This sign apparently hangs in a ladies’ room at the Department of Veterans Affairs. But is this a standard thing in all ladies’ rooms, everywhere? Ladies? [Endless Simmer]

Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, resigned in sudden and unexplained disgrace today. Hell, it might be for the Walter Reed scandal — but that was months ago, wasn’t it? Why wait? Oh, and there was that laptop full of sensitive information thing, but that was last year! Nicholson might be resigning for reasons of simple mismanagement, but the timing is odd, unless there’s something even worse on the way. Which, we’re not saying, we’re just saying that right up there is the number of a Cleveland VA hospital as it appears in the phone records of Deborah Jeane Palfrey. Cummer ‘07!

Cleveland VA’s Controversial New Treatment. Vets Walk Again With BJ’s From DC Hookers! [Buckeye State Blog]

Did VA Secretary Jim Nicholson resign this morning? That is what an emailer tells us! We don’t know! It apparently happened an hour ago?? Details? UPDATE: Yes, and there was a press release! We really did not sleep at all last night. [VA.gov]

* Witness the giant cow balls of Pete Domenici, who uses the Justice Department for political mud-slinging and is happy to admit it. [WP, NYT]
* The “new” Iraq strategy - why worry? [WP]
* Barry Hussein and H Dot Clinton keep their eyes on the prize. [WP, NYT]
* Calling secretary of veterans affairs Jim Nicholson a partisan hack causes, “a calmness to come over him.” [NYT]
* Robert Gates isn’t Donald Rumsfeld, and that’s half the battle. [WP]
* John Ashcroft won’t shut his whorish mouth about the satellite radio merger. [WSJ]
* Ah, the ’70s: an age when Vice Presidential candidates with diagnosed mental illness were actually discouraged from running. [NYT]

• Sen. Specter (R-Pa.) proposes to give Bush the choice of getting a warrant from a special court for surveillance programs; proposal would specifically not limit presidential powers. Specter: “I think he [Cheney] is serious about trying to work something out. For the first time, he said they are willing to consider legislation.” [WP]
• Cheney says his communications with Sen. Specter “are not unusual.” Specter: “He does not face head on; he does not deal with his not having taken it up with the chairman. This isn’t me personally; this is institutional. This is not the way government works, to deal with a committee without going through the chairman.” [WP, NYT]
• Rep. DeLay (R-Tex.) gives “defiant retirement speech”: “I did a good job… Given the chance to do it all again, there’s only one thing I’d change. I’d fight even harder.” [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will provide little reprieve for Republians feeling political heat. Official: “We don’t want another ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment.” [WSJ]
• Troop levels in Iraq will not be down to 100,000 by the end of this year. [NYT]
• Senate is three votes shy of repealing the estate tax. Sen. Lott (R-Miss.): “The conservative base will appreciate the fact that we are trying.” [NYT, LAT, WSJ, USAT]

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• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida leader, is killed in Iraq by a “precision airstrike”; Bush says it’s “a significant victory in the war on terror.” [AP]
• George H.W. Bush “waged a secret campaign over several months” to replace Rumsfeld with a “retired four-star general,” but the president held firm. [Salon]
• Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) exposes how Cheney played hardball with the Judiciary Committee. [NYT]
• Victory in California primary “settled Republicans nerves,” but the margin was slim and the campaign was expense. Ken Mehlman: “You see a lot of things that are bellwethers, and they indicate Republicans are in position to hold Congress.” Professor: “The fact that Busby got 15 points over Democratic registration, that should make Republicans nervous. It’s not that Bilbray won. This is a safe Republican seat. I was very surprised that $5 million doesn’t allow you to break 50 percent.” [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage fails to get 60 votes needed to end debate; roll calls ends with 49 yeas, 48 nays. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.): “We’re not going to stop until marriage between a man and a woman is protected… for the future of our children in this society.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• FBI threatened to pick the lock of Rep. William Jefferson’s office when a Capitol Police official hesitated. [WP]

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• FEC decides to permit 527s to continue as is, meaning “even larger sums to be spent influencing races this year and in 2008.” [WP, NYT]
• Bush essentially had no choice but to join talks on Iran. [NYT, WP, W$J]
• Bush says he’s “troubled” by news of civilian killings in Haditha, Iraq: “If, in fact, the laws were broken, there will be punishment.” [NYT]
• Homeland Security Department cuts funding for Washington and New York while boosting support for mid-size cities. [WP, NYT]
• Sen. Hillary Clinton launches Senate campaign with broad swipes at the administration: “I believe that we need a fundamentally new direction. . . We are better than what is happening in America today.” [NYT]

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• Bush nominates Henry Paulson, chairman of Goldman Sachs Group, to replace John Snow at the Treasury Department; White House sought Paulson for months. [WP, W$J, USAT, LAT]
• White House acknowledges that Bush withheld the news at his press conference last week; Paulson’s net worth is estimated to be more than $700M. [NYT, NYT]
• Paulson is described as “the kind of guy who thrives in a crisis” and “a committed environmentalist and bird watcher.” [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Justice Department claims Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) tried to hide documents from the FBI. [WP, LAT]
• Former chief of staff to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) testifies that Abramoff “identified his ‘champions’ in government and then showered them with favors to get inside information and help for his clients.” [WP, NYT]
• Democrats are slow to provide a specific party platform; “this cautious strategy is generating intensifying debate within the party.” [LAT]

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• FBI and Justice Department officials, including Alberto Gonzales, defend search of Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) office; Speaker Hastert talks to Bush. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Gen. Michael Hayden wins over the Senate intelligence committee; full Senate could confirm his nomination to lead the CIA by Thursday. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Chertoff contends the U.S. is prepared for hurricane season but skepticism remains. [WP]
• Reaching a compromise over immigration will be a challenge for the House and Senate; Bush urged to apply his “full energy into the effort.” [WP, LAT]
• Veterans Affairs Department waited two weeks before alerting authorities about data loss. [NYT, USAT]
• Critics see recent spending bill for Iraq and Katrina “as a monumental example of earmarking taken to extremes.” [WP]

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