White House Kept Justice Lawyers in Dark on Warrantless Wiretapping  —  The Bush White House so strictly controlled access to its warrantless eavesdropping program that only three Justice Department lawyers were aware of the plan, which nearly ignited mass resignations and a constitutional crisis …

David Brooks: A Republican senator put ‘his hand on my inner thigh’ for a ‘whole’ dinner party.  —  Earlier this week, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about how “the dignity code” has been “completely obliterated” in Washington, DC.  Discussing the concept on MSNBC today …

Band of House centrists offers support for ‘robust’ public health insurance plan  —  A band of 22 New Democrat and Blue Dog lawmakers say they support a “robust” government-run health plan, boosting chances of moving healthcare reform with a public insurance plan through the House.

A Farewell to Harms  —  Palin was bad for the Republicans—and the republic.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Sarah Palin's resignation gives Republicans a new opportunity to see her plain—to review the bidding, see her strengths, acknowledge her limits, and let go of her drama.

Kirk Opts Out of Senate Race (Or Maybe He Doesn't)?  —  Rep. Mark Kirk will not run for the Senate from Illinois (or will he?).  Photo by Sabah Arar of AFP/Getty Images  —  Update, 10:30 p.m.: Rep. Mark Kirk and Illinois Republican party chairman Andy McKenna are now engaged in a staring match …

Christian Believers Would Be Excluded From Government If The Left Liberals Had Their Way  —  I don't know who's behind President Obama's appointment of Dr. Francis S. Collins as head of the National Institutes of Health.  Maybe it was the influence on the president of Nobel Laureate in Medicine …

Commander to Seek Expansion of Afghan Forces, Officials Say  —  Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the newly arrived top commander in Afghanistan, has concluded that Afghan security forces will have to expand far beyond currently planned levels if President Obama's strategy for winning the war there is to succeed …

2 world leaders demonstrate the 2 ways of conspicuously gawking at a woman's ass.  —  I see a distinct difference between these 2 stances.  Yes, there are similarities.  Both are blatant and hilarious.  But the Sarkozy ass-gawking stance says: I admire but I must not act.

Movin' Out  —  ADVANCE COPY from the July 20, 2009 issue: Sarah Palin on why she resigned and what it means for her future.  —  In early July, while most Americans were preparing for a long weekend of cheesy parades, charred meats, and noisy fireworks, Sarah Palin made some plans of her own.

Two gay men kicked out of Chico's Tacos restaurant for kissing  —  EL PASO — Two gay men kissed at a Chico's Tacos restaurant, prompting guards to eject them and a police officer to endorse their ouster.  —  Civil-rights lawyers say the security staff was out of line.

Administration Considers Bailout Funds for Small Businesses  —  Proposal Would Take Money From $700B Program for Banking System  —  The Obama administration is developing an initiative to take money from the $700 billion program for the banking system and make it available to millions of small businesses …

“Busted?”  Fox News still running with Obama G8 photo story day after Van Susteren debunked it  —  SUMMARY: A day after Fox News host Greta Van Susteren debunked the “lying picture that's going around the Web” of President Obama purportedly “checking out” a young woman at a G8 photo shoot …

Palin Camp Takes on Levi Johnston  —  Just when you thought the plot couldn't possibly thicken more in the Days of Our Lives in Alaska, it has.  Outgoing Gov. Sarah Palin is now fighting back against claims made by her daughter's ex-boyfriend that she bailed out on Alaska in order to cash in on her fame.

Efforts at Regulation Have Yoga Teachers Bent Out of Shape  —  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  Ten years ago, with yoga transforming itself into a ubiquitous pop culture phenomenon from a niche pursuit, yoga teachers banded together to create a voluntary online registry of schools meeting …

U.S. Said to Have Averted Inquiry Into '01 Afghan Killings  —  WASHINGTON — After a mass killing of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Taliban prisoners of war by the forces of an American-backed warlord during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Bush administration officials repeatedly discouraged efforts …

Hampton: Religious Buddies Drove Ensign To FedEx To Mail Letter To Cindy  —  We're probably not going out on a limb by saying that Doug Hampton's entire televised interview about John Ensign's affair with Hampton's wife Cindy, and the fallout from it, had to have been pretty embarrassing …

Was Obama Checking Out This Girl's Butt?  —  Photo courtesy Jason Reed / Reuters-Landov  —  You may have seen this rather misleading photo doing the rounds this morning.  The photo appears to depict President Obama checking out the rear of 16 year old Brazilian girl Mayora Taveres.

CNN Poll: Do Americans want Sotomayor confirmed?  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Just three days before the start of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, a new national poll indicates that by a narrow margin, Americans would like the Senate to confirm her as the next Supreme Court justice.

Obama up big on Pawlenty, Palin  —  Barack Obama's approval rating in Minnesota has dropped six points since April, but that doesn't mean voters are responding too positively to some of his Republican alternatives.  —  54% of voters in the state now give Obama good marks, with 39% saying they disapprove of his job performance.

“Pals Around With Terrorists”: Palin Wasn't That Rogue, After All  —  In the mail this morning was an advanced copy of Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson's extremely well-reported history of the 2008 presidential campaign: The Battle for America is what the two veteran Posties have called it.

Have Palin and Sanford damaged the GOP brand?  —  Katherine Mangu-Ward and Glenn Reynolds finish their discussion. … Palin and Sanford are the least of the GOP's problems  —  Point: Katherine Mangu-Ward  —  The modern Republican Party comprises racist white reactionaries, rich CEOs …

Obama Extends Cheney's Secret Service Protection  —  There appears no end in sight for when Dick Cheney, a rare former vice president with Secret Service protection, will lose his security detail.  Whispers has learned that the political battler's Secret Service protection has been extended, though there were no details on the length.