TPM Election Central: Ten senior Hess Corporation executives and/or members of the Hess family each gave $28,500 to the joint RNC-McCain fundraising committee, just days after McCain reversed himself to favor offshore drilling. Even a Hess office manager and her husband, an Amtrak employee, donated $28,000 apiece. Hess must be exceedingly kind to its staff.

POGO Blog: According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General, Blackwater may have improperly received numerous contracts set aside for small businesses.

Common Dreams: Indiscriminate civilian massacres by US military are nothing new.

EconoSpeak: What economists should be doing about climate change.

James Fallows: NYT lapse could cause big problems for a Beijing resident

They gave us a republic: The Nightowl Newswrap