Senator's Plan B Creates Quandary for Democrats  —  Six years ago Joseph I. Lieberman came within a hairbreadth of the vice presidency after the Democratic Party chose him as a moderate face whose support for family values and a stronger military might attract Reagan Democrats and independents.

A Dissident's Holiday  —  Have you ever noticed a certain hesitant quality to the expressions of patriotism by progressives or left-wingers?  —  The patriotism of the conservative goes unquestioned.  It's assumed that every politician on the right will wear a flag on his lapel …

US stars align in anti-Iraq war hunger strike  —  Star Hollywood actor-activists including Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and anti-war campaigners led by bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan plan to launch a hunger strike, demanding the immediate return of US troops from Iraq.

Christopher Hitchens: This July Fourth, ignore polls on America's image  —  WASHINGTON - Here's what I want to know, and here's why I want to know it.  At what point in history, exactly, did the Pew Center decide that it knew how to measure world opinion?  —  I ask this because almost every week …

C.I.A. Closes Unit Focused on Capture of bin Laden  —  WASHINGTON, July 3 — The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday.  —  The unit, known as Alec Station …

NASA Gives Green Light for Shuttle Launch  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA officials decided a crack in Discovery's fuel tank insulating foam wasn't enough of a threat to stop the countdown Tuesday to their first Independence Day shuttle launch.  The launch is set for 2:38 p.m. EDT.

Ex-Soldier Charged in Killing of Iraqi Family  —  Coverup Is Alleged; Four Others Implicated  —  A former U.S. Army soldier was charged yesterday with the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman and the slayings of three of her family members in their home south of Baghdad in March, federal prosecutors said.

MI5 conducts secret inquiry into 8,000 al-Qa'ida 'sympathisers'  —  Up to 8,000 suspected al-Qa'ida sympathisers are being investigated by MI5 and the police in an operation to identify future terrorists, The Independent has learned.  —  The huge covert inquiry, known as project Rich Picture …

And This Weekend a Hollywood Studio Released A Movie With Little Artistic Merit!  —  Shorter Verbatim Tom Maguire: "I am not sure I grasp the news value of this Times piece describing the summer homes of Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld...I remain dubious of the timing."

Ulysses Grant: Our Greatest President?  —  In 1854, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison led a crowd celebrating Independence Day by burning the Constitution, denouncing it as "A Convenant With Death and an Agreement with Hell."  His worthy point was that the founding fathers of the nation …

House GOP leaders say vote on minimum wage now likely  —  Cite the pressure of Nov. elections  —  WASHINGTON — With Democrats plotting to make the minimum wage a major issue in this fall's congressional races, House Republican leaders are conceding that they may have to yield to pressure …

OPEN FOR BUSINESS  —  Townhall reopens today as a project of Salem Radio.  Jonathan Garthwaite pulls back the curtain and explains the venture.  The invisible hand of our friend Hugh Hewitt is evidenced in the architecture; Hugh inhabits his new Townhall digs here.

Dirty wars, dirty bombs  —  Plus, Slacker Friday letters  —  I am taking an extra day because I love my country, sooo much.  If people really miss me, I'll be on Al Franken's show around 1:30 p.m. ET.  —  I've got a new Think Again: The Best of Times . here.  —  We're not yet a police state.

No News Allowed  —  News has always been a tough nut for Communist dictators.  It happens unexpectedly, giving bureaucrats precious little time to prepare the correct ideological explanation; it often undermines whatever propaganda line the state is pushing, and if it happens …