Six in the Morning

1. THANK HARPER FOR A DECADE OF DEFICITS: Yeah, we need stimulus. But thanks to the Conservatives stubborn refusal to raise taxes, we can expect to be in the red for at least the next ten years. Sound fiscal management. That's what you get from Conservatives. Yessir. They may be troglodytes on social issues and the environment but they sure can manage money. (Globe and Mail)

2. IRANIAN CLERIC CONDEMNS REGIME: Tens of thousands took to the streets in Iran, their protests bolstered by a speech by top cleric, Hashemi Rafsanjani, in which he condemned the governments handling of the civil unrest in June. Meanwhile, the badass of British letters, Martin Amis, provides a bit of context on the Iranian situation. This will be a long, slow and very painful uprising, he argues. (Guardian)

3. PALIN NOMINATES HERSELF CHIEF NUTBALL IN ANTI-SCIENCE MOB: Not wanting to fade into the background now that she's resigned as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin penned an op-ed in today's Washington Post in which she attacks Obama's proposed cap-and-trade system. No one should care what she thinks about climate change but sadly many do so fortunately Media Matters has gone through her piece and picked it apart point by point. (Desmogblog.com, Media Matters)

4. YES, THIS IS AN UNSEASONABLY COOL SUMMER: It's official. What we've all suspected has been verified by science: this has been an unseasonably cool summer in Regina. In fact, it's been unseasonably cool everywhere in Canada except up north where the Yukon is uncharacteristically posting warmer temperatures than Toronto for July. Meteorologists, meanwhile, report that models predict the rest of the summer will be unseasonably warm. Climate change deniers have latched onto the colder-than-usual temperatures as evidence global warming is hoax. Everyone else looks on with alarm at the numerous uses of the word "unseasonable" in weather reports. (Leader Post, Globe and Mail)

5. MOUNTAIN LION VS. MAN WITH CHAINSAW: Not much more to the story than that. I post about it not merely because this is a pretty cool tale... that is, if you dig the old man-with-enormous-powertool-versus-nature plot, but more because I have to wonder what string of keywords are attached to it that it'd wind up featured in the automated news aggregator box on the rabble.ca website. (Guardian)

6. MOON LAUNCH WARRANTS EMBEDDED MOVIE TRAILER: In honour of the anniversary of our species first voyage to a celestial body, we bring you Space Nazis!.