UPDATED: NY Times' Maureen Dowd Plagiarizes TPM's Josh Marshall  —  Maureen Dowd in today's NY Times: … TPM's Josh Marshall on Thurs: … All Dowd did was change “we were” to “the Bush crowd was”.  —  Now, I'm all for cutting & pasting.  As a blogger I do it all the time, but I always give credit.

The Audacity Of Humility  —  I found his Notre Dame commencement speech deeply Christian.  I was struck by two passages.  The first a simple statement of fact:  —  Understand - I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away.  No matter how much we may want to fudge it …

Some on left souring on Obama  —  When President Barack Obama speaks to the Notre Dame commencement Sunday afternoon, television cameras will search the sea of graduates, looking for turned backs and defaced mortar boards that abortion opponents will likely use to register their disagreement with the president.

Biden Reveals Location of Secret VP Bunker  —  The vice president, well-known for his verbal gaffes, confirms at a dinner the existence and location of a secret hidden bunker that Cheney is believed to have used after the 9/11 attacks.  —  FOXNews.com  —  Vice President Joe Biden …

Death From Above, Outrage Down Below  —  IN recent days, the Pentagon has made two major changes in its strategy to defeat the Taliban, Al Qaeda and their affiliates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  First came the announcement that Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal would take over as the top United States commander in Afghanistan.

‘I, Jerk’  —  ANALYSIS/OPINION:  —  In this day of polarized politics, it's incumbent on good citizens to be vigorously truthful.  Even in the heat of battle, partisans should own up to their mistakes.  Rectifying errors builds credibility.  Honest self-criticism ensures a healthy debate and a healthier democracy.

Clinging to a dead biz model for dear life  —  For two lawyers who supposedly specialize in media and First Amendment law, these guys were so full of stupid I'm embarrassed for them.  You see, they have just the legislative solutions to the newspaper industry's ills!

When Democrats start to doubt  —  While researching a liberal blogger who declared that she could “possibly bring [herself] to link to Robert ‘McCrazy’ McCain” — and I'm only too happy to return the favor of non-linkage, Libby Spencer — I ended up on the Detroit News blog, where I encountered Robert Smith Jr.

Seemingly Invincible Tamil Tigers Declare Defeat Amid Report Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran Dead  —  After waging a 26 year battle to carve out their own homeland, the once seemingly invincible Tamil Tigers have admitted defeat in their bloody fight against the Sri Lanka government.