Here comes da judge  -  A ruling we can all respect - Judge Boswell’s tough love worked. The suspects cracked under the pressure. Two of them finally admitted that their phones had interrupted the court proceedings. A third admitted she knew whose phone had rung, or buzzed, or whistled-or played Yankee Doodle Dandy or whatever it is their cell phones did. One of the miscreants was fined. more here

Let’s get into biofuels  - Two pieces of good news have come down the fuel pike in the past few days. One, in a joint venture in the Gulf of Mexico, three oil companies found a pool of oil that could be the largest domestic find of the past 30 years. Two, Crossett officials have announced another biofuels plant project. more here

Can the GOP be saved? - Perhaps - Yet if Republicans wish to hold Congress, despite what they may deserve, the Bushites could do no better than to borrow from the Santorum playbook. What can Bush and Congress do in 60 days? One, publicly set aside the amnesty and guest-worker provisions of the McCain-Kennedy bill. Bush cannot get them passed by the House in any event. Second, extract and enact the most urgent and popular provisions of both the Senate and House bills. more here

Security big in the voting booth  - Instead, W. looks frozen. He is too stubborn to pull out, and yet, he is too stubborn to reconsider the current military path; he is locked into the idea that we have just the right number of troops in Iraq. And so GOPers on the ballot this November are stuck saying “stay the course,” which leaves them flat-footed in response to whatever bad news comes from Iraq in the next two months. Political analyst Charlie Cook says that 70 percent of the Republicans’ problems this election season are related to Iraq - ouch. more here