Immigration-Reform Update  —  Senate Repubicans met today and it appears that the majority of them are willing to sign on to a White House-Kennedy "comprehensive" reform.  Some have convinced themselves that the measure represents a good trade, i.e. amnesty for 12 million …

Justice Weighed Firing 1 in 4  —  26 Prosecutors Were Listed As Candidates  —  The Justice Department considered dismissing many more U.S. attorneys than officials have previously acknowledged, with at least 26 prosecutors suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006 …

Hamas blames world, Israel and Arabs  —  The international community, Israel and Arab countries are to blame for the current inter-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip for failing to life an economic siege on the Palestinians, a senior Hamas official said Wednesday.

Debates: DNC Announces Six; Two On CNN, Two On NBC/MSNBC  —  The Democratic National Committee has officially announced "the dates, media sponsors and cities for the six DNC sanctioned debates."  —  CNN and NBC get two and ABC and CBS get one each.  Fox News isn't included.  Here's the list:

Can You Even Imagine How Bad it Must Have Been?  —  I want to put yesterday's incredible Comey testimony in some context, to demonstrate just how otherworldly this story is — and what an extraordinary tale it tells about the nature of the officials who are running our government.

Goldberg: WWTD?  Who Cares?  —  First, Ron Paul anointed Osama bin Laden the authentic expression of the entire Middle East.  "I'm suggesting we listen to the people who attacked us and the reason they did it," he declared.  And: "We need to look at what we do from the perspective of what would happen if somebody did it to us."

A Disaster: The GOP Caves On Border Security  —  Word is leaking that the GOP in the Senate are on the verge of agreeing to an immigration bill that has —as a concession to the GOP— less than half of the fencing promised by law last year.  —  White flag time on the border, and a national security and thus a political disaster.

Alberto Gonzales Carefully Tailors Warrantless Wiretapping Testimony  —  PBS Frontline's "Spying on the Home Front" last night was downright chilling.  Although there were no major blockbuster revelations, they painted a very clear and complete picture of the Bush administration's vastly …

Seeing Jose Padilla for the first time  —  Let's all welcome Lew to Firedoglake - he'll be covering the Padilla trial for us - and he'll be on the Thom Hartmann show on Air America tomorrow!  —  Seeing Jose Padilla for the first time in person - after five years of studying the man …

don't...stop...thinking about her morals  —  hillary.com wants us to vote for hillary's theme song.  they've provided a list of suggestions to choose from.  —  we think it's more appropriate to suggest our own nominations.  —  for example, sammy davis, jr:  —  or some elton john:  —  or ace of base:

Dan Rather makes his acting debut  —  NEW YORK - Dan Rather going Hollywood?  —  There were gasps of surprise at ABC's fall-schedule announcement this week when the veteran TV newsman popped up as an actor in clips for "Dirty Sexy Money," a new drama about a wealthy, misbehaving New York family.

It's Our Cage, Too  —  Torture Betrays Us and Breeds New Enemies  —  Fear can be a strong motivator.  It led Franklin Roosevelt to intern tens of thousands of innocent U.S. citizens during World War II; it led to Joseph McCarthy's witch hunt, which ruined the lives of hundreds of Americans.

Chris Matthews slams Rep. Kingston over War propaganda: Lazy and dishonest.  —  You never know which direction Chris Matthews is headed on any given day, but today he slammed Rep. Jack Kingston's phony war propaganda comparisons after Chris asked him how long we'll have troops in Iraq.