Lieberman To Start Petition Drive  —  Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman is to announce today he will petition for a place on the November ballot as an "independent Democrat," giving him a chance to stay alive politically should he lose an Aug. 8 primary for the Democratic nomination.

Mexican Presidential Rivals Both Claim Win in Tight Vote  —  MEXICO CITY, July 2 — Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Felipe Calderón each claimed victory in Mexico's presidential election late Sunday night, even though the country's electoral commission said the race …

Liberal Contortions To Avoid Blame  —  The Libs are besides themselves trying to explain why their partisan Jihad against Bush has not culminated in exposing all Americans to heightened risk of a terrorist attack.  All of this surrounds the blatant decision by the NY Times …

Britons tire of cruel, vulgar US: poll  —  LONDON (AFP) - People in Britain view the United States as a vulgar, crime-ridden society obsessed with money and led by an incompetent president whose Iraq policy is failing, according to a newspaper poll.  —  The United States is no longer a symbol …

We Need Fewer Secrets  —  The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) turns 40 tomorrow, the day we celebrate our independence.  But this anniversary will not be a day of celebration for the right to information in our country.  Our government leaders have become increasingly obsessed with secrecy.

What is left of Malkin, Hinderaker and Horowitz's credibility?  —  (updated below)  —  As I documented at length this weekend, Michelle Malkin, John Hinderaker, Red State, David Horowitz and many others of that sort spent the weekend engaged in the most vicious and self-evidently misguided attacks …

Al-Zarqawi's cell phone reportedly yields surprises  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had the phone numbers of senior Iraqi officials stored in his cell phone, according to an Iraqi legislator.  —  Waiel Abdul-Latif, a member of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party …

UNITING THE RIGHT  —  THANK YOU, N.Y. TIMES  —  July 3, 2006 — LAST week's wildly controversial Supreme Court ruling about the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals may prove a key moment in healing some of the political and ideological fractures that have opened up on the Right in the past year and a half.

Crack Is Found in Shuttle's Foam Insulation  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 3 —Inspectors found a crack in the foam insulation of the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank early today.  NASA managers are meeting to determine whether it will affect a planned liftoff Tuesday afternoon, according to the space agency.

On Right and Left, a Push for Government Openness  —  WASHINGTON, July 2 — Exasperated by his party's failure to cut government spending, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, is seeking cyberhelp.  —  Mr. Coburn wants to create a public database, searchable over the Internet …

Preteen mag accused of military pitching  —  PETERBOROUGH, N.H. - Parents and teachers are complaining that the latest issue of a popular magazine for preteens amounts to little more than an early recruitment pitch for the Army.  —  Cobblestone magazine, which is put out by Carus Publishing in Peterborough …

Israel says no negotiations on soldier  —  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian militants holding an Israeli soldier gave Israel less than 24 hours Monday to start releasing 1,500 Palestinian prisoners and implied that he would be killed if it did not comply, but Israel said it would not negotiate.

THEY ALREADY KNEW THE COLONISTS WERE FED UP  —  (Courtesy of reader Les Baitzer.)

Details Emerge in Alleged Army Rape, Killings  —  BAGHDAD, July 2 — Fifteen-year-old Abeer Qasim Hamza was afraid, her mother confided in a neighbor.  —  As pretty as she was young, the girl had attracted the unwelcome attention of U.S. soldiers manning a checkpoint that the girl …