Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010  —  25th July 2010 5:00 PM EST WikiLeaks has released a document set called the Afghan War Diary (AWD), an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.  —  The reports, while written by soldiers …

Sherrod: “We Must Stop The White Man And His Uncle Toms ...”  —  First, a note of heartfelt appreciation for Joan Walsh of Salon.  Her moving post on Charles Sherrod - in defense of his wife, Shirley - provided the inspiration required to dust off my Google skills.

Oliver Stone: ‘Jewish-Dominated Media’ Prevents Hitler from Being Portrayed ‘in Context’  —  Director Oliver Stone belittled the Holocaust during a shocking interview with the Sunday Times today, claiming that America's focus on the Jewish massacre was a product of the “Jewish domination of the media.”

Buck: Tea Partiers questioning Obama's citizenship ‘dumbasses’  —  Lori Obert written by: Adam Schrager 13 hrs ago  —  KUSA - U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck refers to members of the Tea Party who question the President's citizenship as “dumbasses” in an audio recording obtained by 9NEWS and The Denver Post.

GOP lawmakers optimistic about ‘no’ votes  —  In February, when unpredictable Sen. Jim Bunning single-handedly stalled extensions of unemployment benefits for several days, his Republican colleagues quickly abandoned him, worried that the GOP would be cast as the party against helping people who are out of work.

Defining Lynching Down.  —  My apologies for being in Shirley Sherrod overdrive recently, but this piece from Jeffrey Lord nearly made my eyes pop out of my head.  After reviewing the Screws case, Lord concludes that Sherrod lied about Sheriff Claude Screws lynching Bobby Hall …

Fact Checking Bob Schieffer's Call For Better Fact Checking  —  Bob Schieffer of CBS News ‘Face The Nation’ is irrationally exuberant over the Shirley Sherrod debacle; he calls on the New Media to adopt the rigorous fact checking of our diligent Old Media but delivers this baffler:

More States “Competitive” in Terms of Party Identification  —  Democrats lose ground, while Republicans gain  —  PRINCETON, NJ — More states are politically competitive this year than was the case in 2009, as fewer Americans nationwide identify with the Democratic Party.

Senate Democrats to introduce energy bill  —  (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will unveil as early as Monday a slimmed-down energy bill seeking to make offshore drilling safer and convert trucks to run on domestic natural gas.  —  The full Senate could begin consideration …

President Obama to Appear on ABC's ‘The View’  —  Will Become First Sitting U.S. President to Visit Daytime TV Talk Show  —  President Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit a daytime TV talk show when he tapes an interview Wednesday with ABC's “The View.”

Journolist debates making its coordination with Obama explicit  —  Sarah Palin's speech to the 2008 Republican convention impressed more than a few doubters, including even some members of Journolist, an online community for liberal journalists.  —  “This speech is gangbusters,” wrote Ari Melber of the Nation.

Who Cooked the Planet?  —  Never say that the gods lack a sense of humor.  I bet they're still chuckling on Olympus over the decision to make the first half of 2010 — the year in which all hope of action to limit climate change died — the hottest such stretch on record.

Lutherans Offer Warm Welcome to Gay Pastors  —  With a laying on of hands, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Sunday welcomed into its fold seven openly gay pastors who had until recently been barred from the church's ministry.  —  The ceremony at St. Mark's Lutheran Church …