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 …

DANCING IN THE STREETS  —  ***1000am 8/1 update: Boston Herald's Jules Crittenden: Break out the cigars***  —  Thousands of anti-Castro Cuban-Americans are celebrating in the streets of the Little Havana of Miami tonight.  Streaming video of the celebrations here.  One step closer to Cuba Libre, baby.

Ned Lamont on the Colbert Report  —  Stephen Colbert interviewed Ned Lamont tonight about the upcoming Connecticut primary.  —  Some rough transcript quotes from Ned: … Ned did an outstanding job at handling the tough interviews Stephen Colbert gives.  He was quick with the responses and presented his platform very well.

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.

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 …

Santorum links Casey to wrong al-Jazeerah  —  Picture the TV commercial, a deep voice delivering this ominous message, in a slow, deliberate cadence: "Even al-Jazeera endorsed Democrat Bobby Casey Jr. Whose side is he on, anyway?"  —  It's hard not to think that was partly why Republican blogs …

Suspect in Jewish Federation shootings recently baptized  —  Man who grew up Muslim drifted from Christianity  —  RICHLAND — Naveed Haq, now widely portrayed as a Muslim American so angry at Israel that he shot up a Jewish charity in Seattle, had recently converted to Christianity.

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.

Livni: Qana attack led to turning point in support for Israel  —  The deaths of dozens of civilians in an Israel Air Force attack on the southern Lebanese village of Qana marked a significant diplomatic turning point against Israel, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday.

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 …

A Skeptic on 9/11 Prompts Questions on Academic Freedom  —  Sipping on a bottle of water and holding a book about the history and future of Islam, Kevin Barrett ticked off a few examples of what he saw as evidence that the Sept. 11 attacks had been an "inside job."