Yet again, it all turns on Olympia Snowe  —  UPDATE, 11:34 a.m.: Senator Ben Nelson's spokesman, Jake Thompson, confirms that Nelson will vote Yes.  “He will vote for cloture on the Disclose Act,” Thompson emails.  “It's all about transparency.”  —  That removes one more element of suspense.

Mass. Legislature approves plan to bypass Electoral College  —  The Massachusetts Legislature has approved a new law intended to bypass the Electoral College system and ensure that the winner of the presidential election is determined by the national popular vote.

Congress clears war funding  —  Tens of billions in new Afghanistan war funding cleared Congress late Tuesday, even as the House easily upended a liberal challenge to the increased U.S. military presence -and drone attacks—across the border in Pakistan.  —  The back-to-back votes buy precious …

NH looking more competitive  —  Kelly Ayotte's seen her appeal to moderate voters crumble in the wake of her endorsement by Sarah Palin and her lead over Paul Hodes has shrunk to its lowest level of any public polling in 2010- she has a 45-42 advantage over him, down from 47-40 in an April PPP poll.

My Apology to Shirley Sherrod — Withdrawn  —  Last week, I jumped the gun (as did many others) in taking what was a complex story and boiling it down to an video clip without its proper context.  I apologized to my readers and to Shirley Sherrod.  —  I hereby withdraw the apology to Mrs. Sherrod.

Rep. Barney Frank causes scene demanding discount  —  Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank caused a scene when he demanded a $1 senior discount on his ferry fare to Fire Island's popular gay haunt, The Pines, last Friday.  Frank was turned down by ticket clerks at the dock in Sayville …

Arizona Hotels Thriving Despite Boycotts Over Immigration Law  —  Signs set up by opponents of the Arizona immigration law are seen at the Arizona capitol July 26 in Phoenix.  (AP Photo)  —  Arizona's tourism industry has a target on its back, but the widespread boycotts over the state's immigration law might not be hitting the mark.

Ex-Washington Post blogger David Weigel joins Slate  —  Journalist David Weigel, who resigned from the Washington Post last month following a leaked email controversy, is joining Slate as a political reporter.  —  “I'm thrilled to be joining Slate, thrilled to be working with writers I've read …

Netroots Schizo  —  I had a good time in Vegas, so I didn't spend a huge amount of time at NN, but I did spend enough time to take in the mood, and it was schizophrenic.  About half the people there are some combination of angry, disappointed and bitter with Democrats in general and Obama in particular.

How to end the filibuster with 51 votes  —  If you can't manage the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, you can't manage the 67 votes to change the rules and end the filibuster.  At least in theory.  —  But in practice, there's another path open to the Senate's growing ranks of reformers …

Sen. Kerry to pay $500K tax on yacht  —  Senator John Kerry said today he will voluntarily cut a check to the state of Massachusetts for some $500,000 in sales tax for a yacht he purchased in Rhode Island earlier this year.  —  “We've reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue …

Rendell: Obama Could Face Primary Challenge Over Afghanistan (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell predicted on Tuesday that if the president escalates America's military involvement in Afghanistan he could very well face a primary challenger in 2012.

“Journolist” Was Not a Progressive Idea (July 27, 2010 2:20 AM) … You can't argue that there's a careerist element lurking beneath the surface of Reihan Salam's latest defense of Journolist.  It's pretty much right there on top.  Salam explains that Ezra Klein's secretuve off-record web group represented …

Who's the Extremist?  —  As a progressive, I tend to think the Republican Party is much more ideologically extreme than the Democratic Party.  There are many reasons, some of which may be more legitimate than others.  But it turns out that my opinion isn't representative.

Head of Capitol Visitors Center gets fired  —  The head of the Capitol Visitor Center has been fired, sources told The Hill on Tuesday.  —  Terrie Rouse was fired from her position as the chief executive officer for the multi-million dollar Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) …

On Walking Away: Is Strategic Default All That's Left to Stressed Homeowners?  —  Near the end of our foreclosure panel, we finally got into the meat of the situation: what it will take given a government unwilling to do more for struggling borrowers to actually reset the broken housing market.

Obama Missing Historic Boy Scout Jamboree for Fundraisers, ‘View’ Taping  —  President Obama will make history as the first sitting president on a daytime talk show when he visits with the ladies of “The View.”  But he'll be missing out on another historic occasion — the Boy Scouts' Jamboree marking …

Al Qaeda No. 2 Threatens More U.S. Attacks  —  Ayman Al-Zawahiri Also Mentions Times Square Attack in Audio Message  —  Al Qaeda's second in command Ayman Al-Zawahiri has surfaced again, this time threatening more attacks against the U.S. and the West.  —  “Oh American people …

Oliver Stone apologises for claim Hitler was a ‘scapegoat’ in World War Two ‘who did more damage to Russia than Jews’  —  Director Oliver Stone has been forced to apologise over a ‘Mel Gibson-style’ rant against Jews.  —  The double Academy Award winner claimed that the Russians suffered …

CBO: Risk of crisis growing with higher debt levels  —  The risk of a debt crisis along the lines of the kind being experienced in Europe will increase as long as the debt increases, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Tuesday.  —  The CBO said in a new report that while it was impossible …

Gingrich: Forget Ground Zero — They Can Build A Mosque Near Central Park Or Columbia Instead (VIDEO)  —  Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appeared last night on Greta Van Susteren's show, elaborating on his opposition to the building of a Muslim community center near Ground Zero in New York City.

Gore interviewed by Portland detectives  —  PORTLAND, Ore. - A law enforcement source confirms to KATU News that Portland detectives interviewed former U.S. Vice President Al Gore this past week in San Francisco.  —  Portland police detectives interviewed the VP on Thursday …

Jeff Lord Defends Jeffrey Lord  —  Well, somebody had to do it.  That fool has caused more trouble...but I like the guy so, here we go.  —  First, for the definition issue.  —  Random House Webster's College Dictionary defines lynching as: “to put to death, esp. hanging by mob action and without legal authority.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacks Octopus Paul  —  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, says Paul the Octopus, the sea creature that correctly predicted the outcome of World Cup games, is a symbol of all that is wrong with the western world.  —  He claims that the octopus is a symbol of decadence and decay among “his enemies”.

The Long Strategy  —  I was a liberal Democrat when I was young.  I used to wear a green Army jacket with political buttons on it — for Hubert Humphrey, Birch Bayh, John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt.  I even wore that jacket in my high school yearbook photo.  —  It's a magic green jacket.

18 States and D.C. Are Race to the Top Finalists  —  Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named as finalists on Tuesday in the second round of a national competition for $3.4 billion in federal financing to support an overhaul of education policies.