Wonkette

• Let us do something useful for you: Google DC Metro map. [Metamonkey via Unrequited Narcissism]
• AU students protest former president Ladner. Our current favorite superfluous perk? “His use of university security guards to fetch his morning newspapers.” [DCist]
• Stuff that’s filming around here. [GW Hatchet]
• Some lawmakers have blogs. Or, uhm “blog-like pages.” [WP]

We plan to celebrate the subjugation of the Native American peoples by knocking off early to toss back some gin while laying on diseased blankets. Hope this extra-big remainders grab-bag tides you over. MORE »

• Help the foul-mouthed spokesman of Gulfport rebuild his house: The star of the “Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney” video is auctioning it off. [eBay]
• All together now: “No one could have predicted the levees would break.” But they knew it was going to be one asshole of a storm: “MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS…AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD…PERSONS…PETS…AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.” [NOAA]
• A psychiatrist goes crazy trying to help at the Reunion Center. [AddieStan]
• The Washington Post immediate hurricane coverage blew. [City Paper]
• Really excellent news tracking from the WSJ. Read the whole thing, as they say. [WSJ]
• Local events and benefits, including one by “The Museum of the American Cocktail.” [DCist]
• Express your desire to sit on Trent Lott’s porch. [www.trentlottsporch.com]
• NBC correspondents attack puppy-like Scott McCellan, save actual puppy. [FishbowlDC,MSNBC]
• A partial (2/3) explaination of why we’re so rabid on the animal rescue front. [The Antic Muse]

• Administration officials privately acknowledge trouble with Iraq. Bush: “The recent violence in Iraq is a grim reminder of the brutal enemies we face in the war on terror.” Retired General McCaffrey: “It’s a race against time because by the end of this coming summer we can no longer sustain the presence we have now. . . The American people are walking away from this war.” [WP, USAT]
• Bush expresses sympathy for Sheehan: “It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel about the death that takes place.” White House does not publicly dispute Sheehan’s characterization of her original meeting with Bush. [WP, NYT]
• Abramoff is indicted on fraud charges by federal grand jury in Florida. Rothenberg: “It absolutely could play into the Democrats’ national message. They are going to look for any and all ways to paint the Republicans as ethically challenged.” [WSJ, NYT]
• NARAL will change its controversial anti-Roberts advertisement. [WP, NYT]
• FBI prepares for a possible domestic terrorist attack around anniversary of 9/11; sources propose a plot that involves exploding fuel tankers. DHS flack: “The information is uncorroborated, and the source is of questionable reliability.” [NYT]

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• Inside Politics: Gillespie complains to The New York Times: “[T]he White House would appreciate the opportunity to provide a fuller accounting of a two-way discussion.”. . . Woodward predicts Cheney versus Hillary in ‘08. [WT]
• Names & Faces: Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Steny Hoyer honored for their support of musician’s rights. [WP]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Bush’s nominee to be ambassador to the Netherlands led Ameriquest Capital, which is sponsoring the Rolling Stones tour. [NYDN]
• Page Six: Bill Clinton to speak in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. [NYP]

• $286b transportation bill, which funds a record 6,371 pet projects, marks a “significant shift from Bush’s once-uncompromising stand on earmarks.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• NARAL’s anti-Roberts advertisement sparks backlash; Annenberg study concludes “the ad is false” and “uses the classic tactic of guilt by association.” [NYT]
• 9/11 Commission was notified of military intelligence about the hijackers; Weldon says the panel’s “refusal to investigate. . . is evocative of the worst tendencies in the federal government that the commission worked to expose.” [NYT]
• Roberts advised O’Connor to be evasive at her confirmation hearings, suggesting he will duck questions about his opinions on specific cases. [WP]
• Specter supports administration’s position on Roberts‘ memos. [NYT, WSJ]
• Protesters set to join Sheehan; Rice, Rumself plan to visit ranch today. [USAT]

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• Under the Dome: Could ‘08 bring a McCain-Kerry ticket?. . . Hatch faces fire for his position on intellectual-property rights. [The Hill]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Is Matt Cooper job hunting at The New York Times?. . . MSNBC President Rick Kaplan “erupted angrily and at length” towards Keith Olbermann after the anchor told viewers of his own cancer scare. [NYDN]
• Liz Smith: Peter Jennings had told Aaron Brown: “Aaron, drop this morning paper idea. You are not funny!” [NYP]
• Names & Faces: Mayor Williams makes risotto and lamb on Channel 16’s “InStyle Washington” cooking program. [WP]

• White House, worried about surprises, delays release of tens of thousands of documents related to Roberts. [WP]
• 9/11 commission members seek answers after revelation that some hijackers were under surveillance. Lehman: “I think this is a big deal. The issue is whether there was in fact surveillance before 9/11 of Atta and, if so, why weren’t we told about it? Who made the decision not to brief the commission’s staff or the commissioners?” [NYT]
• Bush uses dead of August to gain ground. Strategist: “They’ve really perfected the art of spending time in Crawford. They do a good job of driving the agenda every day they’re down there. They push the story and keep the people in the other party out of the news.” [WSJ]
• Recent speech by Roberts offers indication of his political orientation. [LAT]
• Roberts is quizzed by Wyden about end-of-life care. Wyden: “His answer was, ‘I am concerned with judicial independence. Congress can prescribe standards, but when Congress starts to act like a court and prescribe particular remedies in particular cases, Congress has overstepped its bounds.’” [NYT]

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• Names & Faces: Clint Eastwood was filming at Iwo Jima Memorial yesterday; Rumsfeld stopped by and WTOP’s Frank Herzog was an extra. [WP]
• Page Six: Mick Jagger has a new song about Bush called “Sweet Neo Con.” Lyrics: “You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot. Well, I think your are full of shit.” [NYP]

• In 2000, military intelligence suspected Mohammed Atta and three other would-be 9/11 hijackers were members of domestic Al Qaeda cell; information was not shared with the FBI. [NYT]
• NARAL advocacy advertisement claims that “Roberts filed court briefs supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted clinic bomber”; supporters cry foul. Mehlman: “By attempting to assert that Judge Roberts supports shameful criminal acts, NARAL has shown how far they will go to slander a good man for political gain.” [WP, USAT, LAT]
• Troop levels in Iraq may increase temporarily this fall for election security; current force of 138,000 could rise to 160,000. [USAT]
• Specter wants to question Roberts about “cases involving the authority of Congress to pass broad social legislation.” [NYT]
• Gallup Poll: 56% say war is going badly; 57% believe war has made country more vulnerable; approval of Bush steady at 45%. [USAT]

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• Names & Faces: Novak on Carville: “I would hope he was just trying to be funny and I took it the wrong way.” [WP]
• Rush & Molloy: More Novak on Carville: “I thought that was an unacceptable questioning of my integrity. I overreacted.” [NYDN]
• Inside Politics: Bush reportedly curious about FX’s “Over There.”. . . McGreevey negotiating with Regan Books for a mid-six figure deal for his memoir. [WT]

• Following news of Roberts‘ involvement in 1996 gay rights case, the White House “immediately sought to reassure [his] conservative backers. . . but it appeared that not all of them had been convinced.” Limbaugh: “There’s no question the people on the right are going to say: ‘Wait a minute. Wait a minute! The guy is doing pro bono work and helping gay activists?’” [NYT, LAT]
• Roberts‘ private practice work did not always jibe with conservative agenda, yet “some activists on both sides remain secure in their conviction that he is an emphatic conservative who will move the high court to the right.” Kristol: “I don’t think this is serious. Most conservatives are very pleased.” [WP]
• Bush and company plan major push for Roberts during dead of August. [WT]
• Novak told by CNN to “take some time off” after on-air scuffle with Carville. [WP, NYT]
• Deficit forecast worsens: “legislation passed by Congress this year will add $35 billion to next year’s budget deficit and $115 billion through 2010.” [USAT]
• Rehnquist briefly hospitalized for fever. [WP, NYT]
• Death toll rises in Iraq: 18 U.S. troops died on Wednesday. Bush: “We will stay on the offense against these people.” [WP, WT]

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• Bush squashes “global struggle against violent extremism” phrase: “Make no mistake about it, this is a war against people who profess an ideology, and they use terror as a means to achieve their objectives.” [NYT]
• Congress skims $8.5b from highway bill. [WSJ, NYT]
• Roberts admits not disclosing that he registered as a lobbyist in 2001. [LAT, NYT]
• Bush lauds the economy in new effort to raise his approval rating by claiming responsibility for “economic vitality.” [WP, LAT, WT]
• Democrats plan to quiz Roberts on discrepancies in his stated opinions. [WP]
• Roberts aided gay activists during Supreme Court case in 1996 with pro bono work. [LAT]

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