Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Dick Durbin’s efforts to de-fund Dick Cheney’s office is running into some serious resistance from the Senate GOP: “Though Vice President Cheney’s contention that he is not part of the executive branch has provided endless fodder for late-night comedians, Senate Republicans are not going to be shy about defending him from attempts to strip his office of funding.” Apparently, Senate Dems aren’t even unanimous on this one.
* NYT: “Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb…. The undercover operation involved an application from a fake construction company, supposedly based in West Virginia, that the investigators had incorporated even though it had no offices, Internet site or employees. Its only asset was a postal box. [NRC] officials did not visit the company or try to interview its executives in person. Instead, within 28 days, they mailed the license to the West Virginia postal box, the report says.”
* IHT: “The robbery, of $282 million from the Dar Es Salaam bank, a private financial institution, raised more questions than it answered, and officials were tight-lipped about the crime. The local police said two guards engineered the robbery, but an official at the Interior Ministry said three guards were involved. Both confirmed that the stolen money was in American dollars, not Iraqi dinars. It was unclear why the bank had that much money on hand in dollars, or how the robbers managed to move such a large amount without being detected. Several officials speculated that the robbers had connections to the militias, because it would be difficult for them to move without being searched through many checkpoints in Baghdad.”
* Dems on the House Judiciary Committee authorized — but did not issue — subpoenas for White House emails stored on RNC servers that might relate to the U.S. Attorney scandal.
* We haven’t had a really big progressive blogosphere feud in quite a while, but today seems to have started a new one. Ezra Klein wrote this about healthcare reform at the state level, prompting David Sirota to blast Ezra here, prompting Ezra’s biting response here. I think Ezra’s ahead on points, but I suspect Sirota isn’t done yet.
* Sara Taylor’s version of events on former U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins’ firing is almost certainly not true.
* Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) makes a very compelling case that, with commutation already out of the way, Scooter Libby should be pardoned immediately. “Davis’ rationale? Since the commutation allows Libby continued appeals to contest his conviction, he would assert his Fifth Amendment rights in the event that Congress calls him to testify about the Plame leak. ‘If a pardon had been granted this committee could have immunized him and brought him here,’ Davis said.”
* If Chris Matthews could at least pretend to not have a huge man-crush on John McCain on the air, I’m sure his viewers would appreciate it: “Let me — let me be — let’s get into the really worst part of my job, which is to talk about what happens if he does continue to sink.” Matthews went on to gush over McCain’s “experience” and “heroism.”
* As far as Tony Snow is concerned, it’s perfectly acceptable to deny reality, but more importantly, it’s equally acceptable to mock reporters who dare to bring reality up during a press briefing.
* William Kristol tends to embarrass himself when he attempts to talk about Iraq policy. He’s no more competent when it comes to Democratic presidential candidates.
* I’d really hoped to get into this in more detail today, but ran out of time. Nevertheless, here’s my favorite part: “[CIA Director Michael] Hayden catalogued what he saw as the main sources of violence in this order: the insurgency, sectarian strife, criminality, general anarchy and, lastly, al-Qaeda. Though Hayden had listed al-Qaeda as the fifth most pressing threat in Iraq, Bush regularly lists al-Qaeda first.”
* O’Reilly’s homophobia is becoming even more ridiculous: “On the July 11 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly called the San Diego Padres’ decision to host a gay pride night and a children’s hat giveaway promotion during the same July 8 baseball game ‘insensitive,’ ‘dumb,’ ‘almost unbelievable,’ and a ‘mistake.’ He called it ‘insane’ to ‘cluster’ gay men and lesbians during a ‘hat giveaway for any kid under 12.'”
* Lady Bird Johnson died yesterday at age 94.
* And finally, Richard Nixon might have engaged in a variety of crimes in 1972, but he still took time to wonder why people didn’t appreciate his gentle side. As the AP noted today, Nixon called that side of him “the whole warmth business.” In 1970, he “wrote an 11-page, single-spaced memo detailing his acts of kindness to staff and strangers and expressing regret that he was getting no credit for being ‘nicey-nice.'”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.