Top Items:
![](/090713/i31.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
The Seinfeld Hearings — How Senators could, but probably won't, make the Sotomayor confirmation a show about something. — Printer — Friendly — If you suspect this week's Senate confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor will be, like “Seinfeld,” a show about nothing, you are probably right.
RELATED:
![](/090713/i106.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Text: Sotomayor's Opening Statement — Following is the prepared text of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, as released by the White House. — Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for that kind introduction.
![](/img/pml.png)
Sotomayor goes low-key on Day One — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor put judicial restraint into practice Monday afternoon — passing up the opportunity to deliver a passionate rebuttal to critics who have accused her of embracing the idea that her personal biases and ethnic background affect her judicial philosophy.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Wall Street Journal, The Swamp, Verum Serum, The Confluence, Politico Live's Blog, Hot Air and Gothamist
![](/img/pml.png)
Live Blogging the Sotomayor Hearings — ‘A Truly American Story’ | 10:03 a.m. Senator Leahy now begins talking about the story we'll all hear throughout the Democrats' opening remarks — the success, or rags-to-riches if you will — tale of the judge's upbringing and career.
![](/090713/i16.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Morning Fix: Five Senators to Watch on Sotomayor
Discussion:
The Politico, Roll Call, Scorecard's Blog, The Note, Swing State Project and Taylor Marsh
![](/090713/i60.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Liz Cheney: Investigating My Dad Would Prove Americans 'Can't Trust' Democrats With National Security — On Saturday, the New York Times reported that former Vice President Dick Cheney gave “direct orders” to the CIA, compelling the agency to withhold “information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years.”
RELATED:
![](/img/pml.png)
EXCLUSIVE: Liz Cheney open to political run — The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that running for political office is on her horizon. — “It's something I very well may do,” said Elizabeth “Liz” Cheney, a lawyer and State Department appointee who has worked on two Republican presidential campaigns.
![](/img/pml.png)
Obama Rewrites the Cold War — The President has a duty to stand up to the lies of our enemies. — Printer — Friendly — There are two different versions of the story of the end of the Cold War: the Russian version, and the truth. President Barack Obama endorsed the Russian version in Moscow last week.
![](/090713/i78.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Palin's PAC Raises $700,000+ … Update, 4:10 p.m.: Palin has collected at least $200,000 more for Sarah PAC since the reporting period closed at the end of last month, according to a source familiar with the numbers. Palin's resignation — announced on July 3 — triggered a flood of donations to the PAC, the source added.
RELATED:
![](/090713/i1.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Palin's Long March to a Short-Notice Resignation — This article was reported by Jim Rutenberg from New York and Serge F. Kovaleski from Wasilla and Anchorage, Alaska. Jo Becker reported from New York and Kim Severson and William Yardley from Wasilla and Anchorage.
![](/090713/i92.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
The Price of Innovation — Two pieces worth reading on health care innovation. First, Glenn Reynolds on his family: … This is something I've been saying for a while. But it touches on something else I've been thinking about—the way in which our attempts to measure health care innovation …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute
RELATED:
![](/090713/i88.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
CIA planned al-Qaida assassinations in friendly countries, officials say — Dick Cheney, the former vice president, ordered a highly classified CIA operation hidden from Congress because it pushed the limits of legality by planning to assassinate of al-Qaida operatives in friendly countries without …
RELATED:
![](/img/pml.png)
Boiling the Frog — Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog? — I'm referring, of course, to the proverbial frog that, placed in a pot of cold water that is gradually heated, never realizes the danger it's in and is boiled alive. Real frogs will, in fact, jump out of the pot — but never mind.
Discussion:
Latest Open Salon Blog, Real Clear Politics, Matthew Yglesias, DailyHowler.com, James Fallows and The Confluence
![](/img/pml.png)
$260M BACK STAB — HILL'S FLIP ON DIPLO TAXES COSTS CITY A BUNDLE — Thanks a lot, Hillary! — In a surprise turnaround that will cost the city $260 million in back taxes and untold millions in future lost revenue, Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department has quietly reversed …
RELATED:
![](/090713/i105.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Down the Mississippi: Barack Obama effect ends white rule in Deep South town — A tiny Mississippi delta town has elected its first black mayor after the white incumbent, unopposed for 30 years, faced a young challenger inspired by President Barack Obama's feat in winning the White House.
![](/img/pml.png)
Reed aims to rejuvenate Christian conservatives — One of the most controversial and successful figures of late 20th century politics wants to expand his brand to the 21st. — Ralph Reed believes conservative voters of faith need a Christian Coalition 2.0.
![](/img/pml.png)
49% Oppose Health Care Reform Plan, 46% Favor It — Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters now at least somewhat oppose the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, while 46% at least somewhat favor it, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
![](/img/pml.png)
The Primary Weapon — That's a nice Senate seat you've got there, Unspecified Moderate Democrat. Shame if anything happened to it. — A few weeks ago, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced that she and other Senate Democrats harbored reservations about President Obama's plans to overhaul the health care system.
![](/img/pml.png)
Clinton: Vetting for USAID job ‘ridiculous’ — WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is blaming an exhaustive White House vetting process for the fact that the Obama administration has not yet named a person to run the U.S. Agency for International Development.
![](/090713/i82.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Buchanan: Todd Palin should drown Levi Johnston. — Earlier today, conservative pundit Pat Buchanan suggested that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband should murder his daughter's ex-fiance, Levi Johnston, for saying Palin's decision to resign came down to “money.” While appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Buchanan said:
![](/090713/i21.jpg)
![](/img/pml.png)
Sudan women ‘lashed for trousers’ — Several Sudanese women have been flogged as a punishment for dressing “indecently”, according to a local journalist who was arrested with them. — Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who says she is facing 40 lashes, said she and 12 other women wearing trousers …
![](/img/pml.png)
Shadow Banking: What It Is, How it Broke, and How to Fix It — We hear a lot of chatter about the shadow banking system and its crucial role in the financial crisis. But rarely do we find time to step back and ask the basic questions: What is shadow banking, where did it come from …
![](/img/pml.png)
Obama to join Fox broadcast booth for All-Star Game … Barack Obama will be adding baseball broadcaster to his résumé. SI.com learned Sunday that the President will join Fox Sports announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver during Tuesday's All-Star Game.