memeorandum: Late Nite FDL: Soylent Green (Mmmmm, Good People) (TRex/Firedoglake)

3:10 AM ET, June 5, 2007

Top Items:

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

Democrats Lose Their Edge — Poll Shows Congressional Approval Ratings Have Returned to Pre-Election Levels — The Democrats in Congress have lost much of the leadership edge they carried out of the 2006 midterm election, with the lack of progress in Iraq being the leading cause.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Strata-Sphere, The American Street, Viking Pundit, Macsmind, PoliPundit.com and Dean's World

Washington Post:

Discontent Over Iraq Increasing, Poll Finds — Growing frustration with the performance of the Democratic Congress, combined with widespread public pessimism over President Bush's temporary troop buildup in Iraq, has left satisfaction with the overall direction of the country at its lowest point …

Discussion: Oliver Willis, This ain't Hell … and Prairie Weather

USA Today:

Obama now virtually tied with Clinton, poll shows — WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are essentially tied for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the first time that the New York senator hasn't clearly led the field.

Discussion: Liberal Values and MyDD

USA Today:
Poll: Opinions go against immigration measure

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere

Manu Raju / The Hill: Obama tries to lure more Latino voters

Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:

Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas Dies at 74 — WASHINGTON (AP) - Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas, a three-term conservative Republican who stayed clear of the Washington limelight and political catfights, died Monday. He was 74. — The senator's family issued a statement saying he died Monday evening …

Discussion: Blog P.I. and Bluey Blog

CNN:

Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas dies … (CNN) — Republican Sen. Craig Thomas of Wyoming, who had been battling leukemia since November, died Monday night at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, a family spokesperson told CNN. He was 74. — Reacting to the news of Thomas' death …

Discussion: Salon and The American Mind

Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:

GOP to push for Jefferson expulsion — House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) moved quickly to force the expulsion of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) from Congress following his indictment Monday on federal corruption charges. — The Republican leader will ask members of the House …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, MyDD, American Pundit and Sister Toldjah

Associated Press:

Rep. Jefferson indicted in bribery probe — WASHINGTON - Louisiana congressman William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) received more than $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more in nearly a dozen separate schemes to enrich himself by using his office to broker business deals in Africa, according to a federal indictment Monday.

Discussion: Times-Picayune, The Newshoggers, The Carpetbagger Report, Political Radar, DownWithTyranny!, The Debate Link, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Macsmind, Mercury Rising, Don Surber, The Moderate Voice, Angry Bear and WorkingForChange

Associated Press:
U.S. congressman indicted in bribery case

Discussion: CREW, QandO, Shakesville and TPMmuckraker

William Glaberson / New York Times:

Judge Throws Out Charges in Guantánamo Prisoner Case — A military judge here dismissed the war crimes charges against a Canadian detainee today, saying there was a flaw in the procedure the military has used to file such charges against Guantánamo detainees.

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press and Balkinization

Andy McCarthy / National Review:
Stunning Gitmo Development — Charges Thrown Out

Discussion: Associated Press, Brian Beutler, Taylor Marsh and Michelle Malkin

Guardian:
Guantánamo Bay case thrown out

Discussion: Reuters, The Newshoggers, The Gun Toting Liberal™, The Heretik, Salon and The Moderate Voice

Washington Times:

CBO: Bill would only reduce illegals by 25% — The Senate's immigration bill will only reduce illegal immigration by about 25 percent a year, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report, Stephen Dinan will report Tuesday in The Washington Times. — The bill's new guest-worker program …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, PoliPundit.com, Sister Toldjah, Blue Crab Boulevard, Don Surber and Confederate Yankee

Stephen Labaton / New York Times:

F.C.C. Rebuffed by Court on Indecency Fines — If President Bush and Vice President Cheney can use vulgar language, then the government cannot punish others for doing the same thing on television. — That, in essence, was the decision today when a federal appeals court struck …

Discussion: The Gun Toting Liberal™, Balkinization, The Next Hurrah, Prairie Weather and The Democratic Daily

Brendan Carlin / Telegraph:

London unveils 2012 Olympics logo — Bosses of the 2012 Olympics were plunged into a fresh row last night after spending £400,000 on a controversial new logo for the London Games.. — In a move billed as the most significant event since London beat Paris in 2005 in the race to host the Games …

Discussion: The Belmont Club

Cynocephalus / Samizdata.net:
A superb logo is unveiled for the London Olympics

Discussion: Living in the Whine Country

Thomas H. Maugh II / Los Angeles Times:

Chicken bones say Polynesians beat Europeans to New World — Researchers use genetic analysis and radiocarbon dating of bones found in Chile to turn previously held ideas on their head. — After decades of contention, New Zealand researchers have provided the first direct evidence …

Discussion: The Newshoggers

Bella Thomas / Prospect Magazine:

A Cuban death rehearsal — 135 » Witness » A Cuban death rehearsal — With Fidel Castro apparently on the verge of death, I returned to Cuba to visit old friends. Little has changed over recent years and life for most Cubans remains harsh. Yet western visitors continue to romanticise the place

Discussion: Redstate