* Cenk Uygur tries to help an admitted oil addict. [HuffPo]
* Place blame on faceless oil barons, THEN pre-pay, THEN pump. [Wizbang]
* Poisoned, oil-coated, asthmatic fish — just like Mom makes it. [Jesus' General]
* Natural gas wants a piece of the action. [moxie]
* Pretending to have a lot of casual sex is just as awesomely satisfying as actually having it. [InkWell]

* Bush holds press conference to acknowledge “uncertainty in the country” over the situation in Iraq: “I understand people being disheartened when they turn on their TV screen. . . I believe we’re going to succeed.” [WP, NYT, W$J, USAT]
* $157m in federal funds have been directed to groups aligned with the administration’s social agenda and run by “political and ideological allies.” [WP]
* Bush “may be a lame duck, but he seems to be enjoying his swim,” writes Dana Milbank. [WP]
* Administration considers imposing fuel standards on vans and SUVs for the first time. [W$J]
* In shift, administration will ban the use of statements acquired through torture at Gitmo. [W$J]
* Six senators visiting Iraq urge “political compromises” for the sake of “national unity.” [WP, USAT]
* Senate will soon take up legislation on immigration restrictions. [WP]
* Lawmakers look to revise rules on material witnesses. [NYT]

* Over 1,300 Iraqis have died in the past week due to the sharp uptick in violence. Asks one Iraqi, “And they say there is no sectarian war? What do you call this?” [WP]
* 70% of Americans are against the Dubai port deal, including 58% of Republicans; Bush’s approval rating slips to 34% in NYT-CBS poll. [NYT]
* Coast Guard assessment cited “many intelligence gaps” in Dubai port deal. [WP, NYT, USAT, WT]
* Senate drafts bill to curb earmarks. [WP]
* India meets Bush with a new sense of empowerment. [NYT]
* Intelligence agencies remain in bureaucratic disarray. [NYT]
* Administration will oppose new United Nations panel on human rights. Kofi Annan: “I think we should not let the better be the enemy of the good.” [WP]

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An operative writes to alert us that certified blockbustersaurus Michael Crichton is testifying today before Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The man who gave the world Disclosure–you know, the book that demonstrated sexual harassment is a tool of oppression wielded by powerful women over their countless male-drone underlings–will now be holding forth on the state of global warning. His qualifications, you ask? He’s written a novel about on the subject, and–we hope you’re sitting down–the book in question, State of Fear, is, in the words of our tipster, “a heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat story about its hero’s struggle against those who are trying to dupe the world into thinking global warming is a real problem.”  MORE »