Ensign's parents paid mistress $96k  —  Sen. John Ensign's parents shelled out big bucks to pay off their son's mistress, the latest twist in an unfolding scandal that has upended the political career of the one-time rising GOP star.  —  The scandal has also touched Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) …

White House Press Corps Spent the Fourth of July Hanging Out With Obama, Off the Record  —  Reporters from roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House last weekend.  Why didn't you know that?

Roland Burris won't run for Senate seat in 2010  —  Sneed has learned U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has decided NOT to seek election to the seat he fought the government to keep.  —  Sen. Burris is planning to announce his decision Friday by issuing a statement to the press.

A Final Palin Post  —  I'm back from the Last Frontier with this week's dead tree cover story on Sarah Palin, written with the very excellent editor-at-large David Von Drehle.  I don't think this will be the last we hear from the soon-to-be-former governor.

Mayor Bloomberg, Fireman Ricci, Pitcher Cone top S'mayor witness list  —  The witness list for Sonia Sotmayor's hearings next week was just released by the Judiciary Committee...  Three names pop out:  —  1. Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sotomayor's self-apppointed defender, a man who needs …

An Inside Look at the Senate Finance Committee's Revenue Options  —  Earlier this afternoon, a Senate source let me look at the revenue options being considered by the Finance Committee.  Some of them look pretty good.  Some of them seem pretty small.  And some seem downright strange.

Naming Someone Who Hates Public Schools to Head the State Ed Board?  Gov. Perry, You Can't Be Serious!  —  Hoo wee.  Via Fred Clark, this story about Texas Gov. Rick Perry considering the appointment of a right-wing extremist Christian to head the state's Board of education.

White House denies manufacturer's boast that First Lady carried their $5,950 bag  —  Is First Lady Michelle Obama sporting a taste for ultra-expensive fashion pieces, or is she cementing her status as a savvy shopper?  —  Back in April she wore a pair of $540 Lanvin sneakers at a Washington food bank.

Intrepid CNN Newsman Anderson Cooper Stumped by Cool Whip  —  I must admit, this is not the household item I would have expected Anderson Cooper to be unfamiliar with, but alas.  —  While filling in for Regis on “Live w/ Regis and Kelly” this week, Cooper illustrated that between partying …

New York Times Considers $5 Monthly Web-Access Fee  —  New York Times Co. said in a survey of print subscribers that it's considering a $5 monthly fee for access to its namesake newspaper's Web site.  —  Times Co. also asked whether subscribers would be willing to pay a discounted fee …

DeMint: America is ‘Where Germany Was Before World War II’  —  Last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) gave a short talk and Q&A at at the National Press Club about his book “Saving Freedom.”  DeMint told a room of around 100 people about a conversation he'd had with an Iranian immigrant …

The Last Manned Fighter?  —  Mike Mullen thinks the F-35 may be the last manned fighter.  Various stakeholders don't like that idea, but Robert Farley thinks it's right: … I'm with Farley on this.  The point about cost savings is not totally intuitive and I don't think it's widely appreciated …

AAR - MoveOn and Acorn Meet Patriots  —  Today was a great day on Long Island.  —  Patriots from the Conservative Society for Action, Gathering of Eagles, Active and the 912 Group rallied in front of the offices of Senator Charles Schumer to counter the staged pro-nationalized healthcare rally planned by MoveOn.org and ACORN.

King's New Rationale For Voting Against Slave Labor Resolution: It Wasn't ‘A Balanced Depiction Of History’  —  Yesterday, a number of blogs reported that right-wing Rep. Steve King (R-IA) was the lone dissenter on a House vote to acknowledge the role that slave labor had in constructing the U.S. Capitol.

China bans Urumqi mosque prayers  —  China has ordered mosques in its restive western city of Urumqi not to open for Friday prayers.  —  The order comes after several days of ethnic violence between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese.  At least 156 people have been killed so far.

Man of the People  —  I was sorry to watch, live on CNN, Edward R. Murrow and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and all around “Man of the People” Jack Cafferty spit on me on his broadcast today.  —  After decrying the notion of “actors and comedians” running for public office, Cafferty stated …

WALL STREET P.M. 07.09.09:DOW STAYS UNDER 8,200  —  DJIA: +4.76 CLOSE 8,183.17  —  S&P 500 +3.12 CLOSE 882.68  —  NASDAQ +5.38 CLOSE 1,752.55  —  RETAIL, ECONOMIC WORRIES  —  LEAVE MARKET UNCHANGED  —  FORBES: Better than expected second-quarter figures from Alcoa and a sharp drop …

Pharmacists can't refuse Plan B pill, appeals court says  —  A pharmacy owner and workers had sued Washington state to block a requirement that they stock and sell the ‘morning after’ contraceptive.  —  Pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the …

Netanyahu's paranoia extends to ‘self-hating Jews’ Emmanuel and Axelrod  —  At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off.  In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference …

Watch Who You're Calling a Liar  —  Panetta orders internal probe of secret spy program after some members of Congress say CIA misled them.  —  CIA Director Leon Panetta has ordered an internal inquiry into the agency's handling of a contentious and still highly classified intelligence program …

Criminalizing Free Speech: HR 1966 Sec 881  —  Here it comes.  Thought crime and hate crime legislation.  No one can attest to the vile nature of internet harassment, threats and insults more than I can, but I would never silence my “critics”.  This law is unconstitutional, a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

Jeb Bush: 'I don't know' if Obama is a socialist  —  (CNN) - Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told an interviewer that he could not say whether or not President Barack Obama is a socialist, and that the president would not have been elected if he had been honest with Americans about his agenda.