Democrats Struggle To Seize Opportunity  —  News about GOP political corruption, inept hurricane response and chaos in Iraq has lifted Democrats' hopes of winning control of Congress this fall.  But seizing the opportunity has not been easy, as they found when they tried to unveil an agenda of their own.

IRAQ: THE UNTOLD TRUTHS  —  AMONG the many positive stories you aren't being told about Iraq, the media ignored another big one last week: In the wake of the terrorist bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, it was the Iraqi army that kept the peace in the streets.

SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE....Ed Kilgore responds to my angry post about the DLC's wonkish 7-point healthcare plan with this: … Here's my guess: in private, I'll bet all of these gentlemen do acknowledge that a simple single-payer national healthcare plan is the best policy.

Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in Its P.R. Campaign  —  Brian Pickrell, a blogger, recently posted a note on his Web site attacking state legislation that would force Wal-Mart Stores to spend more on employee health insurance.  "All across the country, newspaper editorial boards …

Judicious Double Standards  —  Back behind my high school one day, we all assembled to watch a fistfight.  To my immense pleasure, a bully was being bested by his victim.  Then the bully's friend stepped in and ended matters with a swift kick to the other guy's midsection.

Opponents of DeLay Make Use of a Film  —  LOS ANGELES, March 6 — A documentary about the Texas criminal investigation that led to the indictment of Representative Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, on campaign fund-raising charges is being put to use by Mr. DeLay's political opponents in an attempt to unseat him.

Bush Weaves Rug Story Into Many an Occasion  —  President Uses His Oval Office Floor Covering as a Metaphor for Optimism and Leadership  —  Nothing says power like the Oval Office.  The paintings of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  The bust of Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The desk used by both Roosevelts.

Why We Need Oversight  —  Via Firedoglake, here's the sort of dastardly act that can get the Department of Homeland Security interested in you: … Bear in mind that this is the same Department of Homeland Security that's responsible not just for blowing the federal response to Katrina, but for this:

Driver at UNC Cites Vengeance for Muslims  —  CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 6 — A University of North Carolina graduate from Iran, accused of running down nine people on campus to avenge the treatment of Muslims, said at a hearing Monday that he was "thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah."

House Conservatives Prepare Austere Alternative Budget  —  WASHINGTON, March 6 — With Congress heading into a politically perilous budget season, influential House conservatives plan this week to propose an austere alternative spending plan that would pare more than $650 billion over five years …

U.S. Envoy to Iraq Warns of Wider War  —  He supports the White House view that an early pullout would backfire, but he is bleak about the Sunni-Shiite conflict and says it could spread.  —  BAGHDAD — The top U.S. envoy to Iraq said Monday that the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime had opened a …

Iraqi Tribes Strike Back at Insurgents  —  In Turbulent Areas, Zarqawi's Fighters Are Target of Leaders and a New Militia  —  BAGHDAD, March 6 — First they killed the chief of the Naim tribe and his son.  Then they killed a top tribal sheik who headed the Fallujah city council.

Election - Year Politics Shadow Ports Issue  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are using the uproar over an Arab company's planned takeover of some U.S. port operations to paint Republicans as faltering on the GOP's signature issue — national security — and accuse them of ignoring port safety in the past.

Bombings in India Raise Fear of Sectarian Violence  —  NEW DELHI, March 7 — A series of apparently coordinated bombs went off in the ancient Hindu holy city of Benares in eastern India this evening, raising the specter of sectarian violence.  —  The first bomb exploded at the Sankat Mochan temple shortly …

8,000 desert during Iraq war  —  At least 8,000 members of the all-volunteer U.S. military have deserted since the Iraq war began, Pentagon records show, although the overall desertion rate has plunged since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.  —  Since fall 2003, 4,387 Army soldiers …