Maliki's Master Plan  —  A national reconciliation plan for Iraq calls for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops and, controversially, amnesty for insurgents who attacked American and Iraqi soldiers.  —  Ali Haider / Reuters-pool  —  Maliki is scheduled to unveil a national reconciliation plan on June 25

The Miami Seven: How Serious Was the Threat?  —  The group indicted for terror plans appears to have had more in common with homegrown cults than al-Qaeda terrorists.  Which doesn't mean they weren't dangerous  —  The Federal government has indicted seven men arrested in Miami on charges …

Cheney Assails Press on Report on Bank Data  —  WASHINGTON, June 23 — Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday vigorously defended a secret program that examines banking records of Americans and others in a vast international database, and harshly criticized the news media for disclosing …

Lieberman, Lamont differ on Iraq  —  (East Hartford-WTNH, June 23, 2006 6:00 PM) _ The man looking to force Sen. Joseph Lieberman out of his job is using the war in Iraq as the catalyst.  But Lieberman says his Democratic primary opponent Ned Lamont is waffling over ending the war in Iraq.

Patterico Cancels his Subscription to the L.A. Times  —  I cancelled my subscription to the Los Angeles Times this morning.  —  I explained to the person who answered the phone that I was cancelling because I am outraged that the newspaper revealed classified details of a successful anti-terror operation.

Glenn Greenwald's Career In Comedy  —  Glenn Greenwald, who never settles for "shrill" when "hysterical ranting" is within reach, tells the world that Jason Zengerle *might* have fabricated an email from Steven Gilliard when he wrote this post.  —  However - it is only in an UPDATE …

THE ORIGINS OF BLOGOFASCISM:  —  At the end of my post yesterday, I wrote, "The blogosphere's fanaticism is, in many ways, the triumph of a lack of focus."  It just so happens that on his blog today, none other than Andrew Sullivan, hardly an ideological soulmate of mine, quotes Santayana …

Erasure  —  Yesterday I linked to Dan Riehl's investigative work revealing that MyDD—before it was one of the lynchpin sites for progressive politics and one of its founders, Jerome Armstrong, the Kos-approved political consultant (and co-author of Moulitsas' Crashing the Gates) …

U.S. General in Iraq Outlines Troop Cuts  —  WASHINGTON, June 24 — The top American commander in Iraq has drafted a plan that projects sharp reductions in the United States military presence there by the end of 2007, with the first cuts coming this September, American officials say.

One Party's Lawmaking Is Another's Electioneering  —  The Republican-controlled Congress seems to be struggling lately to carry out its most basic mission: passing legislation.  A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage failed miserably.  Long-debated immigration legislation has reached an impasse.

Why Did Bush Blink on Iran?  (Ask Condi)  —  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran knows what he wants: nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them; suppression of freedom at home and the spread of terrorism abroad; and the "shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems."

Duncan Hunter and the Swiftboating of Jack Murtha  —  It began yesterday and kept on rolling when I was directed to yet another vile spewing Republican anti-veteran blog.  —  Then reader Vanmojo wrote this little beauty in the comment section this afternoon.

Why Iraq WMD Finds Were Kept Secret  —  June 23, 2006: The revelation that Coalition forces have discovered about 500 shells containing chemical weapons (mostly sarin nerve gas and mustard gas) since 2003, most of which are pre-1991 Gulf War vintage, leads to the question as to why the U.S. waited so long to reveal this.

MORE BLABBERMOUTH POSTERS  —  An Army of Photoshoppers, to borrow Instapundit's phrase, is unleashing on the MSM blabbermouths and their leaky sources.  Thanks for these fabulous entries, readers.  Maybe someone in the MSM will get the message.  Keep 'em coming...  The Peoples Cube:  —  PTG:

James Dobson Unmasked  —  Focus on the Family founder James Dobson (the evangelical leader called by Karl Rove to help sell the Harriet Miers nomination) is revealed in a feature article by Pulitzer prize winner Eileen Welsome in this month's 5280.  And on the Eighth Day, Dr. Dobson Created Himself is free and online, don't miss it.