This is your morning Open Thread. Pour a cup of your favorite morning beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

August 2 is the 214th day of the year (215th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 151 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1776, members of Congress affix their signatures to an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Fifty-six congressional delegates in total signed the document, including some who were not present at the vote approving the declaration. The delegates signed by state from North to South, beginning with Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire and ending with George Walton of Georgia. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and James Duane, Robert Livingston and John Jay of New York refused to sign. Carter Braxton of Virginia; Robert Morris of Pennsylvania; George Reed of Delaware; and Edward Rutledge of South Carolina opposed the document but signed in order to give the impression of a unanimous Congress. Five delegates were absent: Generals George Washington, John Sullivan, James Clinton and Christopher Gadsden and Virginia Governor Patrick Henry.

The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America-Independence Day-is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.

The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, the text of the Declaration was initially ignored after the American Revolution. Its stature grew over the years, particularly the second sentence, a sweeping statement of individual human rights:

   We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

This sentence has been called “one of the best-known sentences in the English language” and “the most potent and consequential words in American history”.

After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. The sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry.

The famous wording of the Declaration has often been invoked to protect the rights of individuals and marginalized groups, and has come to represent for many people a moral standard for which the United States should strive. This view was greatly influenced by Abraham Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy, and who promoted the idea that the Declaration is a statement of principles through which the United States Constitution should be interpreted.

 338 BC – A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.

216 BC – Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – The Carthaginian army lead by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army under command of consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro.

1377 – the Russian troops are defeated in the Battle on Pyana River, while being drunken.

1610 – Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.

1776 – Declaration of Independence is signed United States

1790 – The first US Census is conducted.

1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay) concludes in a British victory

1869 – Japan’s samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system (Shinokosho) is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese date: June 25, 1869).

1870 – Tower Subway, the world’s first underground tube railway, opens in London.

1903 – Fall of the Ottoman Empire: Unsuccessful uprising led by the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization against Ottoman Turkey, also known as the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising.

1916 – World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.

1918 – Japan announces that it is deploying troops to Siberia in the aftermath of World War I.

1932 – The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.

1934 – Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany.

1937 – The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, essentially rendering marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

1939 – Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear weapon.

1943 – Rebellion in the Nazi death camp of Treblinka.

1943 – World War II: PT-109 rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and sinks. Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. President, saves all but two of his crew.

1944 – ASNOM: Birth of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, Day of the Republic in the Republic of Macedonia.

1945 – World War II: Potsdam Conference, in which the Allied Powers discuss the future of defeated Germany, concludes.

1964 – Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin Incident – North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fires on U.S. destroyers, USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy.

1967 – The second Blackwall Tunnel opens in Greenwich, London.

1989 – Pakistan is re-admitted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, for restoring democracy, since 1972.

1989 – 1989 Valvettiturai massacre is carried out by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.

1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to conflict with coalition forces in the Gulf War.

(10 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Many of you who read my posts regularly know that I am a very dedicated numismatist, and that I have written many posts about coin collecting.  I have also written about the history of United States coins extensively.

What you may not know is that I specialize in Lincoln one cent pieces, minted from 1909 to the present day.  This is the longest running series of all United States coins by a large margin, lasting 101 years now with little change on the obverse, but with some.

This post will let you know a bit more about them, and also some of my passion for what most people think of as something insignificant.  They are far from insignificant.

Lincoln cents are the third regeneration of the small cent series that started in 1857.  Before than, one cent pieces were pure copper and almost the size of a modern 50 cent piece.  They got to expensive to mint, folks did not like such a large coin with such a low value anyway.  By the way, the United States NEVER minted a coin called a “penny”.  That is a holdover from British coinage for what is thought to be the lowest denomination of their coins, but that is not even correct.  Britain minted several coins of lower denomination than their penny.

So did we.  Until the Act of 1857, the United States minted half cents as well, and that was the smallest denomination that we ever used in coin.  However, the “mille” was authorized in the first law that authorized minting of coins by the United States, being one-thousandth of a dollar, whilst the cent is one-hundredth of a dollar.  Modern usage of this term is the “millage rate” for school taxes for most property owners.

In any event, the small cent started with the flying eagle design, from 1857 to 1858.  These coins were were the same diameter as our modern ones, 19 mm, but were much thicker.  They were made from an alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel, and had a golden look when they were new.  They were called “nickels” at the time, but that name later became associated with the 75% copper and 25% nickel alloy in our five cent pieces, which are white.

In 1859 the design was changed to Lady Liberty wearing a feathered headdress, hence the name “Indian Head” cents.  They were minted in the copper/nickel alloy until 1864, when the demands of war needs caused a change.

In 1864, the alloy in the coin was changed to 95% copper, 3% tin, and 2% zinc, essentially a bronze with some zinc in it.  By definition, copper alloyed with tin is bronze, even it other metals are added.  Also by definition, copper alloyed with zinc with no tin is brass.  The small cent of 1864 and later was exactly the dimensions that we have now, 19 mm in diameter, and much thinner than the old ones.

The Liberty wearing a feathered headdress continued until 1909. By the way, its design was by James A. Longacre, one of the best sculptors ever employed by our Mint.  He also designed the Flying Eagle small cent.  Little thought is given to the people who design our coins, and they need to be remembered.

A couple of years before the centennial of President Lincoln’s birth, a contest was held for a new design for the one cent piece.  This coin was to be a commemorative, but it caught on fast. Victor D. Brenner designed the Lincoln portrait and the wheat ear reverse ideas, and from 1909 on this is our standard cent.  Both cents were struck in 1909, making that what we in the trade call a transition year, when two radically different designs were struck for circulation.

The alloy for the coins was 95% copper, 3% tin, and 2% zinc, and that alloy lasted until the demands of World War II caused the Mint to use mild steel, coated with zinc, for all of the legal 1943 cents.  Folks sometimes call them “lead cents” because of their color, but they were essentially galvanized steel.  This was the very first clad coin issued by the United States.  They are rare in circulation now because of magnetic separators in coin sorters.  This is the only US coin to date that is ferromagnetic.

Because of the huge amounts of brass shell casings being shipped back to the United States in the waning years of World War II, cents were minted with them.  Most shell casings are 70% copper and 30% zinc, so the Mint just added copper to bring the melt to 95% copper and 5% zinc.  This produced a coin that looked a little shallower that the bronze alloy, but they did not corrode badly and were OK for use.  “Shell case” cents were minted from 1944 to 1946.

In 1947, the original alloy, 95% copper, 3% tin, and 2% zinc was resumed.  That was used until 1963, when the cost of tin became prohibitive.  That year, the alloy was changed to 95% copper and 5% zinc.  These coins are identical in composition to the Shell case ones.  They stand up to corrosive environments pretty well.

The cost of copper rose in the mid to late 1960s, and experimental pieces were struck in different metals, including aluminum, zinc, steel and some others.  As far as I can tell, all of those pattern pieces were destroyed by the Mint, but I suspect that some high level employees smuggled out a few.  If that is the case, those coins are worth millions of dollars each.  However, to possess one is a very grave Federal offense, with years of prison and many hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines if convicted.  With that said, I am almost positive that there are a few of them in very, very private collections, just like the 1964 Peace Silver dollar.

In the very early 1980s, the cost of copper rose beyond the value of the one cent piece.  Damned old Reagan signed the bill to remove the copper from cents.  In 1982, the composition was changed from the alloy mentioned above to a core of 99.2% zinc, 0.08% copper, electroplated with a pure copper shell, as thin as aluminum foil.  The entire coin is 97.5% zinc, and 2.5% copper.  These coins look fine, for a couple of weeks.  Then the copper plating gets holes in it.  They decay rapidly after that.

I really dislike the zinc based coins.  Steel plated with chromium or nickel would have been better, but then they would not look copper colored.  Plastic ones would be another idea, but the huge zinc lobby got it way.

In Canada, their cents were about like ours until 1982, then they went to zinc, and later to copper plated steel.  All Canadian coins are steel now, with plating to make them look like the real thing.  All US coins are copper cores (except for the cent) with either a plating or a bonding of a copper/nickel alloy on the (copper in the case of cents) surfaces.  Only the current five cent piece is the same through and through.  It is interesting that the 1943 steel cent was the first and only clad US coin, and now all our coins, except the five cent piece, are clad.

Now to my original research about Lincoln cents.  Since late November last year I have been keeping statistics, and since then I have examined 111,500 cents.  Of these, 111,256 turned out to be US issue, most of the rest being Canadian.  We get quite a few Canadian in Kentucky.  Five were from Caribbean countries.  The statistics are remarkably stable, to my surprise.  I figured that there would be a noticeable decline in the amount of bronze and brass cents and a relative increase in zinc ones, but there is not a real trend.  Over the entirety of this set, the average for copper based cents is 26.59%.  I tend to do batches of 10,000 coins per card (I will show a picture of a typical card in a bit), but one exceptional batch was 15,000 coins from Simmons First National Bank in White Hall, Arkansas.  The copper based coins in this batch amounted only to 14.75%, and that threw off the total average a little.  For cents from PNC Bank in Richmond, Kentucky, the numbers range from a high of 32.15% to a low of 24.93%, both batches being from November of 2009.

If I throw out the outlying Simmons set, the average is 28.46% copper based cents, and few batches vary by more than 1%.  I am surprised to see this be the case.

Another statistic that I keep is the number of San Francisco mint marked cents (I keep these statistics only for Lincoln Memorial reverse coins, since there were a LOT of “S” Wheat Ears reverse cents.  This is also remarkably stable, averaging 0.23%, in other words, about one out of 500 cents.  The highest was from a batch from Arkansas at 0.31%, but this is not really surprising since “S” mint marks were distributed west of the Mississippi River, so there should be more of them in Arkansas than in Kentucky.  They quit minting business strike cents in San Francisco after 1974, so all of these coins are at least 36 years old.

Likewise, I keep statistics on Wheat Ear cents.  The ones from Kentucky average around 0.36%, or one in around 350 coins.  The Arkansas ones are much lower, because there were so few copper based cents in the population that I sampled.  This is also quite stable, with the limits being one batch of 0.46% and another of 0.27%.  You hardly ever find a steel cent in circulation any more because the magnetic separators in coin sorters filter them.  Likewise for steel Canadian cents.

If you get friendly with your banking folks, you can get coins for no cost.  I got a really nice steel cent when cashing in a bag of search cents a few months ago because their sorter had flagged it.  They also give me all of their magnetic Canadian coins, and some of them are pure nickel and not steel.

By now you must be asking, “Doc, why do you go to this trouble?”  That is a fair question.  I do it because of the occasional die error that I find.  Some of them are quite valuable.  Just a couple of weeks ago I found a 1999 Philadelphia cent (a business strike) struck by mistake by using dies for proof cents.  It is in excellent condition, and is worth around $300.  There are LOTS of Lincoln cents with die errors, and I have hundreds of them.

As a matter of fact, there are more die error Lincoln cents with respect to date and mint mark than any other US coin.  This is largely because the series is the longest running one in US coinage history, 102 years so far.  By the way, I really like the new reverse design for the 2010 cent.  We used to have shields on our coins often, and it is nice to see one back.  I would really like to see a business strike bearing the likeness of Liberty on the observe some time, but there are too many dead Presidents.  The last business strike in the US to bear her image was the beautiful Walking Liberty half dollar, last struck in 1947.

This is getting to be too long, so I shall break for the evening.  I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about coins, coin collecting, and the future of the one cent piece (I think that it is extremely limited).

Oh, here is an example of the 3 x 5 index cards that I keep whilst examining coins.  The first two columns count rolls of 50 coins, the rest count single coins.  The front includes basic statistics, and back details about coins that I found that were exceptional.  From the description that I have given you in the text, the headings should be self explanatory, but ask in a comment if you do not understand.

This is the front view

This is the reverse view

Well, you have done it again.  You have wasted many einsteins of perfectly good photons reading this metallic post.  And even though the very nutty Representative Peter King sits down and shuts up when he reads me say it, I always learn much more than I can hope to teach as I write this series.  Thus, please keep questions, comments, corrections, and other information coming.  Remember, no scientific or technical issue is off topic in this series.

Warmest regards,

Doc

Crossposted at Dailykos.com and at Docudharma.com

Copyright August 01, 2010 by Dr. David W. Smith.  I also claim the trademark to Pique the Geek.  Anyone is free to quote any and all of this material provided that I am cited as the source.

Happy Shark Week!

Sigh.  I’ll not be hyping the aqueous skin toothed cartilaginous charms of this media event.  Not while I have Summer X Games!

Oops.

• AMC– 2 Rubicon premiers followed by a Mad Men premier.
• ESPN– Dodgers @ Giants
• ABC Family– Love & Basketball
• Food– All Premiers
• FX– I, Robot
• TBS– Failure to Launch x 2
• Turner Classic– Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Confession
• History– Ice Road Truckers (last week and premier), Top Shot (premier)
• Oxygen– America’s Next Top Model

Later-

• Comedy– Futurama
• Adult Swim– Boondocks The Fried Chicken Flu (premier), Frankenhole (premier)
• Disney– Phineas & Ferb

A good night to sleep.

Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Engineers prepare to seal ruptured BP oil well

by Matt Davis, AFP

Sat Jul 31, 5:21 pm ET

2 Dutch troops leave Afghanistan after four years

by Claire Truscott, AFP

56 mins ago

3 Greek truckers end week-long strike

by John Hadoulis, AFP

56 mins ago

4 Greek tourism reels from fuel shortage, strikes

by John Hadoulis, AFP

Sat Jul 31, 11:35 pm ET

5 UAE to suspend key BlackBerry services

by Ali Khalil, AFP

1 hr 27 mins ago

6 Webber wins Hungarian GP to take series lead

by Gordon Howard, AFP

Sun Aug 1, 1:07 pm ET

7 Winds of austerity sweep through football

by Tom Williams, AFP

Sun Aug 1, 1:45 am ET

8 Seven hours the magic number for sleep: study

by Karin Zeitvogel, AFP

Sun Aug 1, 12:27 am ET

9 Debate on death and taxes heats up as billionaires fall

by Rob Lever, AFP

Sat Jul 31, 11:01 pm ET

10 BP to try well kill Tuesday

By Leigh Coleman, Reuters

Sat Jul 31, 9:33 am ET

11 Congress questions BP’s use of dispersants in Gulf

By Deborah Zabarenko and Ross Colvin, Reuters

2 hrs 9 mins ago

12 WikiLeaks guilty, at least morally: Robert Gates

By Phil Stewart, Reuters

Sun Aug 1, 9:11 am ET

13 Pakistan president to visit Britain amid terror row

By Chris Allbritton, Reuters

Sun Aug 1, 8:19 am ET

14 U.S.-Canadian mission set to map Arctic seafloor

By Yereth Rosen, Reuters

Sun Aug 1, 8:04 am ET

15 Gulf crews prepare to start plugging well for good

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer

20 mins ago

16 Coast Guard allows toxic chemical use on Gulf oil

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 2:05 am ET

17 UAE to ban BlackBerry services, Saudi follows suit

By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer

1 min ago

18 After 378 years, NH family farm goes up for sale

By KATHY McCORMACK, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 53 mins ago

19 Guillen: Asian players treated better than Latinos

Associated Press

1 hr 4 mins ago

20 Dutch become 1st NATO member to quit Afghanistan

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 1:09 pm ET

21 High Iraq deaths cast doubt on US stability talk

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

22 mins ago

22 Christiane Amanpour takes on ABC News’ ‘This Week’

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer

Sun Aug 1, 11:45 am ET

23 GOP looks to erase Democrats’ comfy House majority

By LIZ “Sprinkles” SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer

Sun Aug 1, 1:43 pm ET

24 Britain’s military braced for sharp spending cuts

By DAVID STRINGER and SYLVIA HUI, Associated Press Writers

Sun Aug 1, 7:31 am ET

25 US stalls on Sept. 11 trial for 5 at Gitmo

By BEN FOX, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 5:33 am ET

26 Rangel using 3-way defense against ethics charges

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 2:08 am ET

27 Hacker builds $1,500 cell-phone tapping device

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Sun Aug 1, 2:09 am ET

28 Blagojevich die-hards the kind he’d want on jury

By MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 2:00 pm ET

29 San Francisco approves giant redevelopment project

By ROBIN HINDERY, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 12:30 pm ET

30 Uneasy in US, Iroquois believe survival’s at stake

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer

Sun Aug 1, 12:13 am ET

(10 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

WikiLeaks has posted a massive, larger than all the other files on the page combined, heavily encrypted file on it’s dedicated “Afghan War Diary” page labeled simply “Insurance file”

(1.4 GB – you can download it from that link)…

As Wired puts it,

Cryptome, a separate secret-spilling site, has speculated that the new file added days later may have been posted as insurance in case something happens to the WikiLeaks website  or to the organization’s founder, Julian Assange. In either scenario, WikiLeaks volunteers, under a prearranged agreement with Assange, could send out a password or passphrase to allow anyone who has downloaded the file to open it.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

The Sunday Talking Heads:

This is Ms. Amanpour’s debut as the anchor person for a Sunday talk show.

This Week with Christiane Amanpour: Coming Up Exclusive interviews House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Round table with George Will, Donna Brazile, Paul Krugman and Ahmed Rashid.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff; Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; Richard Haass, President, Council On Foreign Relations; Thomas Saenz, President, Mexican American Legal Defense And Education Fund.

Chris Matthews: Kimberly Dozier, Associated Press; Dan Rather, HDNet, Global Correspondent; Rick Stengel, TIME’ Managing Editor; Helene Cooper, The New York Times, White House Correspondent.

CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  They’ll discuss the war in Afghanistan as the U.S. experiences its deadliest month in the country. Topics will also include the wiki leaks incident, immigration and the economy.

Later, discussion about the passing week’s main political issues with New York Times correspondent, Peter Baker, and Washington Post editor Dan Balz.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: Senator John Kerry — the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — to talk about the Wikileaks and, more broadly, the war in Afghanistan; about Iran and whether we should be engaging that nation; and about U.S. politics.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. responds directly to the accusations in the war logs that his intelligence service has been colluding with the Taliban.

Finally a panel of experts featuring Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker, Reuters’ global editor-at-large Chrystia Freeland, and Ross Douthat of the N.Y. Times on the Obama’s administration is handling the crises that seem to keep coming at them.

Daniel Ellsberg’s WikiLeaks wish list

The disclosure of tens of thousands of classified reports on the Afghan war last week by WikiLeaks has been compared, rightly or wrongly, to the release in 1971 of the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. “The parallels are very strong,” Pentagon Papers contributor and leaker Daniel Ellsberg told The Washington Post on Monday. “This is the largest unauthorized disclosure since the Pentagon Papers.”

But perhaps not large enough? Outlook asked Ellsberg for his wish list of documents to be leaked, declassified or otherwise made public, documents that could fundamentally alter public understanding of key national security issues and foreign policy debates. Below, he outlines his selections and calls for congressional investigations

David Cole: Eight years after the torture memo, Obama should take a hard look back

Eight years ago today, two Justice Department lawyers — John Yoo and Jay Bybee — put the finishing touches on a secret memo to White House counsel Alberto Gonzales with the anodyne title “Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. § 2340-2340A.” With this document, better known as the “torture memo,”  and a second memo issued the same day approving specific interrogation techniques, the United States officially authorized torture for the first time in its history — including sleep deprivation for up to 11 days straight, confinement in cramped boxes, the use of painful stress positions for hours at a time and waterboarding.

Today, Jay Bybee is a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. John Yoo is a tenured law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. And no one responsible for authorizing these tactics has been held to account: not Yoo, not Bybee, not Daniel Levin and Stephen Bradbury, the Justice Department lawyers who succeeded them and continued to authorize brutal techniques until President Obama took office, and not former president George W. Bush and former vice president Dick Cheney, both of whom have, since leaving office, admitted in public statements to giving these tactics the green light.

 Frank Rich: Kiss This War Goodbye

IT was on a Sunday morning, June 13, 1971, that The Times published its first installment of the Pentagon Papers. Few readers may have been more excited than a circle of aspiring undergraduate journalists who’d worked at The Harvard Crimson. Though the identity of The Times’s source wouldn’t eke out for several days, we knew the whistle-blower had to be Daniel Ellsberg, an intense research fellow at M.I.T. and former Robert McNamara acolyte who’d become an antiwar activist around Boston. We recognized the papers’ contents, as reported in The Times, because we’d heard the war stories from the loquacious Ellsberg himself.

But if we were titillated that Sunday, it wasn’t immediately clear that this internal government history of the war had mass appeal. Tricia Nixon’s wedding  in the White House Rose Garden on Saturday received equal play with the Pentagon Papers on The Times’s front page. On “Face the Nation” the guest was the secretary of defense, Melvin Laird, yet the subject of the papers didn’t even come up.

Thomas L. Friedman: The Great (Double) Game

The trove of WikiLeaks about the faltering U.S. war effort in Afghanistan has provoked many reactions, but for me it contains one clear message. It’s actually an old piece of advice your parents may have given you before you went off to college: “If you are in a poker game and you don’t know who the sucker is, it’s probably you.”

In the case of the Great Game of Central Asia, that’s us.

Best I can tell from the WikiLeaks documents and other sources, we are paying Pakistan’s Army and intelligence service to be two-faced. Otherwise, they would be just one-faced and 100 percent against us. The same could probably be said of Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai. But then everyone out there is wearing a mask – or two.

Nicholas D. Kristof: Another Pill That Could Cause a Revolution

Could the decades-long global impasse over abortion worldwide be overcome – by little white pills costing less than $1 each?  

That seems possible, for these pills are beginning to revolutionize abortion around the world, especially in poor countries. One result may be tens of thousands of women’s lives saved each year.

Five-sixths of abortions take place in developing countries, where poor sterilization and training often make the procedure dangerous. Up to 70,000 women die a year from complications of abortions, according to the World Health Organization.

But researchers are finding an alternative that is safe, cheap and very difficult for governments to restrict – misoprostol, a medication originally intended to prevent stomach ulcers.

Chris Cillizza: Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Charlie Rangel’s unlikely inquisitor

Quick, name the head of the House ethics committee.  

Can’t do it? Don’t beat yourself up too much; the ethics committee (or the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the stuffed shirts call it) is not only one of the least prominent committees on Capitol Hill but, if recent history is any indication, one of the most feckless, too.

But every committee has a chair, and in this case it’s Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a loyal lieutenant of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow California Democrat.

Lofgren’s low profile is about to be ruined by the congressional trial of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on allegations that he failed to report personal income and misused his office to aid companies to which he had ties.

Steven Simon and Ray Takeyh: If Iran came close to getting a nuclear weapon, would Obama use force?

Imagine a moment when President Obama has only two alternatives: prepare to live with a nuclear-armed Iran or embark on the perilous path of military action to stop it.

Imagine that diplomacy has run its course, after prolonged and inconclusive negotiations; that surging international oil prices have undercut the power of economic sanctions against Tehran; and that reliable intelligence says the Islamic republic’s weapons program is very close to reaching its goal.

Facing such conditions, would Obama use force against Iran?

William G. Gale: Five myths about the Bush tax cuts

The tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, known as the Bush tax cuts, are set to expire Dec. 31, and the fight over what to do is increasingly heated. Should the tax cuts expire, as some Democrats have said? Should they be extended, as most Republicans maintain? Or does the answer lie somewhere in between, as the Obama administration, led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, has argued in recent weeks?

The cuts lowered tax rates across the board on income, dividends and capital gains; eventually eliminated the estate tax; further lowered burdens on married couples, parents and the working poor; and increased tax credits for education and retirement savings. Obama’s proposal would extend most of these reductions, allowing only those for individuals making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000 to expire.

Complicating the debate is a gloomy economic and fiscal outlook, one that is decidedly different from the rosy scenario that prevailed at the beginning of the last decade. That outlook has given rise to a number of stubborn myths about what extending the Bush tax cuts would — or wouldn’t — do.

(4 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

230 Stories served.  33 per day.

This is actually the hardest diary to execute, and yet perhaps the most valuable because it lets you track story trends over time.  It should be a Sunday morning feature.

• Sunday 7/25
• Monday 7/26
• Tuesday 7/27
• Wednesday 7/28
• Thursday 7/29
• Friday 7/30
• Saturday 7/31

Sunday 7/25– 5

• 7 US’ Geithner rejects fears of double dip recession
• 11 Markets to issue verdict on stress tests
• 12 US ‘wants more currency loosening’ from China
• 13 Fees for online news yet to succeed
• 18 EU bank stress tests face their own test in markets

Monday 7/26– 2

• 8 German banks ‘did not reveal full debt details’
• 14 EU banks could seek 25 billion euros in capital top-up

Tuesday 7/27– 6

• 11 India hikes rates for fourth time this year
• 12 Deutsche Bank raises quarterly profits despite crisis
• 16 Consumer confidence dims as home prices climb
• 18 "Glimmers of improvement," but state woes remain
• 19 UBS outshines Deutsche Bank as wealth turnaround nears
• 28 Confidence falls even as corporate profits rise

Wednesday 7/28– 4

• 11 Durable goods orders fall, business spending up
• 13 Boeing profit beats, but shares fall on revenue
• 14 Economy erodes election hope for Democrats
• 31 BMW challenges small car stereotype

Thursday 7/29– 6

• 12 Foreclosures up in 75 percent of top U.S. metro areas
• 14 Amazon offers $139 wireless Kindle for mass appeal
• 32 AP survey: A bleaker outlook for economy into 2011
• 33 Panasonic to buy out Sanyo, Panasonic Electric
• 34 Foreclosure activity up across most US metro areas
• 37 Moore wants to bring back downtown movie theaters

Friday 7/30– 6

• 2 US growth slows fueling recovery fears
• 6 BA losses hit £122m on strike action, ash cloud
• 9 China overtakes Japan as No.2 economy: FX chief
• 10 Imports slow second-quarter growth
• 21 Bleak outlook for economy as growth slows
• 24 Obama hails auto bailout as good news in Michigan

Saturday 7/31– 1

• 4 US growth slows fueling fears over recovery

Sunday 7/25– 3

• 6 Search on for two US sailors missing in Afghanistan
• 17 Top U.S. officer warns Afghan war will get worse
• 21 Explosives experts in bloody dance with bomb makers

Monday 7/26– 7

• 3 Outrage over huge leak of Afghan war files
• 4 US condemns massive leak of Afghan war files
• 7 NATO rocket killed Afghan civilians: Karzai
• 13 Leaked archive fuels doubts on Afghan war
• 20 Pentagon scrambles to assess Wikileaks damage
• 27 Afghans: 52 die in NATO attack; alliance disputes
• 21 Twin car bombs kill 25 in Iraqi city of Karbala

Tuesday 7/27– 11

• 4 US lawmakers challenge Obama after Afghan leak
• 6 Outrage over huge leak of Afghan war files
• 7 Army opens criminal probe into Afghan war files leak
• 8 Secret files leak sows new Afghan war doubts
• 14 Leaked archive fuels doubts on Afghan war
• 15 Obama seeks to control damage from Afghan war leak
• 23 House voting big war funds, despite Afghan leaks
• 24 US braces for blowback over Afghan war disclosures
• 25 Hit list draws fire in wake of leaked US documents
• 32 NATO: 1 missing sailor killed in Afghanistan
• 22 Audit: US cannot account for $8.7B in Iraqi funds

Wednesday 7/28– 5

• 5 US lawmakers beat back Afghan war challenge after leaks
• 6 Afghan bus hits roadside bomb, up to 25 dead
• 12 Congress gives Obama long-delayed Afghan war funds
• 20 WikiLeaks: We don’t know source of leaked data
• 10 U.S. keeps pressure on Iraq to form new government

Thursday 7/29– 6

• 21 Body of 2nd Navy sailor recovered in Afghanistan
• 39 Documents detail search for captive Idaho soldier
• 6 British PM sparks ‘terror’ row with Pakistan
• 20 Al-Qaida plants flag, burns bodies in Iraq attack
• 19 Poll: Nearly 6 in 10 Pakistanis view US as enemy
• 22 Pakistan general balances all sides of conflict

Friday 7/30– 3

• 12 WikiLeaks may have blood on its hands, U.S. says
• 16 US casualties in Afghanistan soar to record highs
• 28 White House urges halt to spilling of war secrets

Saturday 7/31– 2

• 9 U.S. worried more secret documents may be released
• 17 Informant says WikiLeaks suspect had civilian help

Sunday 7/25– 2

• 14 Pilgrims flock to Way of St.James during Holy Year
• 20 Bomb in central Bangkok kills 1 and wounds 10

Monday 7/26– 4

• 2 Khmer Rouge prison chief handed 30 years in jail
• 5 The ‘tapadas:’ Latin America’s veil-clad women
• 16 Senior Khmer Rouge cadre jailed for mass murder, torture
• 23 Khmer Rouge jailer faces 19 years for 16,000 dead

Tuesday 7/27– 5

• 5 London on track for 2012 Games, two years out
• 9 Khmer Rouge prison chief handed 30 years in jail
• 10 Spain’s Catalonia on verge of banning bullfighting
• 34 Natural gas could lead to new Lebanon-Israel war
• 39 Fate uncertain for 12 Haitian kids airlifted to US

Wednesday 7/28– 7

• 3 Spain’s Catalonia region bans bullfighting
• 25 Spanish region says adios to bullfighting
• 4 Serbian proposes new talks on outstanding issues in Kosovo
• 23 Sarkozy orders illegal Roma immigrants expelled
• 28 Canadian woman is next top UN internal watchdog
• 29 No charges for NY’s Paterson in aide violence case
• 30 APNewsBreak: Study says Amish expanding westward

Thursday 7/29– 3

• 4 London gears up for two-wheeled revolution
• 8 British PM to push Indian leaders on open trade
• 31 Russia grants more powers to KGB successor agency

Friday 7/30– 4

• 3 London launches cycle hire scheme
• 5 Berlusconi in crisis after revolt by key ally
• 11 Italy speaker refuses to resign, deepens crisis
• 20 Sarkozy threatens immigrants who target police

Saturday 7/31– 1

• 3 Indian forces kill sixth protester in two days in Kashmir

Sunday 7/25– 5

• 19 Migrants sell up and flee Arizona ahead of crackdown
• 24 Uncertain future for Reid despite rebound in Nev.
• 25 Colorado’s tax iconoclast back in the spotlight
• 26 Life’s a beach for some homeless in Hawaii
• 27 APNewsBreak: Ohio probation system fragmented

Monday 7/26– 6

• 15 Senate Democrats to introduce energy bill
• 22 Calif. subpoenas LA suburb records in salary probe
• 24 Immigrant groups criticize fingerprint initiative
• 28 Obama’s message to voters: Things could be worse
• 30 Md. could save $829M under health care reform
• 31 Regal ruins: Palatial mansion near Philly crumbles

Tuesday 7/27– 10

• 17 Utah court orders new trial for polygamist leader
• 27 Utah court reverses polygamist leader convictions
• 26 Rangel, ethics panel lawyers talking settlement
• 29 Poll: A few cracks in Obama’s Hispanic support
• 31 CA fiscal official reviews city in pay scandal
• 33 Neb. town may halt immigration law to save money
• 36 18 states, DC are education reform grant finalists
• 37 Ed Dept, civil rights leaders discuss reform
• 38 Kan. medical board files complaint over abortions
• 40 NYC restaurants get ready to learn their ABC’s

Wednesday 7/28– 11

• 9 Key parts of Arizona anti-immigration law blocked
• 18 Judge blocks parts of Arizona immigration law
• 19 FBI director defends bureau over test cheating
• 21 NYC looks to stop spreading bedbug infestations
• 22 Congress narrows gap in cocaine sentences
• 24 Rangel, ethics panel lawyers talking settlement
• 26 Arizona helped deport thousands without new law
• 27 Judge orders tougher look at fire retardant drops
• 33 3 NJ teens charged with videotaped immigrant death
• 34 Texas, feds wait turns in polygamist leader cases
• 36 Feds: Fatal DC rail crash came from lax oversight

Thursday 7/29– 14

• 3 Protestors denounce Arizona immigration law
• 11 Weakened Arizona immigrant rules still draw protests
• 13 Schwarzenegger declares California fiscal emergency
• 18 Ousted USDA employee Sherrod plans to sue blogger
• 23 AZ appeals order blocking parts of immigration law
• 24 Mo. ballot measures tests federal health care law
• 25 As many as 6,600 Arlington graves mixed up
• 26 Panel hits Rangel with 13 alleged ethics charges
• 27 Pa. diocese sued after abuse accuser’s suicide
• 28 Democrats catch break with trial’s early end
• 30 AP-Univision Poll: College dreams for Hispanics
• 35 FBI director defends bureau over test cheating
• 36 Excessive force suspension reversed for Texas cop
• 38 AP IMPACT: Before the CIA, there was the Pond

Friday 7/30– 13

• 4 Two dozen held in tense Arizona immigration protests
• 13 Arizona appeals immigrant law ruling amid protests
• 17 Ariz. governor considers changing immigration law
• 18 Agency weighs skirting Congress on immigration
• 19 House investigators recommended Rangel reprimand
• 25 FBI access to e-mail, Web data raises privacy fear
• 26 Mo. Senate race may narrow to Blunt, Carnahan
• 27 Scalia: Supreme Court should not be moral arbiters
• 29 NM governor considers pardon for Billy the Kid
• 30 Immigration skirmish brews in quiet SC town
• 31 Ousted USDA employee Sherrod plans to sue blogger
• 32 Mo. ballot measures tests federal health care law
• 33 CAPITAL CULTURE: Malia’s latest adventure is camp

Saturday 7/31– 12

• 5 Hackers pick up where Facebook privacy leaves off
• 10 Second senior Democrat may face ethics trial
• 12 Rangel using 3-way defense against ethics charges
• 13 US stalls on Sept. 11 trial for 5 at Gitmo
• 14 LA pushing to become nation’s mass transit leader
• 15 Obama: Rangel case troubling; some Dems say resign
• 16 Ariz. governor considers changing immigration law
• 18 A look inside the government’s deportation flights
• 19 Uneasy in US, Iroquois believe survival’s at stake
• 20 Jewish group opposes ground zero mosque
• 21 Texas man exonerated of rape free after 27 years
• 22 DC Metro crash spurs federal oversight push

Sunday 7/25– 8

• 1 Hayward expected to resign as BP looks to rebuild
• 2 Ships return to Gulf oil spill cleanup after storm fades
• 3 BP chief likely to resign in wake of US oil spill
• 4 Profile of BP chief Tony Hayward
• 5 Preparations for BP well ‘kill’ operation move ahead
• 15 BP CEO Hayward nears exit as relief well work resumes
• 16 Fraudsters angle for piece of BP oil spill fund
• 22 Official: BP CEO Hayward being replaced over spill

Monday 7/26– 6

• 1 BP boss expected to quit but new payoff row looms
• 11 BP set to replace CEO Hayward
• 12 Spill puts Obama’s oil fund chief on hostile turf
• 17 BP’s Hayward to leave as CEO; Russia job in works
• 18 Oil cleanup brings strangers, tension to towns
• 19 Allen: BP well-killing process starts in a week

Tuesday 7/27– 6

• 1 ‘Demonised’ BP boss Hayward resigns over Gulf oil spill
• 2 TNK-BP profits soar as Hayward awaits Russian exile
• 3 BP boss Hayward steps down over Gulf oil spill
• 13 BP gets "wake-up call" and $32 billion in spill charges
• 20 BP taps new American CEO, reports $17 billion loss
• 21 Dudley’s path followed unusual turns to CEO of BP

Wednesday 7/28– 7

• 1 100 days in, Gulf spill leaves ugly questions unanswered
• 2 ‘Demonised’ BP boss sparks fresh US anger on exit
• 7 Oil spill hits 100 days as BP aims for quick well kill
• 8 Special Report: Watching grass grow in the Gulf, and cheering!
• 15 100 days later, BP taps new CEO, seeks fresh start
• 16 BP hopes to turn page with new CEO, leaner company
• 17 Gulf flow has stopped, but where’s the oil?

Thursday 7/29– 7

• 1 Shell defends deep-water oil production, as profits soar
• 2 100 days in, Gulf spill leaves ugly questions unanswered
• 9 BP spill cases head to court as Shell counts cost
• 10 Special Report: A Mississippi Yankee in BP’s battered court
• 15 Key step to kill Gulf gusher may happen sooner
• 16 Gov’t warned company about oil pipeline monitoring
• 17 Crews take step toward readying permanent well fix

Friday 7/30– 5

• 1 New BP boss vows to stay the course in Gulf clean-up
• 7 BP to try well kill Tuesday
• 8 House vote seen close on oil spill bill
• 14 Incoming BP CEO: Time for ‘scaleback’ in cleanup
• 15 Signs of oil spill recovery entering new phase

Saturday 7/31– 5

• 1 Engineers prepare to seal ruptured oil well
• 2 New BP boss faces up to massive Gulf oil clean-up
• 7 BP to try well kill Tuesday
• 8 House approves oil spill reform bill
• 11 3 squabbling companies must cooperate to plug well

Monday 7/26– 3

• 10 Quark by quark, atom smasher closing in on ‘God particle’
• 25 New gov’t rules allow unapproved iPhone apps
• 26 UAE says BlackBerry is potential security threat

Tuesday 7/27– 3

• 35 New Titanic expedition will create 3D map of wreck
• 41 Heat brings out the cool in zoos across the nation
• 42 New program rebuilding faces of soldiers, veterans

Wednesday 7/28– 3

• 32 DC pushes female condoms to fight HIV epidemic
• 35 Holy spelunker: Caves closed to fight bat fungus
• 37 Ship lost for more than 150 years is recovered

Thursday 7/29– 2

• 7 Stemcells coaxed to rebuild bone, cartilage
• 29 Hands-only CPR, pushy dispatchers are lifesavers

Sunday 7/25– 2

• 9 Ferrari blasted for ‘made-to-order’ German F1 win
• 10 Controversy as Alonso wins German F1 GP

Monday 7/26– 1

• 9 Ferrari blasted for ‘made-to-order’ German F1 win

Tuesday 7/27– 1

• 30 Matt Garza pitches 1st no-hitter in Rays history

Thursday 7/29– 1

• 5 I’m not Ferrari number two, says Formula One racer Massa

Saturday 7/31– 1

• 6 Emotional Massa braced for Hungary return

Sunday 7/25– 2

• 8 Contador triumphant in Tour as Cavendish wins final stage
• 23 Contador wins 3rd Tour, as Armstrong steps aside

Monday 7/26– 1

• 6 Contador triumphant in Tour as Cavendish wins final stage

Friday 7/30– 2

• 21 Bleak outlook for economy as growth slows
• 23 Source: J-Lo close to deal for `American Idol’

Hmm…  Maybe this isn’t as suitable for blogging as I hoped.

I really don’t have much to add to yesterday’s set up except that the flex wing may be more significant than I thought.  The Red Bulls and Ferraris that are using it are 1.2 seconds a lap faster than everything else on the track.

Here’s a link to the Speed Racecast commentary.

Below the fold is the starting grid.

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour a cup of your favorite morning beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

On this day in 1981, MTV, Music Television, goes on the air for the first time ever, with the words (spoken by one of MTV’s creators, John Lack): “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to air on the new cable television channel, which initially was available only to households in parts of New Jersey. MTV went on to revolutionize the music industry and become an influential source of pop culture and entertainment in the United States and other parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and Latin America, which all have MTV-branded channels.

In MTV’s early days, its programming consisted of basic music videos that were introduced by VJs (video jockeys) and provided for free by record companies. As the record industry recognized MTV’s value as a promotional vehicle, money was invested in making creative, cutting-edge videos. Some directors, including Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Three Kings) and Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), worked on music videos before segueing into feature films. In the 1980s, MTV was instrumental in promoting the careers of performers such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince and Duran Duran, whose videos played in heavy rotation.

 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.

69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.

527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).

1203 – Isaac II Angelus, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexius IV Angelus co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.

1291 – The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.

1492 – Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile drive the Jews out of Spain.

1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.

1619 – First African slaves arrive in Jamestown, Virginia.

1664 – The Ottoman Empire is defeated in the Battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvar.

1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay) – Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.

1800 – The Act of Union 1800 is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1820 – London’s Regent’s Canal opens.

1828 – Bolton and Leigh Railway opens to freight traffic.

1831 – A new London Bridge opens.

1832 – The Black Hawk War ends.

1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.

1838 – Non-labourer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated.

1840 – Labourer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated.

1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.

1902 – The United States buys the rights to the Panama Canal from France.

1907 – Start of First Scout camp on Brownsea Island.

1914 – Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilises because of World War I

1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.

1937 – Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.

1941 – The first Jeep is produced.

1944 – Anne Frank makes the last entry in her diary.

1944 – Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.

1948 – The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations is founded.

1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

1960 – Islamabad declared as the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.

1964 – The Belgian Congo is renamed the Republic of the Congo.

1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official People’s Republic of China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

1967 – Israel annexes East Jerusalem.

1977 – Former Lockheed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers crashes the news helicopter he is flying in Los Angeles

1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles.

1995 – The first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

1996 – Michael Johnson breaks the 200m world record by 0.30 seconds with a time of 19.32 seconds at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

2001 – An agreement is reached on the position of the minority Albanian language in the Republic of Macedonia.

2001 – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency.

2001 – Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a Ten Commandments monument installed in the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office.

2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour.