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 …

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.

Break out the cigars - Castro's dying  —  It's a tragic day for the earnest Left.  One of their darlings may be about to nationalize the farm.  —  Castro's health:  —  Castro's coughing up blood.  He's handed over the reins to his kid brother Raul.  —  The original "Speak Truth to Powah" …

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 …

Rightroots: The Republican Answer To The Lefty Blogosphere's Netroots Endorsed Candidates  —  (This post will be on top of the page all day long.  Scroll down for updates, Click here to see the slate of candidates and here to see their bios.)  —  As you all probably know …

Running Silent  —  Lieberman and campaign volunteers won't discuss petitions being signed in support of a third-party Senate bid, should he lose the Democratic primary.  —  Judy Yost won't talk about the petitions she's circulating to ensure Sen. Joseph Lieberman a spot on the November ballot …

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.

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).

Lieberman Through the Looking Glass  —  Over at MyDD, Matt Stoller poses one of the first interesting questions I've read in weeks amidst the hourly torrent of abuse towards Joe Lieberman.  Prompted by a Josh Marshall post depicting Lieberman's current political travails as "tragic," …

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 …

Paulson vows to stay on Social Security fight  —  New Treasury chief wants workable solutions, rebuts Democrats on taxes  —  WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Although his two predecessors were carried off the field after bruising political battles, new Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday …

Vets set sights on Murtha  —  The "Swift Boat" veterans who grabbed national headlines in 2004 when they attacked John Kerry in his failed presidential bid now are turning their sights to Johnstown.  —  Their target is U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a critic of the Iraq war and a de facto spokesman …

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 …

Court OK's look at Times' phone records  —  NEW YORK - A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that federal prosecutors investigating a leak about a terrorism funding probe can see the phone records of two New York Times reporters.  —  A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held …