The New Republic

What is Robert "Bud" McFarlane doing meddling in Sudan? Twenty-three years ago, as Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, he embarked on a secret mission to Tehran--which he and his future successor, John Poindexter, had promoted in the White House--bearing a chocolate cake topped with a brass key (meant to symbolize a "new opening"), a crate of missile parts, and a Bible signed by the president. The ultimate result was the arms-for-hostages deal that almost destroyed Reagan's presidency and earned McFarlane multiple charges of withholding information from Congress. READ MORE >>

Politico is spotlighting a long piece about the pathos of Andrew Young, the former John Edwards staffer who made the ultimate sacrifice for his beloved boss: publicly claiming to be the baby daddy of Rielle Hunter's child, only to be later kicked to the curb by his idol. READ MORE >>

Sunday's Washington Post featured a story about FreedomWorks, the Dick Armey-run anti-redistributionist lobby. Unsurprisingly, FreedomWorks turns out to have a large poster of Ayn Rand in its reception area. READ MORE >>

Fans of the Second and Twenty-first Amendments, rejoice! As of today, Arizonans can legally bring concealed firearms into bars. As J.P. Nelson, director of the NRA's western region, explains, "Bad things happen in bars and restaurants. People want to carry a gun and if the facility owner doesn't have a problem with it, there shouldn't be a problem. If a person starts drinking and gets in a shootout and kills someone, of course they're subject to criminal prosecution." READ MORE >>

Great news for all you anxious parents looking for an excuse to buy an iPhone! Now there's an app for tracking sex offenders. This should make the next PTA meeting lots of fun.     READ MORE >>

Republicans seem to think they’ve found a liberal equivalent to Joe Wilson in Alan Grayson, whom I profiled in our last issue for his brazenly bloggy temperament. Here he is last night on the House floor saying that the Republican health care plan is to “die quickly.” (Skip to1:52): READ MORE >>

Vulture reports: READ MORE >>

... at least for some people. From  my inbox: I thought you would be interested in learning about Flatrate Moving’s ELITE moving service, the industry’s first “luxury move”. The average moves for Elite moving range from $10,000 to $30,000, and often are 6 figures plus. READ MORE >>

The Boston Globe's Bryan Bender notices something interesting: An article in the Pentagon’s top scholarly journal calls in unambiguous terms for lifting the ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, arguing that the military is essentially forcing thousands of gay men and women to lead dishonest lives in an organization that emphasizes integrity as a fundamental tenet. READ MORE >>

Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid has officially abandoned Gordon Brown. Alastair Campbell, who as Tony Blair's media guru was instrumental in winning The Sun over to Labor's side in 1997, doesn't think the switch is that big a deal: READ MORE >>