Bush: 'I'm the decider' on Rumsfeld  —  Defense chief set to meet with so-called 'TV generals'  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush sharply defended Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday, saying the embattled Pentagon chief is doing a "fine job" despite calls for his resignation from six retired military generals.

President Bush Nominates Rob Portman as OMB Director and Susan Schwab for USTR  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  Today I'm announcing my nomination of two outstanding individuals to serve in my Cabinet and on my economic team.  —  First, I will nominate Rob Portman to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Saddam and Osama: The New Revelations  —  Frontpage Interview's guest today is Thomas Joscelyn, an expert on the international terrorist network.  Much of his research has focused on the role that nations such as Saddam's Iraq and the mullah's Iran have played in providing support …

A "Pulitzer Prize for Treason"  —  (updated below with transcript of Bill Bennett's comments)  —  Several weeks ago, The Washington Post published an Op-Ed jointly written by Bill Bennett and his neoconservative comrade Alan Dershowitz, in which Bennett — of all people …

DITHERING WON'T STOP IRAN'S NUKES  —  April 18, 2006 — 'UNHELPFUL": So British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described Iran's announcement that it has now joined "the nuclear club.  " Straw's French and German colleagues did no better.  One saw Iran's provocative move as "regrettable the other preferred "disappointing."

Ignore bloggers at your peril, say researchers  —  Bloggers and internet pundits are exerting a "disproportionately large influence" on society, according to a report by a technology research company.  Its study suggests that although "active" web users make up only a small proportion …

Two Duke lacrosse players charged with rape  —  Investigation under way to determine identity of third suspect  —  DURHAM, North Carolina (CNN) — Two members of the Duke University lacrosse team were arrested and charged early Tuesday with raping a woman hired as a dancer at a team party, jail officials said.

A Campaign Gore Can't Lose  —  Boring Al Gore has made a movie.  It is on the most boring of all subjects — global warming.  It is more than 80 minutes long, and the first two or three go by slowly enough that you can notice that Gore has gained weight and that his speech still seems oddly out of sync.

Lieberman: US could attack Iran's nukes  —  The US is probably incapable of completely destroying the Iranian nuclear program, but as a last resort it could attempt to knock out "some of the components" in order to "delay and deter it," Senator Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate …

Zinni's Zinger?  —  Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:  —  Former Clinton CENTCOM commander, Anthony Zinni — the most prominent of the retired generals attacking Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — now says that, in the run-up to the war in Iraq, "What bothered me ...

Black business owners on rise  —  Black Americans are becoming entrepreneurs at a rapidly increasing rate and Pittsburgh is following the trend, a new report issued by the Census Bureau suggests.  —  The report, "Survey of Business Owners: Black-Owned Firms: 2002," says that between 1997 and 2002 …

Moussaoui's Childhood Is Presented as Mitigating Factor  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 17 — Lawyers trying to persuade a jury to spare the life of Zacarias Moussaoui began presenting testimony about his childhood on Monday, to show that he grew up in a neglectful household in France where his father beat …

China, Russia welcome Iran into the fold  —  The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which maintained it had no plans for expansion, is now changing course.  Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan, which previously had observer status, will become full members.

A Very Brief History of Art, Featuring Mr. Potato Head  —  As part of my never-ending quest to make the Llamabutchers one day say, "Holy crap, that Sobek fellow is so geeky, he makes us look flat out hip!" as well as part of certain court-ordered community service (I was framed, BTW) …

Tensions Rise as Blast Hits Tel Aviv  —  TEL AVIV, Israel, April 17 — A Palestinian suicide bomber killed nine people and wounded dozens today when he detonated a bag of explosives at a falafel restaurant in a gritty, working-class section of Tel Aviv, further inflaming tensions between Israel …

Bush death threat tied to PU student  —  A Purdue University graduate student was arrested and charged with threatening to kill President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.  —  Vikram Buddhi allegedly posted the detailed and threatening messages on an online message board.

More Purity Ball  —  Responding to the odd, disturbing nature of the Father-Daughter Purity Ball, about which I posted below, PZ Myers says: … That sounds like common sense to me.  Girls pledging to their dads to stay virginal in ritualistic ceremonies just doesn't seem like a healthy thing to do.