Morning copy

Environmentalists suffered a setback in the Senate. A slight piece of anti-Global warming legislation has passed. The NY Times ledes with a strong call, from the Senate, to have voluntary cuts. Then the article gets realistic about the better legislation left on the cutting room floor. The Globe has a more realistic lede: WASHINGTON -- Attempts to require US industries to cut carbon dioxide emissions as a way to address global warming appear to be headed for defeat in the Senate after a key Republican withdrew his support amid White House lobbying to keep greenhouse gas control programs voluntary. Exxon-Mobile asked me to spike the following sentence: What the hell are these people thinking?

The Governator is forced to ... Uh, I'm too lazy and tired for puns. But, The Mercury News uses "tepid" in their lede!

Someone is killing anti-Syrian leaders with precision, overwhelming force and a fondness for timing. Poor George Hawi becomes the latest victim of some brutal power. It'd be nice to hold them accountable.

Some Republicans have gone against the White House to prob Gitmo. The NY Times reports. Senator Durbin apologizes for his Gitmo comments, just as McCain had forseen on Sunday.

Deadlock in the MidEast peace process, The Guardian reports.

NY Times: Insurgents developing better IEDs.

Will B-I-G finally get J-U-S-T-I-C-E?

The second largest army in Iraq is a gathering of mercenaries. Some of them are very talented, especially the agency protecting the Army Corps of Engineers. Some of them are not. Private warriors featured on this week's Frontline. The best observation, I think, comes from a soldier. To paraphrase: They can't be ordered to man a guard tower, and you can't make them do push ups when they mess up.

Finally, "The Pottery Barn Rule."