HUFFPOST HILL - JULY 2ND, 2010

Just as we were settling into a nice July 4th groove, Michael Steele went and got all tree-huggy on everyone, saying the war in Afghanistan is hopeless. He wasn't the only Republican awkwardly clarifying his positions: Rand Paul (taking a break from reading Edward Gibbon) says he doesn't want to put his electric fence underground and Sharron Angle insists she's not a birther. Happy Independence Day to the 74% of you who actually know what it is you're celebrating (and to the other 26%, too); we'll be back on Tuesday. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, July 2nd, 2010

BREAKING: GHANA LOSES, AFRICA OUT OF WORLD CUP - That guy from Ghana who scored the winning goal against the U.S. had a penalty kick at the very end of overtime to win. It ricocheted off the crossbar, sending the game into a penalty shootout, where Uruguay emerged 5-3. It was perhaps the most crushing way a team has been eliminated in World Cup history.

@PElliottAP: JOHANNESBURG (AP) _ South African police officers say Paris Hilton was detained for possession of marijuana.

MICHAEL STEELE SPEAKS TRUTH, GOP UPSET - So-very-confused-man Michael Steele is facing mounting criticism for saying that the war in Afghanistan is a fool's errand that is "a war of Obama's choosing." "Well, if he's such a student of history," Steele said of the president at a Connecticut fundraiser last night, "has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan, alright, because everyone who's tried over a thousand years of history has failed." Video: http://huff.to/c2iQAI

Brian Beutler points out that last December Steele called the war a conflict "we have to win." http://bit.ly/d5MXxE

Steele has since "clarified" that he still wants the U.S. to succeed at what "everyone who's tried over a thousand years of history has failed." Reid Wilson has the nonsensical walkback: "There is no question that America must win the war on terror," Steele said. "During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Barack Obama made clear his belief that we should not fight in Iraq, but instead concentrate on Afghanistan. Now, as President, he has indeed shifted his focus to this region. That means this is his strategy. And, for the sake of the security of the free world, our country must give our troops the support necessary to win this war." http://bit.ly/apycE5

Ever the opponent of sanity, Bill Kristol weighed in on Steele's comments, calling for his resignation in a letter to the RNC chairman: "Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not 'a war of Obama's choosing,'" Kristol wrote. "It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama. Republicans have consistently supported the effort. Indeed, as the DNC Communications Director (of all people) has said, your statement 'puts [you] at odds with about 100 percent of the Republican Party.'" Sam Stein: http://huff.to/9ROLLu

MITCH MCCONNELL WILL VOTE NO ON KAGAN - While the Senate Minority Leader's opposition to Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination almost certainly guarantees that most of his caucus will follow suit, political observers will be closely watching his party's few remaining moderates: Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Scott Brown. Also under the microscope will be Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham, who voted for Justice Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation. http://nyti.ms/bvIYTP

Orrin Hatch will also oppose the nomination - The Utah Republican and Judiciary Committee member, to no one's surprise, announced today that he CAN'T STAND Elena Kagan's totally by-the-books career trajectory. Hatch also said he WILL NOT filibuster her nomination. "Over nearly 25 years, General Kagan has endorsed, and praised those who endorse, an activist judicial philosophy," a statement from his office read. "I was surprised when she encouraged us at the hearing simply to discard or ignore certain parts of her record. I am unable to do that." http://huff.to/bvs6tM

So will Lisa Murkowski. http://bit.ly/bwrr8J

TOMORROW'S PAPERS TODAY - Washington Post: George Will on how if the U.S. Senate election in Nevada becomes a referendum on incumbent Harry Reid, Sharron Angle wins. If he makes it about some of her injudicious statements -- e.g., "transition out" of Social Security -- the majority leader might survive.

GOVERNMENT VIOLENCE IN PUERTO RICO - You wouldn't know it by reading the U.S. press, but a police riot broke out in San Juan Wednesday when student protesters attempted to enter the state house to deliver a message to the legislature protesting budget cuts. The public building was closed and police lined up to defend it, wading into the crowd, swinging batons and bashing heads. Mary Kay Henry, the new head of the Service Employees International Union, is one of the few speaking out. In a statement today she said "the intimidation of citizens appear[s] to be escalating on the island and no one is immune: journalists, gay men and women, our union brothers and sisters, and activists from every field who seek to make their voices heard and improve their lives and their communities. I am certain that many members of the U.S. media and many leaders in Washington are completely unaware of the disturbing events that took place Wednesday. I pledge that the more than 2.2 million members of SEIU, many of whom live in or were born in Puerto Rico, will change this by speaking out."

A photo from the melee: http://bit.ly/9jZ6wO

DEMS, GOP READING SAME POLL - House Democrats gathered on yesterday to discuss the results of a national survey on the deficit and manufacturing that House Republicans were passing around late last week. Digging into the survey, which was paid for by the Alliance for American Manufacturing and done by Dem Mark Mellman and GOPer Whit Ayers, hints at an answer to why people are so passionate about the deficit: It's about jobs. Asking whether Congress should address the deficit or the jobless crisis, therefore, is the wrong question. Create jobs and the deficit concern goes away. Reading into the survey, you find that people relate the deficit to indebtedness to China and indebtedness to China is a proxy for American decline and the collapse of manufacturing, a huge concern among voters. About 45% of respondents said the biggest problem is that "we are too deep in debt to China," the highest-ranking concern, 58% of folks said the U.S. is no longer the strongest economy, with China being the overwhelming alternative people identified. Three-quarters had an unfavorable view of goods made in China and 83% felt the same toward companies that set up shop there. The number one objection people had to China was the $2 trillion the country holds in U.S. debt. Asked how to improve the economy, the number one solution provided by voters was to "crack down on foreign countries who violate their trade agreements with us." The survey: http://bit.ly/d4gv1F

BOEHNER LOVING THE BOEHNER V. OBAMA CARD - John Boehner's out with a new video quizzing Obama on why he's not better at being president. "It's another example of us using the elevated platform Obama gave us to hit back and highlight his failed leadership and failed economic policies," says his spokesman. Boehner's suggestion: Cut spending. And do more to create jobs. Okay. Video: http://bit.ly/94PDyI

ANTIWAR FORCES STRONGER - In June, 2009, Jim McGovern put forward an amendment requiring an exit strategy from Afghanistan. It lost 138-278. The same amendment lost 162-260 last night. And Democrats supportive of the war -- Blue Dogs and other swing-district folks -- are most likely to lose in November, so that base of war resistance is sturdy. And, of course, you can add Michael Steele to its ranks. The rest of the votes: Lee's withdrawal amendment: 100-321; an anonymous amendment to strike war funding altogether: 25-376.

Steny Hoyer will hit the road next week to shill for House candidates in Illinois, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

MARK ZANDI TO CONGRESS: Quit yer deficit ditherin' and send help to the unemployed! "The odds that the economy will slip back into the recession are still well below even, but if Congress is unable to provide this help, those odds will rise and become uncomfortably high," said the former McCain adviser. "Paying for it should not be a necessary condition for passing it." From Arthur Delaney: http://huff.to/dkJAM6

JUNE JOB REPORT SHOWS LACKLUSTER GROWTH - The nation let out a collective :-\ today with the release of a report from the Labor Department indicating the private sector added only 83,000 new jobs last month. Compounding observers' concerns were the 125,000 jobs cut by employers, driven largely by the end of 225,000 temporary Census jobs. While the unemployment rate dropped from 9.7 percent to 9.5 percent, the decline is being attributed to the 650,000 individuals who left the job market altogether. http://huff.to/aceL7E

Arthur Delaney: "Today's workforce is in worse shape than it was during the big recession of the early '80s, when highly-unemployed younger workers comprised a much bigger share of all workers. If today's workforce had the same age composition as it did then, the unemployment rate would have been above 10 percent every month for the past year." http://huff.to/9PgHuD

Nancy Pelosi: "Today's jobs report sends a signal that our economy continues moving forward on the road to recovery, but we still have more work to do." http://bit.ly/9Mw7Mr

John Boehner: "Positive job growth in May is an encouraging sign, but it is disappointing that nearly all of those gains are temporary, taxpayer-funded government jobs through the U.S. Census. Stagnant private sector job growth is clearly cause for concern and evidence of the struggles small businesses continue to face." http://bit.ly/cX3phk

Don't be bashful: Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to [e-mail]. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill

WHY TONY PODESTA IS UNSTOPPABLE AND LOBBYISTS RULE THE WORLD - "They can ban lobbyists from having drivers licenses. We'll all get cars and drivers." http://nyti.ms/bDm8DC

WHITE HOUSE RELEASES SALARY DATA - Here's a patriotic news dump for you on this July 4th weekend. The White House today released the salary numbers of all its employees, three of whom earn $0 and many more who rake in $172,200 (the upper limit for senior officials). Political Wire: http://bit.ly/aZy2VR

SHARRON ANGLE: I AM NOT A BIRTHER - Took ya long enough. From an interview with Hot Air: "Earlier today, I spoke exclusively to Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee to challenge Harry Reid for the Senate seat in Nevada. In the past few days, rumors have swirled that Angle is a crypto-Birther. I asked her 'flat out' whether she believed Barack Obama was born somewhere other than Hawaii, and she replied, 'No. Is that flat-out enough for you?'" http://bit.ly/d46EgL

RAND PAUL: WHAT UNDERGROUND FENCE??? - Sam Stein on the Kentucky Senate candidate's pet project which, apparently, isn't his? "A spokesman for Rand Paul clarified on Friday that while his campaign website has long touted a proposal to build an underground electrical fence along the border to deter immigration, the Kentucky Republican Senate candidate himself has never endorsed that specific idea...Rather, the fence he envisions would be constructed above ground while still carrying an electric current, explained [Paul spokesman] Benton. 'That's a stupid word that was put in by whoever is writing for our Web site and we need to remove it,' Benton said, of the 'underground' description." http://huff.to/bmDHU9

Last night Paul said the current state of the economy mirrors the decline of the Roman Empire. "In the latter days of Rome, the economy was crumbling, the emperor ... would placate the mob with bread and circus -- food and entertainment to placate them since the economy was in shambles and dwindling around them," he said at a Kentucky Tea Party rally yesterday. "Now in our country, as our economy is in shambles, they give us Cash for Clunkers and a stimulus check and they tell us to go to the mall and spend your money and everything will be OK ... That's not how you become prosperous as an individual or a country," he told the crowd of supporters." ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??? We sure are. Elyse Siegel: http://huff.to/djY9IV

A poll out yesterday finds nearly one-half of Tea Party activists believe blacks face high unemployment not because of centuries of oppression and structural obstacles but "because most African Americans just don't have the motivation or willpower to pull themselves up out of poverty." How fun! http://bit.ly/dzDHAP

Pennsylvania Rep. Paul Kanjorski on town hall meetings: "We will do everything we can to meet with people, but I'm not going to set myself up for, you know, nuts to hit me with a camera." http://bit.ly/9BZma6

LEADERS PAST AND PRESENT EULOGIZE ROBERT BYRD - In Charleston, West Virginia a litany of speakers including President Obama, Vice President Biden and former President Clinton remarked on the late senator's life at a ceremony in front of the state capitol. The service ended, appropriately, with a rendition of "Take Me Home, Country Roads." http://huff.to/dskVJO

Happy Independence Day to all of our readers...even the 26% of you who don't know who we declared independence from. http://bit.ly/dCZ6Ts

@shiratoeplitz: Joe Sestak is narrating the reenactment of the Civil War Battle of the Brickyard in Gettysburg tonight. Now that's a July 4 campaign event.

JEREMY THE INTERN'S WEATHER REPORT - Happy 4th of July weekend, everybody! Tonight and Tomorrow are going to be quite pleasant. Clear skies through Saturday night with temperatures in the 80s. Sunday: The "nice" days will come to an end. It will be in the upper 90s all day with increasing humidity. Fortunately, there will be no rain for the fireworks. Make sure to bring lots of water and sunscreen though. You're going to need it. Monday: More of the same from Sunday. Hot and sunny will be the keywords all week. Thanks, JB!

COMFORT FOOD

- If North Koreans were as good at soccer as they were guitar, the World Cup might be a little different right now. Take, for example, this little girl on North Korean state television. http://bit.ly/a8d89C

- A time-lapse video of a snail GETTING DOWN. http://bit.ly/bzVLjT

- If you find yourself in West Virginia, be careful. This woman is not happy that she got bullied off of World of Warcraft. REALLY NOT HAPPY. http://bit.ly/9RXqVs

- "Can you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace???" - Young Julia Stiles. http://bit.ly/bkIYVU

- The 25 worst celebrity albums of all time. http://bit.ly/bEMXum

- The tyranny of socialism: Finland just made broadband access a legal right. http://bit.ly/9ZXfIq

- Washington City Paper's new Loose Lips columnist, covering District politics, lives in &%$#ing Rockville. http://bit.ly/aRMq3z

TWITTERAMA

@AriMelber: ZOMG! Jonathan Chait shares realization: "I'm a lot less liberal than I had thought." http://bit.ly/aqW8dy @tnr

@DavidCornDC: Doesn't Steele know he shouldn't get into a land war with Bill Kristol?

@thegoldfarb: let the DNC make the case for war for a couple days -- the economy will still be shit on July 5.

@dceiver: Has anyone seriously looked into the possibility that Michael Steele is a member of this incompetent Russian spy ring?

@LilJon: IM N RENO BITCCCHHHHH!

SPECIAL "IF YOU GOT FIRED FOR SAYING INAPPROPRIATE THINGS IN PRIVATE, DON'T SAY THEM IN PUBLIC" TWITTERAMA

@daveweigel: No, homeless person. It's not at all distracting when you try to dry out your socks by slapping them against a free chair. shut up

CAN'T YOU SEE HE'S TENDING TO THE TWITTERSPHERE YOU INSENSITIVE BUM!?!

THE TUBE

TONIGHT: Darrell Issa and Ron Wyden weighed in on the "broken" political system on Ratigan. Chuck Todd, subbing for Matthews, discussed the jobs report with Christina Romer. Michael Smerconish, filling in for Ed Schultz, talks to Ed Rendell. TOMORROW: Wolf Blitzer talks to Bill Clinton on the Situation Room.

SUNDAY SHOWS

This Week: John McCain, Paul Krugman, Council on Foreign Relations' Dan Senor, Al Hunt, the AJC's Cynthia Tucker.

Face the Nation: Lindsey Graham, the Times' Peter Baker, CBS News' Jan Crawford and WaPo's Anne Kornblut.

State of the Union: Said Tayeb Jawab, Afghanistan's Ambassador to the U.S, John Boccieri, Duncan Hunter, Mike Coffman.

Political Capital: John Dingell.

ON TAP

TONIGHT

5:30 pm - 8:00 pm: Jazz in the Garden continues its public service by mitigating the swealtering oppression of summer in D.C. Bio Ritmo, a hot salsa band, is scheduled to perform [National Sculpture Garden, 7th Street and Constitution Ave. NW].

8:00 pm: Brooklyn alt-pop group Sleigh Bells performs at Rock and Roll Hotel. They are joined by Nerve City and Po Po [Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St NE].

8:00 pm: Victor Wooten, whose jaw-dropping bass skills amazed fans of the Flecktones, takes his solo show to 9:30 Club. HuffPost Hill will be there [9:30 Club 815 V Street NW].

8:00 pm: The Rosslyn "I Love The 90s Outdoor Film Festival" screens "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" [Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Highway, Arlington].

9:00 pm: For the inebriation enthusiast in Northeast, Jimmy Valentine's will be serving $1 PBR between 10 pm and 11 pm and $2 between 11 pm and midnight, escalating a dollar every hour thereafter. Patrons will also have the opportunity to win PBR swag. Go forth, hipsters [Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club, 1103 Bladensburg Rd NE].

TOMORROW

11:00 am - 4:00 pm: Free admission at the Corcoran, whose Chuck Close print exhibition opens today [Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th Street NW].

9:00 pm: Nobunny Rowdy take their effervescent brand of punk-rock to the Black Cat. The lead singer wears a bunny mask [Black Cat, 1811 14th Street NW].

SUNDAY

11:45 am: The Fourth of July parade kick into full swing on the National Mall along Constitution Avenue [Constitution Ave 7th to 17th Streets].

6:00 pm: The Air Force Band takes its bombastic patriotism to the Mall for a free Independence Day concert [Washington Monument].

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm: "A Capitol Fourth Concert" features performances from the National Symphony Orchestra and an array of B+/A- celebrities. Gates open at 3:00 pm [Capitol Grounds].

MONDAY

8:30 pm - 10:30 pm: Chrystal City's Star Trek Film Festival screens "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" [18th and South Bell Streets, Arlington].

9:00 pm: "Drink and a Movie" night at the Black Cat where they will screen "Wet Hot American Summer" in the comfort of their air-conditioned backstage [Black Cat, 1811 14th Street NW].

Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson ([e-mail]), Ryan Grim ([e-mail]) or Nico Pitney ([e-mail]). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e