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

Bagging The Sheep, Not The Shepherds  —  I want to follow up on the "Dumb Terrorists" story from yesterday, and an exchange I had with Bagley of all people in the comments thread from yesterday.  Bagley's point, as I understand it, was that these types of investigations and prosecutions …

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.

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 …

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 …

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."

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.

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.

CAIR: Miami Cult not Muslims  —  I just saw the spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations on CNN saying that the Miami cult members just arrested are not Muslims.  I'd say that is a fair statement.  —  For one thing, they are vegetarians!  —  It seems pretty obvious …

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.

DHS kept prez in dark on funding cuts  —  WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) — The DHS did not notify the White House of its final allocations of anti-terrorism grants for major U.S. urban areas.  —  U.S. President George W. Bush and his White House were kept in the dark about the Department …