PM

ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: The effort to inject another two billion dollars into Cash for Clunkers has hit a potential road block in the Senate that could kill the bill.

Republiicans are throwing their support behind an amendment offered by Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, that would limit clunker rebates to individuals with annual incomes of 50 K or less. With Republican support the amendment stands a good chance of passing unless the majority of Democrats, who mostly favor the amendment, vote against it.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/clunkers-program-hits-a-speed-bump.html

Refrigerator Recycling Programs Take Off

By Sara Peters

Programs that allow homeowners to trade in their old refrigerators and scoop up a rebate — a sort of “cash for clunkers” system for the fridge — are spreading quickly across the country.

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/refrigerator-recycling-programs-take-off/?scp=1&sq=refrigerators&st=cse

Dem Chair to ‘Muster’ Obama Volunteers to ‘Push Back Against These Thugs’

We’re still in the first week of August but it’s shaping up to be the hottest on record—politically speaking, that is.

New Hampshire Democratic State Chairman Ray Buckley is threatening to “muster” Organizing For America, the Obama administration’s political arm, while promising liberal Granite Staters, “you are going to see significant push back on these thugs.”

By “thugs” Buckley means taxpayers who have expressed discontent at recent congressional town hall meetings.

http://www.nowhampshire.com/2009/08/05/dem-chair-to-%E2%80%98muster%E2%80%99-obama-volunteers-to-%E2%80%98push-back-against-these-thugs%E2%80%99/

Harry Reid: GOP 'run by a talk show host'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid launched his harshest attack on the Republican Party in months, claiming the GOP is "being run by a talk show host."

Reid, armed with a patch of Astroturf, slammed Republicans for sponsoring town hall attacks on Democrats and accused the party of waging a barricade on Democratic efforts to pass health care reform legislation.

"I just want to show you what Astroturf really is," Reid said to laughter. "They're taking their cues from talk show hosts, Internet rumor mongers, and insurance rackets."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25881.html