7/10 Morning Communiqué

THESE DAYS

A decade after the Pentagon declared a zero-tolerance policy for racist hate groups, recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq have allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to infiltrate the military, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

A strange new fungus disease that kills frogs and toads and every other species of amphibian is spreading around the globe and -- combined with pollution and overdevelopment -- is driving more and more of the creatures to extinction.

The federal government will pay a Texas law school $1 million to do research aimed at rolling back the amount of sensitive data available to the press and public through freedom-of-information requests.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Ken Avidor is not a big fan of personal rapid transit, nor its advocate in the legislature, and blogs about it at Dump Mark Olson.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Shock some dude with a dog collar on for charity

A valuable lesson about farting in your cubicle

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"It was stupid and gross. They have this obsession to satisfy conservative Republicans who will probably be re-elected no matter what happens. They get job satisfaction, but they are making it more difficult for me to win my race."

-- Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), on the GOP's new American Values Agenda