Top Items:
New York Times:
Contempt for Congress — The Bush administration's disregard for the rule of law hit another low this week when Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, defied a Congressional subpoena. Ms. Miers, who was called to testify about the United States attorneys scandal, refused even to show up at the Capitol.
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Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
AP Poll: Public gives Congress low marks — WASHINGTON — In the eyes of the public, Congress is doing even worse than the president. — Public satisfaction with the job lawmakers are doing has fallen 11 points since May, to 24 percent, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Public Defenders Get Better Marks When on Salary — Some poor people accused of federal crimes are represented by full-time federal public defenders who earn salaries, others by court-appointed lawyers who bill by the hour. A new study from an economist at Harvard says there is a surprisingly wide gap …
Ynetnews:
Iranians arrest 14 squirrels for spying — Islamic Republic's intelligence agents allege rodents were carrying advanced Western spy gear — Iranian intelligence operatives recently detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation's borders, claiming the rodents were serving as spies …
Bob Geiger:
The Saturday Cartoons — Oh, boy, are you all in for a good time with today's animation. Our friend Nick Anderson at the Houston Chronicle does some unique mixing of cartoon animation and still pictures and comes up with a winner that's both poignant and funny. Have a look:
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Washington Post:
Rivalries Split McCain's Team — After Months of Staff Fights, Rick Davis Emerges as the Leader of a Diminished Campaign — After weeks of internal struggles over who would run John McCain's presidential campaign, three key aides went to the candidate in January and told him he had to take action.
New York Times:
Gaps in Training Iraqi Forces Worry Top U.S. Commanders — American commanders said Friday that the effort to train Iraqi Army and police units had slowed in recent months and would need to be expanded to enable any large-scale reduction in American force levels.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
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The Blotter:
Exclusive: Terror Commander: New Attack Will Dwarf Failed Bomb Plot — Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report: — As senior intelligence and law enforcement officials met again today in the White House Situation Room to deal with the "summer terror threat," a top terror commander said an attack …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Left in the West, The Jawa Report, Blah3, Truthdig and Little Green Footballs
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Richard Allen Greene / The Politico:
Kucinich challenges Edwards and Clinton — Dennis Kucinich has challenged Hillary Clinton and John Edwards each to debate him one on one. — He has been on the warpath since the two were caught on open mics yesterday at the NAACP debate, apparently proposing to have debates without the long-shot candidates.
Discussion:
The Daily Background
Tunku Varadarajan / Wall Street Journal:
Happy Blogiversary — It's been 10 years since the blog was born. Love them or hate them, they've roiled presidential campaigns and given everyman a global soapbox. Twelve commentators — including Tom Wolfe, Newt Gingrich, the SEC's Christopher Cox and actress-turned-blogger Mia Farrow — on what blogs mean to them.
Discussion:
TigerHawk
David Litterick / Telegraph:
Conrad Black guilty of multiple fraud charges — Conrad Black, the former media tycoon, last night faced years in jail after an American jury found him guilty of criminal fraud and obstructing justice. — Conrad Black arrives at court before the verdicts were delivered
Discussion:
Samizdata.net
Deacon / Power Line:
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOT MUCH, PART TWO — It occurs to me that my discussion of lobbying Fred Thompson may have performed in 1991 on behalf of an abortion rights group is somewhat superficial. It's true that traditionally in this country lawyers are not identified with the positions of their clients.
Atrios / Eschaton:
Late Night — Reader s sent this in. — ...it's Glenn Gould, late in life, performing the first 7 of Bach's Goldberg Variations.
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars:
McCain's Florida Campaign Co-Chair Arrested For Solicitation — Another day, another sex scandal involving a god-fearing republican who just happened to be a key supporter of John McCain. That and the fact that this legislator had also co-sponsored bills on public sex is pretty much par for the course with these guys.
Discussion:
State of the Day
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Panel Accord on Increasing Cigarette Tax — Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee reached agreement Friday on a bipartisan plan calling for a big increase in the cigarette tax to pay for a $35 billion expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program over the next five years.
Discussion:
The RBC