Surveillance We Can Live With  —  President Bush's electronic surveillance program has been a festering sore on our body politic since it was publicly disclosed last December.  Civil libertarians, myself included, have insisted that the program must be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment.

Kerry knocks Bush on handling of Mideast conflict  —  U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass., who was in town Sunday to help Gov. Jennifer Granholm campaign for her re-election bid, took time to take a jab at the Bush administration for its lack of leadership in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict.

Rice meets with Lebanon PM in Beirut  —  WASHINGTON - In a surprise visit to Beirut, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised the beleaguered prime minister of Lebanon on Monday for his courage in struggling to contain the fighting between the Hezbollah militia and Israel.

Four children and the cost of war  —  TYRE, Lebanon (CNN) — The last time I sat down to write something, it was about the cost of war.  As I looked ahead to the coming days, the last words I wrote were: Who will die?  —  Today, I found out.  —  Standing in front of this 8-year-old boy lying …

Legal Group Faults Bush for Ignoring Parts of Bills  —  WASHINGTON, July 23 — The American Bar Association said Sunday that President Bush was flouting the Constitution and undermining the rule of law by claiming the power to disregard selected provisions of bills that he signed.

Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Program  —  Plant Underway Could Generate Plutonium for 40 to 50 Bombs a Year, Analysts Say  —  Pakistan has begun building what independent analysts say is a powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move that, if verified, would signal a major expansion …

'Chickenhawk'  —  ``IT'S TOUCHING that you're so concerned about the military in Iraq," a reader in Wyoming e-mails in response to one of my columns on the war.  ``But I have a suspicion you're a phony.  So tell me, what's your combat record?  Ever serve?"

Israelis Kill 8, wound 45 on Sunday  —  Strike Clinic, Ambulance, Factories, Minibus, Journalist  —  Hizbullah Rockets Hit Haifa, Kill 2  —  The Daily Star reports that … Jan Egeland, the United Nations undersecretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator …

Your Daily Ned  —  . Congresswomen Marcy Kaptur and Maxine Waters campaigned yesterday for Ned Lamont.  It was exceptionally brave to buck the party and do so, though yesterday's Rasmussen results indicate the decision might be quite politically pragmatic (YouTube above by CTBlogger).

War Dead Flown to Iran  —  JERUSALEM — The bodies of Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers killed by the Israeli army in Lebanon have been transported to Syria and flown to Tehran, senior Lebanese political sources said.  —  Israeli and Egyptian security officials confirmed the news …

Hastert: House may challenge office search  —  WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Sunday he may challenge a judge's order allowing FBI agents to examine documents seized at a Louisiana congressman's Capitol Hill office in a bribery probe.  —  Hastert said he believed Rep. William Jefferson …

Study: Ex-Rep. Made Use of 'Black' Budgets  —  WASHINGTON - An independent investigation has found that imprisoned former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took advantage of secrecy and badgered congressional aides to help slip items into classified bills that would benefit him and his associates.

Sectarian break-up of Iraq is now inevitable, admit officials  —  The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, meets Tony Blair in London today as violence in Iraq reaches a new crescendo and senior Iraqi officials say the break up of the country is inevitable.