Stop the Band-Aid Treatment  —  We Need Policies for a Real, Lasting Middle East Peace  —  The Middle East is a tinderbox, with some key players on all sides waiting for every opportunity to destroy their enemies with bullets, bombs and missiles.  One of the special vulnerabilities of Israel …

A prelude: Miami streets burst with spontaneous joy  —  Miamians, eager to celebrate a change of any sort in Cuba's leadership, reacted to news of Cuba's power transfer with spontaneous partying, honking, yelling and joy.  —  ocorral@MiamiHerald.com  —  For two generations …

Lamont Appears On `Colbert Report'  —  Lamont risks an appearance on Comedy Central's `Colbert Report.' Defying the odds, he departs with dignity intact - more or less - and high marks from the staff of one of TV's toughest shows.  —  NEW YORK — Ned Lamont got a single piece of advice Monday …

Saudi urges U.S. take lead in Mideast peacemaking  —  Source: Reuters  —  WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has exhorted the United States to take the lead in efforts to immediately end the fighting between Hizbollah and Israel and faulted President George W. Bush for not following through on earlier peacemaking appeals.

Mel Gibson's Statement  —  Statement From Mel Gibson Asking for Help From Jewish Community  —  Aug 1, 2006 (AP)— Mel Gibson's statement, released to the news media early Tuesday, five days after his drunken driving arrest in Malibu:  —  There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance …

Evolution's Backers in Kansas Start Counterattack  —  God and Charles Darwin are not on the primary ballot in Kansas on Tuesday, but once again a contentious schools election has religion and science at odds in a state that has restaged a three-quarter-century battle over the teaching of evolution.

Get Your Rightroots Recommendations Right Here  —  Y'all may not know this, but I'm a blogger— a bona fide member of the New Media.  —  We bloggers, since we never step far away from our laptops, are always chatting over IM and tossing around hare-brained schemes.

Tax Cheats Called Out of Control  —  So many superrich Americans evade taxes using offshore accounts that law enforcement cannot control the growing misconduct, according to a Senate report that provides the most detailed look ever at high-level tax schemes.

GOP aids Green candidate Carl Romanelli  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. - Thanks to the generosity of GOP donors, a Green Party candidate is expected to make it onto the ballot in Pennsylvania's Senate race and siphon votes from Democratic front-runner Bob Casey in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record).

White House Pressroom Gets a Makeover  —  Video Wall, Other Technology Could  —  Inject Drama and Directly Appeal  —  To Public in Briefings  —  WASHINGTON — For a decade, the daily White House news briefing has been televised.  Now it is becoming television.

Powerline Uses Chopped Audio Clip to Smear Rep. John Dingell As Hezbollah Apologist  —  Yesterday, the popular right-wing blog Powerline smeared Rep. John Dingell (R-MI) as an apologist for Hezbollah using an edited clip from local Detroit television.  The post, entitled "Dingell …

After Compassionate Conservatism  —  Republicans need not fear the hard edges of their ideas.  —  On the surface, the Republican Party appears to be better poised now than at any time since Calvin Coolidge.  Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress for more than a decade …

Wake Up, Wake Up WalMart!  Joe Accepts Wal-Mart PAC $$$$$  —  Wake Up Wal Mart brings its Change Wal-Mart, Change America Tour to Bridgeport tomorrow.  —  Bridgeport City Hall Annex Steps  —  99 Broad Street  —  12:00 Noon  —  The tour highlights how Wal-Mart and its policies hurt America …

Dignity faces a steamroller  —  Small-claims proceedings ignore rights, tilt to collectors … The line for the metal detector crept slowly at Brockton District Court on the morning of April 12, 2005.  Peter Damon waited anxiously.  He didn't want to be late.

Jewish Federation Shooter Recently Baptized  —  The (take your pick) mentally ill individual/evil Muslim terrorist who shot six at the Seattle Jewish Federation, killing one, recently converted to Christianity, according to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer report.