Stanley McChrystal, cashiered by the President for his staff’s unfortunate remarks about the chain of command in Rolling Stone magazine ten months ago, was appointed to lead the new White House initiative designed to assist military families. Mary Tillman, who knows something about Stanley McChrystal’s treatment of military families, does not think he is fit to serve in this role.

The Wall Street Journal dropped a bit of a bombshell yesterday when it intimated that the reason the Obama Administration hasn’t been able to choose a director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is that their preferred candidates don’t want the job over Elizabeth Warren.

Yesterday the Barry Bonds trial ended with a single conviction for obstruction of justice and a mistrial declared due to a hung jury on the other three remaining counts. There were originally five counts in the indictment, but count four was dismissed prior to the case being given to the jury.

I think it’s fair to say that Scott Walker had a terrible day on Capitol Hill. So bad that you have to scratch your head and ask why in God’s name he would go, as an invited guest, to a House hearing? This wasn’t a hostile but an enthusiastic witness. The only explanation is that, like with the Koch Brothers prank call, Walker loves the attention.

News certainly travels fast, sometimes. While it took the U.S. government two years to reply to a request by a Spanish judge regarding whether or not the U.S. has instigated any investigations or proceedings against six high-level Bush administration figures named in a complaint by the Association for the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners, and it took another three weeks to get the response distributed to the parties involved, and yet another three weeks to have the news of this response released to the world at large, it took less than 24 hours to learn that the entire case was dismissed by the Spanish judge on Wednesday.

The House just passed a bill that funds the government through September 30, despite 59 Republican defections. The bill would not have passed without Democratic votes; a majority of Democrats voted against it.

Our government has apparently conceded it can’t keep its networks secret from China.

Pelosi says she would have Democrats step in if Boehner fails to find 218 votes today. And this actually sets up the next fight. Boehner can then go to negotiations with his concern about the more right-leaning elements of his caucus, saying that many of them bolted on the 2011 budget bill and that many more will do the same on the debt limit vote without concessions. It’s a calculated tactic.

Those sensitive, shrinking violets on the right took a day off from their racist dog whistles and comparing Barack Obama to murderous tyrants to whine about their hurt fee-fees.

Hey, remember that Libyan war? Third simultaneous conflict? I know, spending on wars has nothing to do with the budget, so it’s been removed from the discussion lately. Anyway, NATO’s in charge now, and the US bugged out. They’re not even running bombing missions anymore! Except, as friend to FDL Spencer Ackerman points out, they are.