Glenn Greenwald responds to the New York Times’ assertion this morning that President Bush’s domestic surveillance activities “appear so far to have been aimed at mostly people believed to pose a terrorist threat, not a political threat.”

This passage…is simply misleading. There is no basis whatsoever for claiming that Bush’s NSA warrantless (and illegal) eavesdropping activities were “aimed at mostly people believed to pose a terrorist threat, not a political threat.” It is true — as [reporter Scott] Shane writes — that “there is no evidence” that the administration used its eavesdropping powers against, say, political opponents, but that fact is not exculpatory, because there is “no evidence” at all, one way or the other, regarding how the administration eavesdropped.

There has been no disclosure by the administration of any kind — not to Congress, nor to courts, nor to anyone else — of information revealing who was subjected to the administration’s warrantless eavesdropping program, a program which (by its terms and by design) was conducted in complete secrecy.

Read Greenwald’s full essay.

Stop conflating Iraqi insurgents and al Qaeda.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) wrote a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today asking for an investigation concerning the apparently false testimony to Congress by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a former White House lawyer, about his role in forming the Bush administration’s detainee policy. At his confirmation hearing last year, Kavanaugh claimed he was “not aware” of the administration’s legal arguments, but a recent Washington Post article revealed he was involved in the internal debates.

“Talk about milking the story,” HuffPost’s Rachel Sklar writes. “CNN covered Paris Hilton arriving at CNN studios for her interview with Larry King.”

Wolf Blitzer cut his interview with Bill Cosby about inner city poverty to throw over to Carol Costello who was ‘watching another story’ — the story being the live shot of Paris Hilton getting out of her car.

As Costello voice-overed (“Paris Hilton is just arriving at the CNN studios…She’s arriving for an exclusive interview with our own Larry King”), the chyron similarly announced that “Paris Hilton Arrives For Post-Jail Interview With CNN’s Larry King” (a glorious event which was apparently “Happening Now”). How many “The Most Trusted Name In News” jokes can you make before it just makes you sad?

“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is heading back to Capitol Hill — to testify again. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Gonzales originally agreed to appear before his committee on July 18, but then asked to reschedule. Leahy said he hopes Gonzales will agree to appear on July 26, although no date has been confirmed. Leahy said he’ll now provide the attorney general with some questions in advance of his appearance, ‘so that he won’t dodge 60 or 70 times by saying “I don’t remember,”‘ a clear reference to Gonzales’ evasiveness in his last testimony.”

Percentage of Americans who believe openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military, versus 18 percent who do not, according to a new CNN poll. Other notable findings:

– A majority of Americans support either gay marriage (24 percent) or civil unions (27 percent), compared to 43 percent who would not support either.

– 57 percent say gay and lesbian couples should have the legal right to adopt children, versus 40 percent who say they should not.

– 56 percent said they “do not believe sexual orientation can be changed,” up from 45 percent in 2001 and 36 percent in 1998.