Freddy Adu was good last night. Point for Bradley. He still should go. I'm rooting for Mexico on the weekend. A little short term pain will lead to long term gain.

NBA Draft tonight.

Gators in the College World Series semis.

Wimbledon heading into Round 3 tomorrow.

Yanks a 1/2 game back of the Sox.

Anything I missed sportswise?

Open Thread.

Cantor Walks Out of Debt Ceiling Talks:

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, said Thursday that he was quitting the debt ceiling negotiations being led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. because of an impasse over the role of taxes in any final deal. “I believe that we have identified trillions in spending cuts, and to date, we have established a blueprint that could institute the fiscal reforms needed to start getting our fiscal house in order,” Mr. Cantor said in a prepared statement. “That said, each side came into these talks with certain orders, and as it stands the Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases. There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don’t believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation. Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue.”

Let the caving begin! Actually, the President has a pretty strong legal argument that he actually does not need the debt ceiling raised. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides:

Reuters:

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, a government report showed on Thursday, suggesting little improvement in the labour market this month after employment stumbled in May.

Maybe somebody should do something.

Captain Louis Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?
Rick Blaine: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Captain Louis Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert!
Rick Blaine: I was misinformed.

So Jon Stewart said that Fox News viewers were the most misinformed. The new "fair and balanced" "fact checker" Politifact said that was false, Fox News viewers were not the most "ill-informed." Yes, "misinformed" and "ill-informed" do not mean the same thing. See Media Matters on the success of the Fox News misinformation mission.

Moral of the story? "Fact checkers" are hacks too. Politifact is just the latest. Problem is people like to cite to "fact checkers" when they say what they like. Solution? Stop citing to "fact checkers."

Speaking for me only

Digby and Greg Sargent lament that Americans have come to believe the Obama Administration's parroting of Republican talking points on the relationship between economic growth and cutting government spending. Digby writes:

It's fairly clear that the administration long ago bought into the deficit trope and threw in its lot with the confidence fairy to create growth.

Indeed, Obama proved me an idiot when I thought he would use the "deficit trope" to fight against renewing the Bush tax cuts. Instead, The Deal was born. I'm with Kevin Drum - this is the policy the Obama Administration wants.

Speaking for me only

It's a busy work day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Osama bin Laden's Yemeni wife, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, age 29, and their 12 year old daughter Safiya, are finally going to be allowed to leave Pakistan and return to Yemen. No word yet on the fate of Osama's other two wives.

More uncertainty as to which of bin Laden's sons was killed along with Osama in the U.S. raid: The Guardian article says Hamza (not Khalid) was killed and buried at sea with his father. That is not what the U.S. and Pakistan have said (although the U.S. changed its story a few times.) Where is Hamza bin Laden?

On a related al Qaida note, there's been a jail break in Yemen, and 57 al Qaida members escaped.

The Justice Policy Institute has released a new report on how private prisons game the system, creating a perceived need for their services. How they do it: Lots of money spent on lobbying and campaign contributions.

You can read the full report here. The upshot:

“Research has shown that private prisons do not save taxpayer dollars and can in fact cost taxpayers more than public prisons. Additionally, privatizing prisons may undermine cost effective sentencing reforms and increase recidivism rates. Despite these well­-documented concerns, private prison companies continue to promote policies that put money in their pockets and people behind bars.”

What would be better than private prisons? [More...]

James Richard Verone is 59, has no priors, and worked for years for Coca Cola. Then he got sick. He didn't qualify for anything but food stamps. He needed medical care for a variety of conditions, from a protrusion on his chest to carpal tunnel, back pain and arthritis.

He made a plan: Rob a bank for a dollar, go to prison, get health care and three squares a day.

He handed the teller a note demanding one dollar, and medical attention.....[Vernone said] “I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police

So far it's worked.

He has seen several nurses and has an appointment with a doctor Friday. The ideal scenario would include back and foot surgery and a diagnosis and treatment of the protrusion on his chest, he said. He would serve a few years in prison and get out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach.

[Hat tip to Sentencing Law and Policy.]

Two fundraisers from Newt Gingrich's campaign have resigned, citing Gingrich's excessive debt. Total defections so far for the self-proclaimed candidate: 18. Unnamed officials familiar with the details of his campaign say:

the former Georgia lawmaker racked up massive travel bills but money had only trickled in since he got into the race earlier this spring.
These officials said that he is at least $1 million in debt.

Gingrich could use his own money to keep going. He is brushing off the departures as "gossip," saying "No one has a clue why they left."

I don't think the "why" matters, given the number of quitters. When 18 people leave a campaign, it's fairly obvious there's something very wrong.

Time to fold Newt. No one's paying attention to your campaign because you are old news with no recent accomplishments and a past record of taking the worst positions on policy. Do we even need to mention his personal life?

Still no verdict for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich after 7 days of jury deliberation.

Semi-finals on the Voice: It's not even close in my view -- Frenchie and Beverly by miles.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) today announced 2,400 arrests during the past 7 days during Operation Cross-Check, a program in all 50 states that is "part of the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens that threaten public and national security." [More...]