Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime Change  —  This morning on Fox, Bill Kristol continued to escalate his calls for war against Iran, stating, "We can try diplomacy.  I'm not very hopeful about that.  We have to be ready to use force."

In First Veto, Bush Blocks Stem Cell Bill  —  President Bush today used the first veto of his presidency to stop legislation that would have lifted restrictions on federally funded human embryonic stem cell research.  —  "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope …

Hizbullah: No leaders killed in IAF strike  —  Israeli warplanes target bunker in south Beirut where senior Hizbullah leaders, including Nasrallah, were thought to be, military says  —  According to Hizbullah officials, no senior organization leaders were killed in a massive IAF air strike …

The Summer of 1914 … With Hezbollah's entry into the war between Israel and Hamas, Fourth Generation war has taken another developmental step forward.  For the first time, a non-state entity has gone to war with a state not by waging an insurgency against a state invader, but across an international boundary.

Public vs. Private Schools  —  The national education reform effort has long suffered from magical thinking about what it takes to improve children's chances of learning.  Instead of homing in on teacher training and high standards, things that distinguish effective schools from poor ones …

Four in 10 Republicans Would Not Find McCain an "Acceptable" Nominee  —  Clinton, Edwards, Gore most acceptable possible Democratic nominees  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A recent Gallup Panel poll asked Republicans and Democrats whether they would find each of several possible contenders …

DeWine blunder adds fuel to controversial Sept. 11 ad  —  The controversial video of the burning World Trade Center towers in a television campaign ad for Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine is doctored, U.S. News has learned.  The television spot, which has been lambasted by critics as a political exploitation …

CT-SEN: It's Official — Lieberman Rules Out Any Run On GOP Line  —  As I wrote below, Election Central posed a question this morning to the Lieberman campaign: Would he or would he not rule out a run on the GOP line if he lost the Dem primary and the line were offered to him?

An Exclusive Mini-Interview With Mimi Miyagi  —  Yesterday, I got together with Mimi Miyagi, a former porn star running for Governor of Nevada as a Republican.  Her campaign is quite a ways back in the polls at the moment, but I thought she'd still be a fun interview — and she was!

Thune Says He'd Distance Himself From Bush  —  Freshman Sen. John Thune, the Republican hero two years ago for ousting the Senate Democratic leader, said Wednesday that if he were running this year, he'd distance himself from President Bush and his agenda.  —  In 2004, the White House …

India Blocks Several Web Sites, Many of Which Are Blog Homes  —  By ERIC BELLMAN in Mumbai and PETER WONACOTT in New Delhi  —  India's Internet regulators have started blocking several Web sites in a move that borrows a page from China, where government censors heavily restrict the flow of online information.

Is This War Bush's Fault?  —  One of the stranger memes to arise in the last week is the notion that the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict is somehow the fault of George Bush.  Howard Kurtz covers this in today's Media Notes, along with links to plenty of people willing to cast blame at the White House.