• British Deputy PM calls Bush administration, “crap.” Dick Cheney’s heart warmed by the innocence. [The Independent]

• Sneaky Canadians confuse American governors with their sneaky Canadian jokes. [Boing Boing]
• Willie Nelson makes a non-smokable donation to Cindy Sheehan’s “ranch.” [KCEN-TV]
• Orrin Hatch admits Democrats will take control of Congress, just like their terrorist masters want. [The Carpetbagger Report]
• TSA now targeting people who “looked pissed off,” everyone in the security line at Dulles to be arrested. [NYT]

* Bush twins unemployment index goes to zero at the same time the Bush twins in DC index goes to zero. Saddest possible trombone plays a solo for every bar owner in Georgetown. [Fresh Politics] MORE »

Utah: we don’t get it. Is everyone there preternaturally friendly and white, or just the ones they allow the rest of us to see? Case in point: the “DC notebook” column of the Salt Lake Tribune. It is ostensibly written in the style of a “gossip column,” but every item is about how much everyone in the Utah congressional delegation is preternaturally friendly and how they all like one another. Then there’s this item: MORE »

3:10 — Hayden: “if I had no lawful authority to do something that needed to be done to protect this country, of course I would do it.”

Russ: “Can you explain to me why we even need to pass laws in this Congress?” if the Pres is going to get all Article 2 on us. Well, Russ, uh, no. Have you been paying attention? TIME OF WAR.

We aren’t liveblogging that much because Feingold actually asked interesting questions. Hayden didn’t answer them, but they were interesting questions. And now we’re on to Chambliss, so BRING ON THE CRAZY!

3:00– Yes! Russ “See Ya!” Feingold! The program is illegal, the President mislead the country! And WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US? “What kind of CIA director will he be? Will General Hayden follow the law?” You could ask him, Russ, he’s sitting right there.

Hayden — You have to look at the context in which I lied. “I knew in my own heart and mind that we were not talking about domestic-to-domestic.” But his voice failed to make that distinction. “I think that was the speech where I talked about Osama bin Laden traveling from Niagra Falls to New York.” OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS DEVELOPED BARREL TECHNOLOGY. Why would Hayden want to remind anyone of that speech? It’s the stupidest hypothetical ever. Seriously. And we already heard the “WILL YOU CALL RUMMY BACK” bit earlier.

2:40 — Don’t crowd the ball! Focus on the scoreboard! No “I” in team! A lot of it is attitudinal! Should the head of the CIA be a complete idiot? Does that make their lack of oversight more or less dangerous? We usedta think “less,” but complete idiots have demonstrated an alarming ability to fuck things up a lot these last couple years.

“For every 10 analysts with fewer than four years service, we only have one experiences analysts with between 10 and 14 years service.” No one in the CIA knows what the the hell they’re doing.

We are cheering ourselves up by watching this.

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* Diane Feinstein is richer than you. [SFluxe] MORE »

Under the Dome: SNL’s Rachel Dratch is invited to fill in for Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) at a primary debate. . . Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) says HBO’s “Big Love” is “just plain trash”. . . Frank Luntz: “Every time I see the Republicans on TV immediately I get a migraine headache. I’m allergic to Republican language.”. . . Peter Gabriel visits Capitol Hill today to advocate against human-rights abuses in Burma. [The Hill]
Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Andrew Card, Alberto Gonzales, Robert Mueller and Joe Albaugh have a less-than inconspicuous dinner out. [NYDN]

* Ken “Wanna See Me Fit My Whole Foot In My Mouth?” Livingstone made London proud again. Blogger David Bernstein gives him a crash course in Jewish marriage — with a thinly veiled hint that he’s registered at Pottery Barn. [The Volokh Conspiracy]
* The Archbishop of Canterbury doesn’t want the kids learning creationism. Tristero, blogging live from sixteenth-century England, claims the trend-setting Archbishop has “irrevocably recast the [creationism] debate.” [Hullabaloo]
* Josh! Come stai? Come si dice “Run this script by De Niro” in italiano? [Talking Points Memo]
* John Burgess petitions Tiger Beat for a Tony Blair spread. [Outside the Beltway]
* The Amazon is thriving on its own decay. Research dibs on “Orrin Hatch: Biome in Disguise” [Tim Blair]

* Reliable Source: Tony Blair’s son is trying to be inconspicuous as a Capitol Hill intern. . . Hill staffers will continue to receive free subscriptions to Hustler. [WP]
* Inside the Beltway: Laura Bush on the film “Glory Road”: “You’ll be amused when you watch the movie and you see the lines that, ‘Blacks can’t play basketball.’”. . . Humane Society wants the White House to use cage-free eggs for its East Egg Roll. [WT]
* Page Six: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Hillary: “I hear Bill is driving her nuts. Apparently, she came home the other day, saw him on the sofa and yelled at him to turn off ‘Oprah,’ get off his butt, and pick up the towels on the bathroom floor. And Bill said, ‘Don’t try that stuff with me. You’re trying to run this place like the House of Representatives… and you know what I mean.’”. . . Morrissey was investigated by FBI and British counterpart after calling Bush a terrorist. [NYP]

Over the weekend, a knowledgeable Wonkette operative suggested that we look into the rumors of Senator Orrin Hatch having lots of “senior moments” lately. Apparently Sen. Hatch’s mental lapses have become more serious and more frequent over the past few weeks. MORE »

* Reliable Source: Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) to Rolling Stone: “You look at the social impact of the countries that have engaged in homosexual marriage. You’ll know [Sweden] by their fruits.”. . . CNN throws farewell party for Robert Novak at the Palmer steakhouse; Pat Buchanan, Donna Brazile, Kate O’Beirne attended. [WP]
* Inside Politics: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have “floor spat” over Alito. [WT]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Arianna Huffington: “Inviting Tim Russert to keynote a conference on journalistic ethics is like having Jack Abramoff keynote a conference on lobbying reform.” [NYDN] MORE »

• Samuel Alito rallies the Republican base while riling liberals; the fight “seems to be the political confirmation battle that both sides have been gearing up to fight for more than a decade.” Harry Reid: “Bush would leave the Supreme Court looking less like America and more like an old boys club.” Orrin Hatch: “This one is going to be Armageddon.” [WP, NYT, NYT, NYT, LAT, WT, WT, USAT, USAT]
• Alito will shift court to the right: “On some of the most contentious issues that came before the high court, Alito has been to the right of the centrist swing voter he would replace.” [WP, LAT, USAT, USAT]
• Alito’s fate rests in the vote of moderate Republicans; filibuster remains available. [WP, LAT]
• Alito was an easy second choice for Bush; Karl Rove phoned key conservative leaders before the announcement. [WT, WT]
• Bush’s selection of Alito works to unite his party after misstep of Miers. [WP, LAT]
• Abortion seen as the central issue. [NYT, NYT, LAT]
• Alito “has a strong free-market philosophy likely to please corporate America,” say experts. [LAT]
• At trial, Scooter Libby’s interests will be divorced from the prerogatives of the White House. [WP]
• More than 30,000 people have paid tribute to Rosa Parks at the Capitol Rotunda. [WP, USAT]
• Scott McClellan takes fire from correspondents. Terry Moran: “There’s been a wound to your credibility here. A falsehood, wittingly or unwittingly, was told from this podium.” [WP]

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