The Hollywood Liberal

57 die in suicide bombings across Iraq.
In Iraq today “four suicide bombers believed to be women struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300 in one of this year’s deadliest attacks.”

In Iraq today “four suicide bombers believed to be women struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300 in one of this year’s deadliest attacks.”

Internal Justice Dept. Report Cites Illegal Hiring Practices
For nearly two years, a young political aide sought to cultivate a “farm system” for Republicans at the Justice Department, hiring scores of prosecutors and immigration judges who espoused conservative priorities and Christian lifestyle choices.

Kaine in ‘Serious’ Talks With Obama
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has told close associates that he has had “very serious” conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic presidential ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine.

Unfinished Business at Freddie, Fannie
Lawrence Summers, Wash Post

Gallup: Obama Opens His Largest Lead
Sen. Barack Obama now leads Sen. John McCain among national registered voters by a 49% to 40%, according to the latest Gallup Tracking Poll.

“The margin, coincident with the extensive U.S. news coverage of Obama’s foreign tour, is the largest for Obama over McCain measured since Gallup began tracking the general election horserace in March.”

R2000: Obama Holds Double Digit National Lead
A new Research 2000 national poll finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain, 51% to 39%, with Bob Barr getting 3% and Ralph Nader getting 2%.

Broder on Obama. So Athletic. So A-R-T-I-C-U-L-A-T-E
David Broder talks about Barack Obama in a way he would never talk about a white candidate. [A]s millions of Americans who watched the primary campaign learned, Obama is invariably articulate and well-spoken. There would be no verbal gaffes. And so athletic!

David Broder

David Broder talks about Barack Obama in a way he would never talk about a white candidate.

[A]s millions of Americans who watched the primary campaign learned, Obama is invariably articulate and well-spoken. There would be no verbal gaffes.

And so athletic!

When, on the first day of the trip, he stepped onto the basketball court at the air base in Kuwait and sent his first three-point shot cleanly through the basket, you knew the gods had decided to favor him.

If only newspapers hired black editors.

A Misguided Proposal to Protect IP

A proposed law would empower the federal government to seize your computer if you use it to violate a copyright law by downloading a song or movie for which you didn't pay. Doesn't that penalty seem a bit excessive?

The bill would also empower the federal government to bring civil suits for copyright infringement — doing what the RIAA now does in its abusive lawsuits against (mostly) college students who download copyrighted music. This seems like the kind of “big government” that conservatives should deplore. If copyright holders feel infringed, they should bring their own lawsuits rather than counting on the government to do it for them. Surely our scarce federal resources are better spent elsewhere — repairing bridges, building levees, strengthening port security, and doing the countless other things that benefit society as a whole rather than businesses that should spend their own money to protect their own intellectual property.

The bill enjoys the misguided sponsorship of Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy and Evan Bayh. Can't they find something more productive to do with their time?

Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.

ABC’s “This Week” – Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

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CBS’ “Face the Nation” – Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I.

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NBC’s “Meet the Press” – Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

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CNN’s “Late Edition” – McCain and Obama.

The Vast and Dangerous Transfer of American Spying to Mercenary Companies
Johnson considers just how incompetent and unscrupulous a thoroughly privatized intelligence ‘community’ has turned out to be.

The New Knitting: This Is Not Your Grandma’s Arts & Crafts
To casual observers it may look like adults making toys and keeping them, but embroidery hoops and homemade clothes are officially cool.

White House: Leaders Should Listen To Public And International Opinion
White House Irony Watch… The Bush Administration’s statement today on its new sanctions against Zimbabwe call into question just how much of a sense of self-awareness they have. Quoting President Bush: “No regime should ignore the will of its own…

The Daily Muck
Four aides to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer have been cited by the N.Y. State Commission on Public Integrity, with misusing the New York State Police. The citations stem from a highly contentious relationship between Spitzer and former New…