memeorandum: Feds won't charge Blackwater in Sudan sanctions case (McClatchy Washington Bureau)

12:40 PM ET, June 27, 2010

Top Items:

Eat Up... Joe Biden Gets Custard in Face When Business Owner Tells Him: “Lower Our Taxes” (Video) — Joe “Bite-Me” Biden traveled to Wisconsin yesterday to campaign with far left Progressive Russ Feingold (D-WI). Smokin Joe ordered a custard at a popular custard stand in Glendale during one of their stops.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Moonbattery, Breitbart.tv, Another Black Conservative and Jules Crittenden

RealClearPolitics Video Log:

Biden Calls Manager Who Told Him To Lower Taxes A “Smartass” — Joe Biden calls a custard store manager a “smartass” after he asks the Vice President to lower taxes.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Wizbang, Freedom's Lighthouse, Patterico's Pontifications and Townhall.com

John / Power Line:

Kopp the Custard Man — It doesn't have quite the snappy ring of “Joe the Plumber,” but it will do. Earlier today Joe Biden was in Wisconsin, trying to help Russ Feingold salvage his Senate run, and he stopped at a frozen custard stand. When he asked the proprietor how much the custard cost …

Discussion: RedState

WISN Milwaukee's Channel 12:
Biden Visits Kopp's Custard Stand

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and Scared Monkeys

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

CIA Chief Leon Panetta: In Afghanistan, U.S. Has Committed 1,000 Troops Per Each Al Qaeda Terrorist — This week, in announcing his choice of Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal to lead the U.S. war in Afghanistan, President Obama emphasized, “this is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Emptywheel, Raw Story and Associated Press

Brad Knickerbocker / Christian Science Monitor:

Quagmire? Nine years on, Americans grow weary of war in Afghanistan — Americans approve of Gen. David Petraeus as the new US commander in Afghanistan. But after nine years and with mounting US casualties, support for the war itself is waning. — Until recently, the nine-year conflict …

Discussion: Informed Comment, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway and Jules Crittenden

William Kristol / Weekly Standard: Obama's Choice — He did the right thing, picking Petraeus and committing to success.

Heather / Crooks and Liars:

Geraldo Rivera Compares Rolling Stone's Michael Hastings to Al Qaeda — Geraldo Rivera goes after Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings for his reporting which led to the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and goes so far as to compare him to al Qaeda.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and lexisnexis.com

Frank Rich / New York Times:
The 36 Hours That Shook Washington

Discussion: TalkLeft, Abu Muqawama, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, Big Journalism, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

Karen Nelson / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

No skimmers in sight as oil floods into Mississippi waters — Scores of similar demonstrations were held around the United States, including one at Anna Maria Island, Fla. | GULFPORT, Miss. — A morning flight over the Mississippi Sound showed long, wide ribbons of orange-colored oil …

Discussion: Liberty Pundits Blog and NewsBusters.org

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

America Speaks in LA - They Want Economic Recovery, No Social Security Cuts — The America Speaks meetings held in 19 cities across the country today, funded to the tune of $1 billion dollars by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, were a study in how subtle messaging and deficit hyping can mold …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, TalkLeft, Entitled to Know, Balloon Juice, Suburban Guerrilla, The Impolitic and Hullabaloo

Mark Steyn / Orange County Register:

Learning the rules of an unengaged president — What do Gen. McChrystal and British Petroleum have in common? Aside from the fact that they're both Democratic Party supporters. — Or they were. Stanley McChrystal is a liberal who voted for Obama and banned Fox News from his HQ TV.

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:

Civil rights organizations question nominee Elena Kagan's record on race — On the eve of Elena Kagan's Senate confirmation hearings, her record on race in the Clinton White House and at Harvard Law School is producing discomfort among some leading civil rights organizations …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Obama and Roberts Will Cast Shadows Over Kagan Hearings

Discussion: The Caucus

Frank Phillips / Boston Globe:

Patrick leads, but Baker surging — Support slumps for Cahill in poll; tighter race reflects uneasy electorate — Governor Deval Patrick has improved his political standing in recent months but still faces major hurdles in his bid for reelection, according to a new Boston Globe poll …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Greg Jaffe / Washington Post:

Military disturbed by rapid turnover at top in Afghan, Iraq wars — Since 2001, a dozen commanders have cycled through the top jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. Central Command, which oversees both wars. Three of those commanders — including the recently dismissed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Feds won't charge Blackwater in Sudan sanctions case — WASHINGTON — The security contractor Blackwater Worldwide tried for two years to secure lucrative defense business in Southern Sudan while the country was under U.S. economic sanctions, according to current and former U.S. officials …

Carla Rivera / Los Angeles Times:

Cal State Stanislaus dinner patrons cheer Sarah Palin — Protesters chant outside before her arrival. In her speech, she chides Jerry Brown and jokes about the controversy surrounding her contract. — Sarah Palin, left, is escorted to the dinner by Cal State Stanislaus President Hamid Shirvani.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Freedom's Lighthouse and Weasel Zippers