Rahm Emanuel expected to quit White House  —  Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his job later this year after growing tired of the “idealism” of Barack Obama's inner circle.  —  Washington insiders say he will quit within six to eight months in frustration …

Israeli Easing of Blockade of Gaza Draws Praise of U.S.  —  JERUSALEM — Bowing to worldwide pressure and condemnation, Israel on Sunday formally announced an eased blockade of Gaza that could significantly expand the flow of goods overland into the impoverished coastal Palestinian enclave, isolated by the Israelis for three years.

Obama tells Kyl in private Oval Office meeting: I won't secure border b/c then Republicans will have no reason to support “comprehensive immigration reform.”  —  promoted from the diaries because duplicity should be publicized  —  On June 18, 2010, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl told …

Tea party recalls could backfire  —  Tea party forces are seizing on a new strategy in their attempt to purge Senate incumbents from office: the recall.  —  While it's not entirely clear whether their approach will meet constitutional muster, that hasn't stopped determined groups …

Lieberman tells internet to ‘relax’ about ‘kill switch’  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman is telling his critics to “relax” over a bill that would allow the president to disable parts of the internet as he deems necessary.  China has an internet “kill switch” and the U.S. should too, according to Lieberman.

Geert Wilders: Change Jordan's name to Palestine  —  Rightist Dutch leader wants to end Mideast conflict by finding Palestinians ‘alternate homeland’  —  Geert Wilders, who leads the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) in Holland, said last week he believes Jordan should be renamed Palestine.

Banking Lobbyists Make Final Run at Reform Bill  —  As Congress rushes this week to complete the most far-reaching financial reform plan in decades, the banking industry is mounting an 11th-hour end run.  —  Industry lobbyists — and sympathetic members of Congress — are pushing for provisions …

Colleagues cool to Kerry on energy  —  John Kerry has been the most aggressive advocate of climate change legislation in the Senate this year — so aggressive that it's rubbed some of his colleagues the wrong way.  —  The Massachusetts Democrat is making his pitch with an almost religious fervor …

On The Border  —  The NY Times pushes to the border of statistical incoherence and tells us that in Arizona, crime is down even if the perception of crime is up: … Interesting.  I would have hoped that Arizonans had a better grip on the reality in their own state than some NY Times reporter.

US, Israel Warships in Suez May Be Prelude to Faceoff with Iran  —  Follow Israel news on and .  —  Egypt allowed at least one Israeli and 11 American warships to pass through the Suez Canal as an Iranian flotilla approaches Gaza.  Egypt closed the canal to protect the ships with thousands of soldiers …

Op-Ed Columnist: Budget Deficits: Spend Now, Save Later  —  Spend now, while the economy remains depressed; save later, once it has recovered.  How hard is that to understand?  —  Very hard, if the current state of political debate is any indication.  All around the world, politicians seem determined to do the reverse.

Congressman: Internal BP Document Shows Worst-Case Scenario for Spill Could Be 100,000 Barrels a Day  —  Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey on Sunday released an internal BP document that shows the oil spill could spew 100,000 barrels a day into the Gulf of Mexico, far more than has been estimated in public accounts.