"In an interview with NPR's David Welna that ran today  former Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Ind-Minn., sounds like he may run for Senate, challenging incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whom Ventura defeated for governor in 1998, as well as Democratic nominee and former Saturday Night Live humorist Al Franken."

When will the Washington insiders get it?  Today, The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper reported about an earmark from Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski (PA), which the Department of Transportation (DOT) is actively opposing.  

The earmark, from the 2005 transportation appropriation bill is for the construction of a $5.6 million parking garage next to…..the Kanjorski Center.  The reason for the obstruction?  It does not comply with federal rules, which state “only if they are connected to other public transportation facilities outside a business area with a population of 50,000 or more, or if it serves high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs) and public mass transportation passengers.”

The DOT has taken issue with more than 20 of Mr. Kanjorski’s earmarks in the past several years, and now the local communities have problems with Kanjorski’s earmarks, because they often benefit groups associated with his family members.

To top it off, the “Kanjorski Center” which was to receive the $5.6 million parking garage currently stands empty.  That’s right, no one occupies the building but Mr. Kanjorski feels it necessary to send your tax dollars to build a parking garage.

A “monument to me”, an unused building, a parking lot, family connections, and a rules violation…No it’s not a Hollywood blockbuster….it’s the United States Congress.

What are the most popular stories around the web this morning?  Townhall does the surfing so you don't have to.

Denver Post:  Hypermilers Stretch Their Gas Mileage

Chicago Tribune:  Pufferfish Poisoning Would Be 'Terrible' Way to Go

"Iran's most recent missile tests demonstrate again the dangers it poses to its neighbors and to the wider region, especially Israel. Ballistic missile testing coupled with Iran's continued refusal to cease its nuclear activities should unite the international community in efforts to counter Iran's dangerous ambitions. Iran's missile tests also demonstrate the need for effective missile defense now and in the future, and this includes missile defense in Europe as is planned with the Czech Republic and Poland. Working with our European and regional allies is the best way to meet the threat posed by Iran, not unilateral concessions that undermine multilateral diplomacy."

H/T Redstate

"In the bizarro world of liberals, discriminating against a job applicant because of the color of his skin isn't racist. Issuing a political advertisement objecting to this vile practice is."

Bret Stephens made an excellent point in today’s Wall Street Journal, comparing Senator Obama’s deliberate equivocations on Iraq with Richard Nixon’s notorious “secret plan to end the war” when he won the presidency in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam era. In both cases, the candidates for the party out of power wanted to exploit the unpopular nature of an ongoing conflict without committing themselves to any specific policy for terminating or continuing the war. Stephens points out that the chair of Obama’s “Working Group” on Iraq has even written a paper anticipating a semi-permanent contingent of  60,000 to 80,000 American soldiers as an “overwatch force” after Obama has “withdrawn” all combat troops, as he’s repeatedly promised. The big question, of course, is how you define combat troops.

But beyond the similarity to Nixon in his slippery handling of the issue of the war, there’s another haunting resemblance with the late leader that Democrats loved to deride as “Tricky Dick.”

Nixon became famous – notorious, really --- for beginning his most earnest, sweaty-jowled statements with the laughable phrase, “Let me make one thing perfectly clear.” This silly verbal tic alerted listeners that what followed wasn’t clear – or honest – at all. It served as a warning to expect obfuscation, not clarity.

So, too, Obama – in adopting, almost verbatim, one of the late President’s oddest quirks of communication.

On July 3^rd, after telling reporters he’d be open to “refining” his Iraq position based on conversation with generals, he called his second press conference of the day (in Fargo, North Dakota) to try to correct the impression of waffling. “We're going to try this again,” he said. “Apparently I wasn't clear enough this morning on my position with respect to the war in Iraq."

Then came the wonderful Nixonism, delivered in the same solemn, rumbling baritone favored on such occasions by the late President:

"Let me be as clear as I can be,” growled the candidate, and then proceeded to provide further confusion and dodging. Not even his most ardent admirers could take much encouragement from this dismal performance – complete with at least two more declarations about making his position “clear” and “completely clear.”

Well, Barack has made one thing perfectly clear: he’s not yet ready to disclose his “secret plan to end the war.”.