We know Congressional Republicans have something of a questionable relationship with wounded veterans, but really, they want to hunt them now? If they’re so big on dangerous game, can’t they go after the unwounded ones? MORE »

• Real estate profits made by Speaker Dennis Hastert and other legislators raise new concerns about earmarks. [WP]

• Bush and EU leaders warn Iran and North Korea against developing nuclear and other weapons technologies. [WP]
• With midterm elections approaching, Republicans attempt to turn the Iraq War into a political asset rather than a liability. The Senate debate over Iraq hints at 2008 presidential race themes. [NYT; WP]
• Vote to renew the Voting Rights Act canceled after objections from GOP lawmakers. [WP; NYT; LAT]
• Eight troops have been charged with murder and kidnapping in connection with the death of an Iraqi civilian in April. [WP]
• The Department of Veterans Affairs will offer a year of free credit monitoring to veterans and military personnel whose personal data was stolen last month. [WP; NYT]

Have you purchased a used computer recently? If so, you could be in possession of stolen personal information for millions of U.S. veterans and active-duty military personnel. The Post reports:

Montgomery County police released a description yesterday of the stolen laptop and its external hard drive because they said it may have been purchased by someone who does not realize the value of its content. “It could have shown up at a yard sale or a secondhand store,” police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said. “This is a time of the year when parents may be buying computers for kids going to college in the fall.”

Montgomery County police are offering a $50,000 reward for information that allows authorities to recover the laptop. The computer is a Hewlett-Packard model zv5360us and the external hard drive is an HP External Personal Media Drive.

After the jump, an open letter to the VA, from a Wonkette reader and veteran whose personal information was stolen.

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Some would-be patriots wrap themselves in the flag, Bush surrounds himself with people in uniform, and his rhetoric about the bravery and nobility of the American military is flowery enough to almost cover the odor of Iraq War flop sweat.And despite his reluctance to make return visits, he shows genuine grief for the fallen and sympathy for their families. But when he praises those who have paid the “ultimate price for our security and freedom,” do you think he means the $6,200 that the Army tried to collect from Robert Loria? Loria is a veteran who left his expensive body armor in Iraq. Along with his left hand. MORE »

Word came out today that the Bush Administration has been quietly converting gravestones of dead soldiers into little policy billboards, stamping the personal memorial with the name of the operation that killed them — operations named specifically to engender public support: “The Pentagon in the late 1980s began selecting operation names with themes that would help generate public support for conflicts.” Says the owner of the company that makes the monuments, “It just seems a little brazen that that’s put on stones. It seems like it might be connected to politics.” Ya think? Really, though, it seems like they’ve hit upon something here. Just think. . .

We were reluctant to post this picture because we thought it far too good to be true — and, you know, we only post things that aren’t true if they involve one of the twins. But a source at AP confirms that some old vet did indeed still have some fight in him. When it moved on the wire, subscribers were warned: “EDS: NOTE OBSCENITY.” Now the big question is that if it’s real, how come it’s not in more papers? All together now: Oh, that liberal media…” MORE »