Wonkette

* Surprise, surprise — hippies in Congress sell out, Iraq funding bill expected to pass. [WP, NYT]
* Whatever the House can do, the Senate can do better — authorizes subpoenas for US Attorney bloodbath. [WP]
* Fate of Guantánamo Bay detention facility closely tied to the fate of Alberto Gonzales. [NYT]
* Tom Tancredo doesn’t bother reading new immigration bill, calls it “lipstick they keep putting on the pig.” [WP]
* John Edwards’ wife is a bit ill. [WP, NYT]
* The secret to Rudy Giuliani’s success: 9/11. [WSJ]
* CIA still totally about fake mustaches. [AP]
* Robot planes with frickin’ laser beams attached to their foreheads. [USAT]

Here’s Stephen Colbert’s take on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, striking down the military tribunals for Guantanamo Bay detainees as violative of U.S. and international law. MORE »

• The Supreme Court strikes down the Bush Administration’s plan to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, as violative of both U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions. [NYT, WSJ, USAT, WP]

• The Court’s ruling places constitutional limits on Bush’s use of executive power in the war on terror and raises questions concerning how the Guantanamo Bay detainees’ cases should now be handled. Republicans are hoping to craft a legislative fix. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• As midterm elections approach, Senate Republicans are trying to figure out how to move forward on immigration reform and reach a compromise with their colleagues in the House. [WP]
• The House Republicans’ aggressive stance on immigration may harm Bush’s effort to improve the GOP’s standing with Latino voters. [WP]

  MORE »

The Bush Administration’s preliminary reactions to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld are in — and they’re not terribly exciting or surprising.

At a press conference earlier today with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, President Bush got peppered with questions about the decision. Pretty much every non-Asian journalist in the room asked about Hamdan. Bush said that “we take them [the Supreme Court] very seriously.” Glad to hear it; so do we. He also stated that “we will conform to the Supreme Court.” Nothing controversial there.

Tony Snow’s PM presser wasn’t much more exciting. Every journalist present tried to get Snow to admit that the SCOTUS handed the White House its ass on a platter. But Snow didn’t take the bait, refusing to admit that the executive branch got housed by the judiciary. Quoth Tony: “You don’t sit around going, ‘Oh my gosh, the Supreme Court ruling!’ You try and deal with it.”

A few more remarks, after the jump.

MORE »

Just this morning, the Supreme Court struck down the Bush Administration’s plan to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, as violative of both U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions. The decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld was 5-3, with the conservatives — Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito — in dissent. (Chief Justice Roberts was recused, since he had ruled on the case — in favor of the government — as a lower court judge.) MORE »

* When everything that’s soulless and wrong becomes a Power Point slide. [The Nation] MORE »

• Recent good news, including the killing of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and the non-indictment of Karl Rove, may lift President Bush’s poll numbers, allowing the White House and the GOP to get off the defensive. [WP; WP]

• Democrats pick Vietnam War veteran and former Reagan Navy Secretary James Webb to run against Sen. George Allen (R-VA). [WP; WP; NYT]
• At the Take Back America conference, liberal activists boo and hiss at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), after she reiterates her opposition to a timetable for Iraq withdrawal. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) denounces the war, to cheers and applause. [WP]
• Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) pleads guilty to driving under the influence of prescription medication, gets a year of probation. [WP; NYT]
• Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), currently under federal investigation, acknowledges numerous mistakes in his financial disclosure forms. [WP; NYT]

  MORE »

• So Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has hired Attorney Robert Bonner, who used to run the U.S. Attorney’s Office that’s now investigating Lewis. [TPMMuckraker]

• Did Rove get immunity in exchange for his cooperation? [FireDogLake ]
• Crooked Timber makes it easy to read Solzhenitsyn into Guantanamo. [Crooked Timber]
• Last night Rep. Steve King (R-IA) said Iraq wasn’t very dangerous. In fact, he said, his wife is in more danger living in DC: “Well I by now have a feel for the rhythm of this place called Washington, D.C., and my wife lives here with me, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, she’s at far greater risk being a civilian in Washington, D.C. than an average civilian in Iraq.” [Think Progress]
• This one is really just about the photo. [Shakespeare's Sister]

Guantanamo suicides update: MORE »

They just want attention. Don’t encourage them. (NYT) MORE »

• Delayed discovery of three detainee suicides at Guantanamo Bay raises questions concerning whether regulations for supervision of prisoners were followed. Army general compares the suicides to the 9/11 attacks. [NYT; WP]

• Race between House immigration hawk J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) and Democratic challenger Harry Mitchell is shaping up as a referendum on immigration policy. [WP]
• Immigration issue also complicates Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election bid in California. [WSJ]
• Iran offers initial reaction to Western nuclear proposal; deems some parts acceptable, but offers no specifics. [WP]
• Democrats’ chances of scoring wins in governors’ races may be slipping. [USAT]
• Prominent Democrats schmooze with bloggers at Yearly Kos, reflecting growing clout of netroots. [Time; LAT]

  MORE »