Hillary lashes out at Ann Coulter  —  WASHINGTON - New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out at Ann Coulter for a "vicious, mean-spirited attack" on a group of outspoken 9/11 widows, whom the right-wing television pundit described as "self-obsessed" and enjoying their husbands' deaths.

Official of U.N. Says Americans Undermine It With Criticism  —  UNITED NATIONS, June 6 — Secretary General Kofi Annan's deputy assailed the United States on Tuesday for withholding support from the United Nations, encouraging its harshest detractors and undermining an institution that he said Washington needed more than it would admit.

Supporters lose in gay marriage ban vote  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, dealing a defeat to President Bush and Republicans who hoped to use the measure to energize conservative voters on Election Day.

Progressive Messaging Wins: Tester, Angelides, Winograd, and Bilbray?  —  Brian Bilbray ran to the left of Francine Busby.  I know it sounds weird, but he did.  That he won on a progressive platform is biggest story of the night.  Busby's loss was a loss no matter how it's spun …

Officer at Fort Lewis calls Iraq war illegal, refuses order to go  —  In a rare case of officer dissent, a Fort Lewis Army lieutenant has refused orders to head out to Iraq this month to lead troops in what he believes is an illegal war of occupation.  —  1st Lt. Ehren Watada's Stryker brigade …

Self-Loathing and the Denial of Terrorism  —  You're an enlightened world citizen.  Your T-shirt says "9/11 was an inside job."  You're pretty sure we're living in a fascist state, that President Bush taps the Dixie Chicks' phones, Christian abortion clinic bombers outnumber jihadis …

Media Death Watch in action on purported kidnapped Canadian soldier  —  Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: Earlier this week, Glenn Reynolds reproduced an informal email from Afghanistan, which included an anecdote about the Canadian media maintaining the "Death Watch" (their own words) at Kandahar Airfield.

Brin says Google compromised principles  —  WASHINGTON - Google Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin acknowledged Tuesday the dominant Internet company has compromised its principles by accommodating Chinese censorship demands.  He said Google is wrestling to make the deal work before deciding whether to reverse course.

The macroeconomics of Superman  —  Did you know about the new summer Superman film?  —  Let's say we had an altruistic and incorruptible Superman, how should he allocate his efforts to improve the macroeconomy?  He is really strong, he can fly very fast, leap tall buildings at a single bound …

Results of Close Busby/Bilbray U.S. House Special Election in Doubt!  —  Race to Replace Randy 'Duke' Cunningham in San Diego Was Run on Hackable Diebold Voting Machines, Kept Unsecured at Poll Worker Houses Overnight Before the Election!  —  To be clear, at this hour …

S. J. Res. 1: Marriage Protection Amendment  —  AP reports: … Technically, the Senate didn't reject it.  All that happened was that a cloture motion failed.  Yet, setting aside that minor point, why should this vote - or even passage of the amendment - "energize conservative voters"?

DeLay's Parting Advice: Ignore the Press, Stand on Principle  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay urged colleagues Wednesday to "stand on principle" and ignore the media in a farewell speech to fellow House Republicans at their weekly private meeting.

Data Theft Affected Most in Military  —  Social Security numbers and other personal information for as many as 2.2 million U.S. military personnel — including nearly 80 percent of the active-duty force — were among the data stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst last month …

Faith-Based Initiative  —  Presidential Hopeful Sam Brownback Strives to Be Humble Enough for a Higher Power  —  In 1995, Sam Brownback sacrificed part of his body and wound up closer to God.  He discovered a melanoma and had to have two surgeries, during which a "big hunk of flesh" was taken out of his side.

The Media Adapt  —  The cover story of the June 5th US News and World Report is about global warming, but the story is not quite the usual doom and gloom (as seen recently, for instance, in the Time cover story, "Be Worried.  Be Very Worried.")  —  Instead, it dares to ask the question, can we live with global warming?