Mr. Bush Unvarnished  —  PRESIDENT BUSH should hold more news conferences.  In his hour-long exchange with reporters at the White House yesterday, he was considerably more effective in explaining and defending his commitment to the war in Iraq than in the three carefully worded speeches he has delivered in the past week.

Afghan Convert May Be Unfit to Stand Trial  —  KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial, a state prosecutor and presidential adviser said Wednesday.  —  Abdul Rahman, 41, went on trial last week in Kabul.

Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social Issues  —  Federal Programs Direct At Least $157 Million  —  For years, conservatives have complained about what they saw as the liberal tilt of federal grant money.  Taxpayer funds went to abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood to promote birth control …

The Dabit opinion  —  The Supreme Court held in Dabit that holders of securities can't bring securities fraud class actions in state court.  Peter Lattman has the story.  —  As I have discussed, the basic problem in this case is that when Congress, in the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act …

CNN Refutes Gallup Memo; Says Memo Was Unprofessional & Untrue  —  CNN has issued the following response to TVNewser's report that Gallup is ending its partnership with the network:  —  "Jim Clifton's statements are not only unprofessional but in every respect untrue.

Called by God to Help  —  I'VE received a lot of criticism for stating last month that I would instruct the priests of my archdiocese to disobey a proposed law that would subject them, as well as other church and humanitarian workers, to criminal penalties.  The proposed Border Protection …

U.S. Officials Concerned Iran and Al Qaida are Cooperating  —  The Los Angeles Times reports U.S. intelligence is trying to determine what relationship, if any, there is between the Iranian leadership and the known Al Qaida leaders that reside in the nation.

Newspapers in Trouble?  —  Moody's is looking at downgrading the New York Times' credit rating.  The Times' stock is doing badly.  And other newspapers are in trouble, too — the staff of the San Jose Mercury News has resorted to launching a "save our paper" website.

IRS plans to allow preparers to sell data  —  Critics said the proposed regulation could lead to a loss of privacy for clients.  —  The IRS is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns.  If it succeeds, accountants and other tax-return preparers …

Fears grow over new Dubai revolt  —  By Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington and James Boxell in London  —  Arab and US officials are growing nervous at the prospect of a second congressional uprising against the acquisition of American assets by a Middle Eastern-controlled company in the wake of the Dubai Ports World debacle.

Myth-making and excuse-making on the Feingold Resolution  —  In order to generate further support for the Feingold Censure Resolution, numerous bloggers are encouraging everyone to pay an actual physical visit to their Senators' local offices in order to urge support for censure.

To Hell with the "To Hell With The 'To Hell With Them' Hawks" Hawks  —  Just kidding there — actually, making the point that "The 'To Hell With Them' Hawks" is a really clunky way of identifying a faction.  It used to be said of the mathematician Camille Jordan, whose papers were famously unreadable …

Lies, Damn Lies, and (MSM) Statistics  —  On the third anniversay of the Iraq war, the MSM keeps bombarding us with stories and statistics trying to compare this war to the carnage in Vietnam, trying to make us think that US soldiers are dying at an alarming number due to Bush's failures.

Assessment of President Bush's optimism  —  MARGARET WARNER: So just how realistic was the president's assessment today of the situation in and prospects for Iraq?  We get two views of that from two former national security officials with bipartisan credentials.

Exposing The Machinery Of The Corporate Right  —  Up in Wyoming, the local Casper Star-Tribune decided to take a look at the machinery that pushes conservative laws in the state's legislature.  Many here at MyDD may be well aware of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council …

U.S., Iraqi Forces Capture 50 Insurgents  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents attacked a police station Wednesday for a second day in a row, but U.S. and Iraqi forces captured 50 of them after a two-hour gunbattle.  —  About 60 gunmen attacked the police station in Madain, south of Baghdad …

POLITICAL INSIDER: Legislature 2006: Poll: Reed a drag on GOP ticket  —  A tough race for Sonny could be even tougher with Reed at his side.  Or so sayeth the pollster.  —  On Monday, pollster Matt Towery raised Republican blood pressure with the news that President Bush's approval ratings in Georgia had dropped significantly.

Sackcloth and Ashes: What's Wrong With Infanticide?  —  [Note: Sackcloth and ashes were a sign of deep mourning, among other things, in the Torah...nowadays, there are plenty of reasons to bring them back.  When we run across those reasons, we'll feature them in a continuing series, of which this is the first installment.]

Iraqi Cameraman for CBS Faces Trial  —  An Iraqi cameraman working for CBS News when he was wounded and detained by the U.S. military will be tried next month, CBS officials said Wednesday.  —  Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein's trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday, but an Iraqi judge postponed …

Perfessor  —  The Columbia Journalism Review called Dick Polman one of the nation's top political reporters.  Jules Witcover called him "one of the best of the political reporters who have succeeded my own generation."  —  Now you can call him "perfessor."  —  And say goodbye, sort of.

Blagojevich to face Topinka  —  Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich accepted his party's nod for re-election Tuesday and will face Judy Baar Topinka, who took advantage of a split among conservatives to win the Republican nomination for governor.  —  The primary election was notable for its low voter turnout …

Blair is right  —  For a long while, since his speech in Chicago in 1999 in fact, it has been clear that Tony Blair's foreign policy is based upon internationalist-interventionism and since September 11 he has been one of the few political leaders who has fully grasped the real nature of Islamist terrorism.