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Flame off.

Let us take this moment to marvel at the majesty of the English language:

“We have seen very strong pricing to date this year, and we are projecting a favorable pricing environment moving forward.”

The gentleman from whose mouth that escaped is Brad Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz is a veep at “MillerCoors, a joint venture of SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co.” He’s joined in his Favorable Pricing Environment by David Peacock, president of “Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the largest U.S. beer seller by revenue.”

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The Lion in Winter.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy is dead [Boston Globe]

Mass. Sen. Ted Kennedy Dies at 77, After Cancer Battle [WaPo]

Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies [NYT]

mark.sanford.getty.galLooks like the C Street Master of the Universe is in trouble:

South Carolina state house Republicans are meeting this weekend to discuss “what it would take to force the Republican governor out and how the process would work.” Ever since acknowledging his extramarital affair with an Argentine woman, Gov. Mark Sanford has been under fire for possibly violating state law by flying in expensive business-class seats. Sanford has thus far refused to resign from office, forcing state Republicans toconsider alternative means.

It’s not the schtupping so much as it’s flying business class and charging the state when flying to the schtup.

South Carolina Republicans Will Meet to Discuss Impeachment of Mark Sanford [ThinkProgress]

chip somodevilla getty imagesHoly Joe:

In a statement, the deeply conservative Connecticut senator, who has in the past expressed his support for waterboarding, said that Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision — which already has drawn criticism for not going far enough — “will have a chilling effect on the men and women agents of our intelligence community whose uninhibited bravery and skill we depend on every day to protect our homeland from the next terrorist attack.”

From Lieberman’s statement:

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SheehanChavezRemember Cindy Sheehan?  She was Joe the Plumber before Joe the Plumber, way back in 2005, when it was kind of a novelty for some unschooled nobody to get national attention by following the president around acting like a douche.

Anyway, she’s going to Martha’s Vineyard, for the beaches, and the publicity.  According to Sheehan, “We need to give the president the moral backbone he needs”  Well, I’m sure that sending a stalkery attention whore after him and his vacationing family will do the trick.  Of course, since it’s slow news August, this will likely corner the media market for the “unhinged asshole” story of the week.  Joe Plumber, New Hampshire Gun Nut Guy, Arizona Assault Rifle Guy, and Sarah Palin will be very envious.  But, to be safe, Sheehan should probably come armed with an IED, just to ensure she gets on the TV. Since the most visible nutcases are right wingers these days, she’s going to have to do something to appeal to that sentiment. As the Washington Examiner points out, “even the left wing of the Democratic party seems unconcerned with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan these days.” Yes, let’s talk about birth certificates, Nazi Islamosocialist health care Death Tribunals, and assault rifles instead.

Peace Activist Sheehan Targets Obama’s Vacation [The Christian Science Monitor]

Do androids dream of electric cattle prods?

“I share the President’s conviction that as a nation, we must, to the extent possible, look forward and not backward when it comes to issues such as these.”

Henceforth, the Department of Justice will cease the investigation and prosecution of past crimes, and focus exclusively on prosecuting crimes yet to be committed.

Holder: We’re Launching “Preliminary Review” Of Torture [TPM]

The worms play Unitary Executive on your snout.Now that everyone’s out of town, the CIA torture report has finally been released, and Eric Holder will apparently appoint John Durham, “a career Justice Department prosecutor from Connecticut” who’s also looking into the missing torture tapes, to hang the Bad Apples by their seeds:

Durham’s mandate, the sources added, will be relatively narrow: to look at whether there is enough evidence to launch a full-scale criminal investigation of current and former CIA personnel who may have broken the law in their dealings with detainees.

Remember, “I was only following orders” is no defense. Unless you were. Or unless you gave them.

Holder to Appoint Prosecutor to Investigate CIA Terror Interrogations [WaPo]

CIA Inspector General Report [WaPo, PDF]