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 …

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.”

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.

House leaders squeeze Rangel  —  Increasingly impatient House Democratic leaders are prodding Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) to make a deal with the ethics committee before charges against him are unveiled on Thursday, top Democratic officials told POLITICO.  —  Fellow Democrats told POLITICO …

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:

Senate hopeful Buck regrets criticism of Tea Party birthers  —  Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Ken Buck called Tea Partyers questioning the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate “dumba—s” to a Democratic operative recording his comments without his permission.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.”

White House backed release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi  —  THE US government secretly advised Scottish ministers it would be “far preferable” to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya.  —  Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration …