Welcome back from the weekend everyone! And wake up!
Grenade attack kills 16 police in China - looks like some Chinese Islamists starting trouble (where don't they live?)
Obama leads, but pessimism reigns - if you are pessimistic about Obama's ability to help our economy then you don't have to vote for him ;)

Have a great monday!

Unemployment at 4-year high - which puts it at 5.7%
Gas falls below $3.90 a gallon
Report: Anthrax suspect kills self as FBI closes in
The curious mind of John McCain - curious? Heh :)

It's almost the weekend!

[Thursday] I see our own skymutt is successfully feeding into the alarmist frenzy over at dkos :)

Karl "Turdblossom" Rove was found to be in contempt of Congress by the Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote of 20-14. Rove is wanted for questioning about the AG firing scandal of 2007 as well as the purportedly political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Seigelman. And no, I didn't mean to be alliterative.

The Justice Department has concluded that top aides to former AG Alberto Gonzales illegally used partisan affiliation and political concerns to determine the hiring of subordinate attorneys. It is unclear whether any criminal charges will be filed, but since none of the aides implicated in the report still work for the Justice Department, no internal disciplinary measures can be made.

I am back - was supposed to return Sunday, but the flight got canceled and I got in this morning right after midnight... Fun stuff. So I was out of any TV/internet range until this morning. Is Obama about to pick a VP or what? Kaine??

Feel free to add news stories here! Really busy back at work.

Edit by stinerman: The longest serving Republican in the Senate, Ted Stevens has been indicted on seven counts of making false statements in conjunction with an investigation into possible ethics violations.

It's Monday. Back to work, you!

A Knoxville, TN man opened fire on a Unitarian church, killing two. The police found a note in the suspect's car that described the reason for the shooting: the church was part of the "liberal movement".

The Senate is taking up the co-called "Coburn Omnibus " bill this week. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has used informal parliamentary procedures called "holds " to delay the voting on quite a few pieces of legislation that have broad majority support. Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to roll all the legislation currently under hold by Coburn into a single bill and have the Senate consider that.

Foreclosures have doubled since this time last year. Nevada was hardest hit with 1 in 43 home owners receiving a foreclosure notice.

A shooter injured 3 people at a Phoenix-area community college computer lab. The shooter was involved in an altercation with another student, which turned violent.

Sorry, busy busy busy... what's up?

Not too much is newsworthy...

What's going on today?

Promoted by Brendan

Much of our political discourse refers to narratives of civil conflict, either using them to frame issues (e.g. Lou Dobbs' War on the Middle Class) or accusing others of promoting these narratives of conflict (e.g. class war, racism) rather than narratives of unity. Below is a haphazard analysis of narratives of civil conflict. I'd love to hear your thoughts, as well as any recommended readings on the topic.

Discussions between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leaders, including former Presidential hopeful Morgan Tsvangirai start today in South Africa. The discussions are designed to give opposition parties a larger seat at the policy-making table. Mugabe has been increasingly pressured by the international community after allegations of an unfair electoral process.

The New York Times refused to publish an editorial by Sen. John McCain that was offered as a counter to Sen. Barack Obama's editorial on the state of Iraq. The newspaper claimed that the rebuff was not politically motivated, but hinged on the fact that, in the opinion of the NYT, McCain's editorial did not concretely define what would constitute victory in Iraq.

June fundraising numbers are in. Sen. Obama raised over $51 million while Sen. McCain over $21 million. Sen. Clinton is reporting campaign debts of over $25 million, but about half that is to herself.

Salim Hamdan of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld fame will face a military tribunal today for providing support to Al Qaeda. Hamdan, an "illegal enemy combatant", will likely not be released even if he is acquitted of these charges.

U.S. lawmakers flock to Iraq - everyone wants to go to the new Middle Eastern paradise!
Fattest U.S. states named - don't get upset if you are in one of them!

Have a great Weekend!

Whoohooo it's almost Friday! Anyone else excited? :)

Little foreclosure relief seen from housing bill
Soldiers yearn to leave quiet Iraq for 'real war' - the real indicator that Iraq is finally in great shape. Yes, lets start moving brigades to Afghanistan.

Have a great Thursday!

Inflation is at a 26-year high , the fed funds rate is at 2%, and the economy is hitting a serious downturn. Can you say stagflation ?

Congress overrode Bush's veto of HR 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. The vote was 383-41-11 in the House and 70-26-4 in the Senate.

Hello everybody! I suppose I should get back to my open thread duties after my time off.

IndyMac is reopening today under new management. About 5% of IndyMac's assets were not FDIC insured. People who had uninsured assets will be able to withdraw 50% of their money.

An interrogation of a Canadian citizen held at Guantanamo Bay has been released . The prisoner, Omar Khadir (age 21), was captured six years ago in Afghanistan after being suspected of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier. His military tribunal is set to convene in October.

The Dow is opening higher over the upcoming rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage companies. There is also some controversy over the New Yorker's obviously satirical portrayal of Obama and his wife.

Judge for yourself below.

Rest in Peace Tony Snow - Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary and FOX News Anchor, Dies at 53 - one of my all time favorite anchors and Bush admin officials. You always had a smile on your face, even when the end was close. I'll miss you.

I hope our site's hosting company has finally fixed the problems with the server and we are ok :) It's been rough the last 2 days.

I like the Iran appears to digitally alter missile photo on the MSNBC frontpage... "appears"??? Here is another quote from the pathetic excuse of MSNBC who can't even state facts as facts - "Photoblog: Picture of test-firing may have been altered to cover up launch failure." - "may have been altered"???

You don't need complicated software to see with a naked eye that one of the missiles in the middle has a different background, crudely photoshopped in. But no, somehow we need to utilize legalese language lest a militant dictatorship on the other side of the world gets offended.

Open Thread.

Mudville Gazette has a good round-up of current events in Iraq, and it looks like the surge strategy is continuing to work.

I see the server has been down and then no one put this up! Sorry about that, I was at the doctor's for a checkup and it took forever.

FISA Consideration today! Predictions? Immunity stricken?