Top Bush Aide at Justice Dept. Was Set to Quit  —  WASHINGTON, May 26 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senior officials and career prosecutors at the Justice Department told associates this week that they were prepared to quit if the White House directed them to relinquish evidence seized …

In Haditha, Memories of a Massacre  —  Iraqi Townspeople Describe Slaying of 24 Civilians by Marines in Nov. 19 Incident  —  BAGHDAD, May 26 — Witnesses to the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha say the Americans shot men, women and children …

Bush Aide Confirmed to U.S. Bench  —  Senate Vote Puts Kavanaugh on Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit  —  White House aide Brett M. Kavanaugh won Senate confirmation as an appeals judge yesterday after a three-year wait, a new victory for President Bush in a drive to place a more conservative stamp on the courts.

JESSE MACBETH'S DD-214  —  Someone has posted a scanned copy of what appears to be a DD-214 for one Jesse Adam MacBeth.  My initial read of it tells me that he most likely dropped out of boot camp.  —  Blocks 11 and 13 appear to have been crudely "modified" after the fact.  —  Block 11 reads as follows:

Rayburn Reopens After Gunfire Report  —  Police Sources: Construction Caused the Noise of Shots  —  The Rayburn House Office Building was opened shortly after 3 p.m. after being locked down for more than four hours following a report—unconfirmed by police—of gunfire in the building's garage.

Looking Back at Iraq  —  A war to be proud of.  —  National Review Online  —  There may be a lot to regret about the past policy of the United States in the Middle East, but the removal of Saddam Hussein and the effort to birth democracy in his place is surely not one of them.

Memorial Day Weekend  —  Many people have become aware of a recent serious photo copyright infringement.  The photo in question is that of Major Bieger holding a little Iraqi girl named Farah who was killed by a suicide car bomber in Mosul, Iraq.  I first became aware of the infringement …

Treasury Secretary to Step Down  —  Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, who has presided during a period of strong economic growth but at times seemed out of sync with President Bush, has informed the White House that he will resign in the coming days after three years as the nation's chief economic officer …

Senate Overwhelmingly Confirms General to Be Director of C.I.A.  —  WASHINGTON, May 26 — The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Gen. Michael V. Hayden on Friday as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, despite some senators' criticism of his role in overseeing a domestic electronic surveillance program.

U.S. Is Debating Talks With Iran on Nuclear Issue  —  WASHINGTON, May 26 — The Bush administration is beginning to debate whether to set aside a longstanding policy taboo and open direct talks with Iran, to help avert a crisis over Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program …

The Coming Blogwars  —  Those of you who have been with me since the dawn of time know that I basically sat out the 2004 primaries and didn't officially take a stand on who the candidate should be.  More than that I did my best to not let my discussion of the primary coverage be influenced by my personal preferences.

Books: 'Barn Burning, Barn Building'  —  "Tales of a Political Life, From LBJ to George W. Bush and Beyond"  —  Ben Barnes , a political consultant who has been involved in Texas and national politics for decades, was online Friday, May 26, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss his book, "Barn Burning …