White House Conference Call On Executive Privilege (Update: Executive Privilege Analysis)  —  The White House hosted a blogger conference call to discuss the issues surrounding the Bush administration's use of executive privilege in the probe of the firings of eight federal prosecutors.

Kos: Tillman Murdered for Chomsky Admiration, Antiwar Views  —  It's about time someone finally connected Noam Chomsky to Pat Tillman's death.  Another Kos diarist goes off the deep end.  This time with help from the AP which leads yet another story about the tragic death of Pat Tillman with this:

Let the Cleavage Conversation Begin  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign has sent out a fundraising letter calling a Washington Post fashion writer's column on Clinton's cleavage "grossly inappropriate" and asking donors "to take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture."

'No more confirmations of Bush high court nominees'  —  New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush "except in extraordinary circumstances."

YOUTUBE, TAKE TWO Few GOP Candidates Commit to Debate  —  McCain Adviser Trims Advertising Strategy  —  YOUTUBE, TAKE TWO Few GOP Candidates Commit to Debate  —  Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C., more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field …

Bob Dole Says Thompson Will Benefit From McCain's Lost `Buzz'  —  Bob Dole says his preferred presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, is fading and that his support is likely to be ``picked up'' by Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in September.

Edwards: "They want to shut me up"  —  MyDD flags an intense minute and a half from John Edwards in Creston, Iowa, yesterday in which he heatedly tells an audience that the attention to trivia (I assume the reference here is to his haircuts) is "not an accident" and that "they want to shut me up" …

Another Thompson resignation  —  Another aide to Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting resigned last night, two sources close to the campaign confirm.  Tom Frechette had been effectively serving as campaign manager Tom Collamore's deputy.  Collamore was removed from his post Tuesday and given a "senior adviser" role.

Is the War Lost?  Three Inconvenient Truths About Iraq Right Now  —  Democratic Party opponents of the Iraq War are now deeply invested in a withdrawal strategy.  They argue, as Harry Reid has phrased it, that the war is lost.  But there are three inconvenient truths...

Bush Administration Subpoenas Michael Moore  —  For the filming of his documentary SiCKO, Michael Moore took sick 9/11 workers to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to help them obtain free medical care.  "The (rescue workers) just want medical attention!"  Moore shouts into a loudspeaker in the movie …

Army Private Discloses He Is New Republic's Baghdad Diarist  —  The New Republic's anonymous "Baghdad Diarist" identified himself yesterday as Scott Thomas Beauchamp, an Army private in Iraq, and disputed as "maddening" accusations that he had invented his accounts of cruelty by American soldiers.

Freed man still in limbo … Mark O'Hara clutches his only belongings, his legal papers, as he uses a borrowed cell phone Wednesday in an attempt to get a ride home to Dunedin from the Orient Road Jail in Tampa.  —  Times]  —  TAMPA - Mark O'Hara left jail without handcuffs Wednesday …

Chickenhawk Congressman Smears Military Expert  —  Center for American Progress military expert Lawrence Korb testified before the House Armed Services Committee this morning, challenging escalation proponents to have the courage of their convictions and call for a draft if they would like the surge to continue indefinitely.

Lawyers sap our will to combat terrorism  —  We lack the toughness of our European neighbours  —  Many jihadis seek to create a global caliphate, ruled by Sharia.  At best, Christians, Hindus, and Jews would live in a state of submission tantamount to second-class citizenship.