Al Qaeda has released a video showing the mutilatied bodies of the two soldiers from the 101st kidnapped in June from Yusufiya.

In the newly-released film, the captors linked their actions directly to the rape and killing of the Iraqi girl and her family in the town of Mahmudiya. The groups said capturing and killing the soldiers was "revenge for our sister who was dishonoured by a soldier of the same brigade". The groups said capturing and killing the soldiers was "revenge for our sister who was dishonoured by a soldier of the same brigade".

Steven Green and the four other soldiers charged in the girl's rape and murder, and in the murder of her family members, as well as a 5th soldier charged with failirng to report the crimes, were all from the 101st.

John McCain was interviewed in the new issue of Esquire. Asked about Hillary Clinton's chances in 2008, here's what he had to say:

I think the biggest mistake we could make is to underestimate Hillary Clinton. She's smart and she's tough. She's very disciplined in all ways--unlike her husband--and I think she's formidable. Plus, she already has $20 million in the bank. If we don't get our act together..."

Asked about Bush, he said:

He also believes that the war has been botched badly. "I don't blame Bush," he says. "I blame Rumsfeld. It's his failure that we didn't have enough troops in Iraq, because he ignored the advice of the military. We never had enough troops over there from the beginning, and that's where most of our problems come from."

Tom Petty has not been one to frequently mix his politics into his music. I guess drastic times call for drastic measures -- and I applaud him for this interview in the new Esquire [Via Down with Tyranny]:

"The war in Iraq is shameful. Whether you're pro or con Bush, you've got to admit: The guy lied. And he continues to do so. I can't understand why he's just not run out on a rail. To send somebody's kids off and have them killed for no good reason--he's going to have his day in hell for that. I wouldn't want that karma.

When you kill somebody's little sister with a missile, he's going to hate you forever. And the next generation will hate you even more.

So, for Tom Petty tonight, here's Won't Back Down -- performed with George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

After his speaking gig in Aspen, Karl Rove came to Denver for a sit-down interview with the editorial board of the Denver Post. What he said:

• Bush will exercise the first veto of his presidency to jettison the stem cell research bill if it passes the Senate (it's already passed the House.) The chief sponsors of the bi-partisan House bill, Colorado's Diana DeGette and Delaware's Michael Rogers, upon hearing the news, are now asking for their own pow-wow with Bush. Rove said there are not enough votes to overcome a veto. DeGette's comment: I'm appalled that Bush would use the first veto of his presidency to veto a bill that could help 110 million people and their families."

In keeping with his intention of petitioning his way on the ballot if Ned Lamont wins the August 8 Connecticut primary, Joe Lieberman filed papers today to start his own party: Connecticut for Lieberman.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Lieberman will be able to secure a higher position on the November ballot by creating a new party rather than petitioning his way on as an individual. Bysiewicz said Lieberman would be fifth on the ballot under the new party, compared with eighth or ninth as an individual.

He must collect 7,500 signatures by 4 p.m. Aug. 9, the day after the primary.

Mark Fiore cartoon today: United States of Incarceration. "You don't have to go to Guantanamo to find a broken, unjust prison system." We've got one right here.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan has upheld the search of Congressman William Jefferson's office. The opinion is here. [Via How Appealing.]

Here's the first paragraph:

"All laws should be made to operate as much on the law makers as upon the people; . . . Whenever it is necessary to exempt any part of the government from sharing in these common burthens, that necessity ought not only to be palpable, but should on no account be exceeded." 2 Founders' Constitution 331 (Philip B. Kurland & Ralph Lerner eds., 1987) (James Madison, The Militia Bill, House of Representatives (Dec. 16, 1790)).

100 of Ken Lay's friends and family filled the Aspen Chapel yesterday for his memorial service. I wrote a detailed post on it over at 5280.com, which I'm sure Lay haters won't like. It ends:

His last weeks could not have been pleasant, facing the prospect of decades in jail and the separation from his wife, children and life as he knew it. The Enron victims may be angry, as if they were cheated of seeing Lay receive a just punishment, but from my vantage point, he paid the ultimate price for his misdeeds. He certainly didn't get off easy.

Update: Sen. Frist has announded the Senate will not take up the issue of legal rights of the detainees until after the August recess.

*******

It seems like the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan (opinion here, pdf) has thrown the legislative and executive branches into a tailspin. They can't figure out what to do with it. Nonetheless, the Senate is set to begin debate on how to try detainees and the debate could take the rest of the summer.

In its decision, the Supreme Court said, on a 5-to-3 vote, that the planned commissions were unauthorized by federal statute and violated international law.

In opposite corners:

On one side of the debate are Republicans who believe Congress should give the president the authority to set up the kind of military commissions that were struck down by the court. Such commissions would sharply curtail defendants' rights.

On the other side are those who say the trials should be modeled on the military system of courts-martial, an approach that would give detainees more due-process rights than would the commissions. In between, many Republicans and Democrats alike argue for starting with the military judicial system and tweaking it to reflect the differences of trying terrorism suspects.

Karl Rove spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival Sunday. Aspen Daily News reporter Troy Hooper has the full run-down. There's vintage Karl:

Karl Rove praised the military and civilian leadership's flexibility in managing the Iraq war, which has required field commanders to adapt to unconventional combat styles and means of rebuilding communities. Rove noted that his own cousin has served three tours of duty over there.

There's Rove in spin mode on Iraq:

"You know it's not going to be U.S. style. It's not going to be a Midwest small-town atmosphere. It's going to be Iraq with deeply felt sectarian strains with bad guys and people with lots of guns, but it is going to be a functioning society. It already is a distinct improvement on the society that existed."

I realize that reporters may not get to choose the headlines for their articles, but whoever wrote the AP headline "Suspect in Tunnel Plot Said to Vist U.S." should be fired. Not because it's untrue, but because it's misleading. The headline panders to the fear-mongers who want us to believe that New Yorkers were in imminent danger from those arrested in the Holland Tunnel case. As I wrote yesterday, the New York Times and other media outlets have reported this was another aspirational plot in the gestation phase.

The headline to the AP article conveys fear by suggesting that the plot had advanced to a threatening stage because the main suspect had visited the U.S. But the article says:

In the U.S., a federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Hammoud had visited the United States at least once - a trip to California six years ago. Authorities are still trying to trace Hammoud's steps during that trip but say they have no record of him going to New York.

The official said Hammoud had a legitimate visa for a brief stay, and was believed to have been visiting either family or friends. The visit occurred long before authorities say the tunnel plot began to unfold.

(Guest Posted by A Big Tent Democrat)

If Joe Lieberman wins the August 8, 2006 Connecticut Democratic primary, I think all Dems should support him in the November general election. If Lanny Davis believes that Joe Lieberman is the superior candidate, then his activism on behalf of Lieberman is admirable, even though, to the best of my knowledge, Davis is not a Connecticut resident.

I happen to believe that Joe Lieberman is not the best choice for Connecticut Democrats. I believe Ned Lamont is the better choice. I understand that many in what is termed the "Left Blogs" or the Netroots agree with my view. And that some in the Media do not think kindly of the Netroots involvement. That David Brooks flails in ridiculous terms against Netroots involvement in Democratic primaries and in favor of an apparently saintly Lieberman, is not surprising nor troublesome really. After all, he is a Republican.

But when Democrats like Jon Chait object one has to wonder what is going on here. Chait writes today in the LA Times: