Wonkette

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey to the Senate floor, where more Democrats will say “waterboarding is bad” and then probs vote for him. The vote was 11-8 after senators Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, the new Joey Liebs, supported the nomination. [CNN/AP]

• The proposed constitutional amendment to ban flag burning falls one vote short in the Senate. [WP; NYT; LAT]

• Israel sends ground forces into Gaza and executes air strikes on bridges, in an effort to rescue a kindapped soldier. [WP; NYT]
• Bush again urges the Senate to give him line-item veto power. [WP; NYT]
• Bush’s “signing statements” are criticized by lawmakers and scholars at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. [WP; NYT]
• At his confirmation hearing, Hank Paulson, Bush’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, declines to give details about Bush economic policy goals. [NYT]
• New report by Surgeon General Richard Carmona stresses the dangers of secondhand smoke. [WP; NYT; LAT]

Not to be confused with properly ignoring laws — you know, like jaywalking. MORE »

We didn’t have too many takers for our guessing game item asking which “senior Justice Department official,” as quoted in Eric Lichtblau’s NYT article, told the Senate Judiciary Committee to take a hike with respect to the NSA eavesdropping-related documents. MORE »

Today’s item involves “a senior Justice Department official,” quoted in Eric Lichtblau’s New York Times article, Senate Panel Rebuffed on Documents on U.S. Spying. Lichtblau writes: MORE »

Here is the first wave of responses to the inaugural installment of the Senior Administration Official Guessing Game. We wanted to know: Who was the administration official who tattled to the Times about the White House’s successful “pitch Alito as boring but levelheaded” strategy?

One of you immediately guessed, “Karl Rove!” But, contrary to general belief, Rove is not behind everything that happens in this town.

More guesses — including what appears to be a very informed one — after the jump.

MORE »

Over at Gawker, our celeb-obsessed, Gotham-based sibling, they do blind item guessing games. Here at Wonkette, we offer more sophisticated, highbrow fun. Welcome to Senior Administration Official Guessing Game! MORE »