1) Obama and the Cynic. Charlie Pierce hits one out of the park…again.
2) Blue Dog Democrats fight Sen. Jim Webb's bill that would expand GI benefits. Hayes is right: The only word for this is "asinine."
3) Speaking of "asinine," the Farm Bill passed in the Senate today. Bush has threatened to veto it, which might (astonishingly) actually be a good thing, except a) it looks like there are enough votes to override it and b) if Bush had his druthers, the damn thing still wouldn't lessen our sick dependence on corporate ag. (But hey, at least the one that passed has some goodies for conservationists and local food systems.) [PDF!]
Brian Cook was an editor at In These Times from 2003 to 2009. He now works on the editorial staff of Playboy magazine.