Boy, the Corner is a treasure trove today.  I noted Rich Lowry’s assessment in a thread.  But it’s not just him.  The vultures are well and truly out.  Lashing out for the disastrous veep run a bit late, I suppose.

Dana Perino (God help me, I’ve missed her):

If Sarah Palin was trying to make news today, she had odd timing. At a time when Farah Fawcett and Ed McMahon’s deaths paled — almost as much as another recently departed celebrity’s skin — into insignificance, perhaps she hoped her resignation on a holiday Friday would pass unnoticed. But that isn’t really her style, which makes today’s abrupt announcement seem more like a whim — a characteristic her detractors worried about during the campaign. 

But… a minority view from (hoo boy) Bill Kristol:

All in all, it’s going to be a high-wire act. The odds are against her pulling it off. But I wouldn’t bet against it.

Wait — Bill thinks this possibly is a good move?  Well, that seals it.  Nice knowing ya, Sarah Plain and Dumb.

More Corner goodness, post-jump.

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And so, the Democrats hit sixtyish Senators. So I think you could call yesterday a peak — particularly because the valley is coming, and quick.  I mean, not to be a wet blanket, but…

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye’s staff contacted federal regulators last fall to ask about the bailout application of an ailing Hawaii bank that he had helped to establish and where he has invested the bulk of his personal wealth.

Dan’s been pushing his luck for decades.  But the timing of this news?  Perfect.

Sen. Cornyn has probably blown two gaskets over this:

After hedging for weeks about how he’ll react to the state Supreme Court ruling on Minnesota’s Senate race, Gov. Tim Pawlenty gave his clearest answer to date Sunday.

“I’m going to follow the direction of the court,” he said during an appearance on CNN. “We expect that ruling any day now. I also expect them to give guidance and direction as to the certificate of election. I’m prepared to sign it as soon as they give the green light.”

…

Pawlenty added: “I’m not going to defy an order of the Minnesota Supreme Court. That would be a dereliction of my duty.”

If Timmy wants to be President, he can’t dial back from that.  And so, our long journey may be ending.  Perhaps.

New Haven firefighters win at SCOTUS. Decision of Second Circuit Court of Appeals FAIL, 5-4.  Kennedy opinion being read now.

UPDATE: PDF of opinion is out.  SCOTUSblog coverage here.

Most people who decide to carry on an illicit affair would, naturally, want to have an adequate and somewhat reliable cover story.  Being discreet is a given under such circumstances. You know — cheap motel, stolen moments in an office park somewhere, and all under the helpful pretense of “work-related travel.” 

But not for Mark Sanford.  Oh no.  Dude set up a tryst in South America.  He did use a cover of wanting to get away from it all for a few days, every so often.  But not telling command and control in the state you run?  Excellent! 

A stellar achievement, Governor.  We salute you!

So Great Britain had a plan in case it was hit by a nuclear attack.  And was it slapdash, and cobbled together at the last second?  C’mon.  This is Britain we are talking about.  Per the Guardian, it was contained in sixteen separate chapters, providing for the division of the country into twelve regions, and down to the detail of censoring private letters sent in the mail.

(For nostalgia types, here’s a Youtube-archived CBS report on civil defense plans in Portland, Oregon.  The first thing I’d do?  Get Sleater-Kinney back together for one last show before we all kiss our collective ass goodbye.)

Latest updates on Gov. Sanford (R-The Woods) here.

U.S. missile strike in Pakistan kills about 45 people.  Per the BBC, “the people killed in South Waziristan had been attending a funeral for others killed in a US drone strike earlier.”  Whoops.

There was that SCOTUS opinion on the Voting Rights Act, with preclearance surviving, but only just.  Meanwhile, Hans von Spakovsky is as transparent as Saran Wrap.

Villaraigosa decides to not run for Governor of California — and it looks somewhat iffy on Jerry Brown joining in the fun, too.

Don Fehr to retire as chief of baseball players’ union.  One strike, one long-running doping scandal, and players with stratospheric salaries.  Job well done.  (Also: some guy you never heard of won the U.S. Open.)

In anniversary news: Black Eagle to invite leaders of the gheys to the White House, for Stonewall commemoration.

And it’s also been forty years since the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland got all pissed off and burst into flames.  (Another clown over at The Corner, Iain Murray, said this: “The EPA is making a big deal out of the anniversary, for the simple reason that it is one of its founding myths.”  Silly environmentalists — thinking that water burning would be a cause of mild concern.  Where do they get off?)

[LATEST: Six dead in Washington Metro Red Line derailment.  Continuing updates on the tragedy here.]