A nice morning with very little political news but still lots of interesting discussions. Plus Hawaiian music!

Here are some midday news/views snacks served luau-style:

* Bradley Manning sentenced by military judge to 35 years in prison, minus 1294 days already served.

* PPP survey shows Mary Landrieu maintaining a sizable (50/40) lead over GOP favorite Bill Cassidy, but with internals indicating her lead will drop when Cassidy becomes better known.

* TNR’s Alec MacGillis totes up Bill de Blasio’s most notable liberal cultural signals. It’s pretty funny.

* Anti-marriage-equality crusader Maggie Gallagher blasts Chris Christie for signing bill banning “gay conversion therapy.”

* Kevin Drum calls for editorial intervention w/ MoDo.

And in non-political news:

* Pope Benedict XVI attributes surprise resignation to “mystical experience.” Nice contrast w/ pols saying God has told them to run for office.

Back in a bit. Here’s some “Jawaiian” music, a.k.a. Hawaiian reggae, with Simplisity performing “The Rain Keeps Falling.”

Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.