At Republican Conference, the Future Is Now  —  MEMPHIS, March 11 — That's funny.  We could have sworn the last presidential campaign just ended.  It couldn't have been, what, more than a year, year and a half ago that George W. Bush was getting re-inaugurated and was so flush with political capital …

The GOP's Abortion Anxiety  —  The pro-life movement is on a roll.  So why are the Republican Party's top guns suddenly so shy on the subject?  —  March 20, 2006 issue - When South Dakota approved a law sharply restricting abortion last week, many pro-life Republicans around the country sounded a loud hallelujah.

Death squads operated from inside Iraqi government, officials say  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Senior Iraqi officials Sunday confirmed for the first time that death squads composed of government employees had operated illegally from inside two government ministries.  —  "The deaths squads …

U.S. Campaign Is Aimed at Iran's Leaders  —  Uneasy About Tehran's Nuclear Plans, Bush Administration Tries to Build Opposition to Theocracy  —  As the dispute over its nuclear program arrives at the U.N. Security Council today, Iran has vaulted to the front of the U.S. national security …

He spends too much to be one of us  —  AS A LIFELONG conservative, I have to be honest: George W. Bush is not one of us and has never been.  There can be no denying that he has enacted policies contrary to conservative principles on far too many occasions.  —  In my view, his greatest failing …

POINTLESS PROGNOSTICATION....'Tis the weekend, apparently, for spouting off about who the eventual GOP nominee will be in 2008.  I usually try to abstain from this things, mostly because: a) I don't know, and b) I don't think anyone else knows.  Still, the idea that "Huckabee, Hagel, Brownback, and Graham" (Graham?

Harris to make 'major announcement'  —  Reports of illegal contributions dog Senate candidacy.  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Katherine Harris fueled already rampant speculation about the status of her campaign for the U.S. Senate when she released a statement Saturday promising a "major announcement" about her future this week.

Transcript for March 12  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: What should we do about Iraq?  What should we do about Iran?  And how has the port controversy affected the Bush presidency.  With us: Two men who would like to be the next president of the United States.

Daschle Considering '08 Presidential Bid  —  ABERDEEN, S.D. - Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, accusing the GOP of spreading a message of fear, says he is considering a 2008 presidential bid.  —  "I haven't ruled anything out or anything in at this point," Daschle …

UK: Islamic Law Is On The Horizon  —  The UK Telegraph had an interesting article by Dr Patrick Sookhedo (pictured, left), which was originally published on February 19.  For some mysterious reason, this article was recently withdrawn from its archives "for legal reasons."

Action Steps for the Feingold "Censure Bush" Proposal  —  I have a request: Russ Feingold really stuck his neck out today, and it would be great if he — and every other Senator — knew that we had his back.  It's a gutsy move, not without risk in the polarized environment that is Washington …

Senior White House Staff May Be Wearing Down  —  Andrew H. Card Jr. wakes at 4:20 in the morning, shows up at the White House an hour or so later, convenes his senior staff at 7:30 and then proceeds to a blur of other meetings that do not let up until long after the sun sets.

National Democrats v. the Blogosphere  —  National Democrats v. the Blogosphere  —  The New York Times this morning published an extremely favorable review of the new book by Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas Zuniga and Mydd.com founder Jerome Armstrong, entitled Crashing the Gate.

CNN RELIABLE SOURCES  —  Has Bush Administration Declared War on Media?  ; San Francisco Reporters Document Bonds' Steroid Use; Interview with Dave Barry  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  HOWARD KURTZ, HOST (voice over): Tightening the screws.

The CIA: Questions About a Contract-And a Friendship  —  March 20, 2006 issue - The CIA's inspector general is examining a recent contract the agency gave to an obscure Virginia company headed by a relative of Brent Wilkes, an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal bribery case …

The politics of female voters  —  ONE OF the myths that Kate O'Beirne skewers in ''Women Who Make the World Worse," her shrewd and refreshing new book on the modern women's movement, is the myth of the gender gap — the potent edge that Democrats are supposed to have over Republicans when it comes to attracting women's votes.

Mourning Claude … Flickr (more...)  —  Popular Tags