U.S. District Judge Who Presided Over Government Wiretapping Case May Have Had Conflict of Interest  —  (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and judicial abuse, announced today that Judge Anna Diggs Taylor …

51% in Poll See No Link Between Iraq and Terror Fight  —  Americans increasingly see the war in Iraq as distinct from the fight against terrorism, and nearly half believe President Bush has focused too much on Iraq to the exclusion of other threats, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Inhofe optimistic on Iraq  —  It's well on the way toward handling its own security, he says  —  U.S. involvement in Iraq has been incredibly successful and developments there have been "nothing short of a miracle," Sen. James Inhofe said Monday.  —  During his half-hour speech …

Point of No Return?  —  It is hard to think of a time when a nation — and a whole civilization — has drifted more futilely toward a bigger catastrophe than that looming over the United States and western civilization today.  —  Nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran and North Korea mean …

Military upbeat on Baghdad clampdown  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Baghdad has declined in the past two weeks and all but ended in some formerly deadly neighborhoods, the U.S. military said in a cautiously upbeat report on Tuesday on a major security clampdown in the city.

Iran says it's willing to resume talks  —  Leaders continue to reject U.N. demand to halt nuclear program  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran's top nuclear negotiator said his country was willing to return to serious talks on its nuclear program as early as Wednesday, Iranian media reported Tuesday.

Buchanan Argues For Immigration Moratorium To Preserve White Dominance  —  In his new book, State of Emergency, Pat Buchanan argues for "an immediate moratorium on all immigration."  Why?  To preserve the dominance of the white race in America.  Buchanan explains on pg.  11:

Bush OKs involuntary Marine recall  —  Initial recall is for 2,500, but there is no cap  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush has authorized the U.S. Marine Corps to recall 2,500 troops to active duty because there are not enough volunteers returning for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, Marine commanders announced Tuesday.

Iran 'fires on Romanian oil rig'  —  BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Romanian oil rig off the coast of Iran came under fire from an Iranian warship and was later occupied by Iranian troops, a company spokesman said.  —  The Iranians first fired into the air and then fired at the Orizont rig, said GSP spokesman Radu Petrescu.

Journo kidnappings no longer the story it once was  —  From BOB LAURENCE, TV critic, San Diego Union-Tribune: I'd like to offer a couple of possible reasons for the lack of attention given to the kidnapping of the two guys from Fox:  —  One is that, sadly, they are far from the first to be kidnapped, injured or killed.

Paul Hackett on Hardball  —  Paul Hackett debated the Iraq war with Republican-TX-17 candidate Van Taylor,  —  Taylor who did fight in the Iraq war-for some reason uses the most original "we're fighting them over there" argument which is sounding more and more like an Abbott & Costello routine.

Snake in the Grass  —  THE POMPOUS, HYPOCRITICAL HUCKSTERISM OF GÜNTER GRASS.  —  For many of the postwar decades, Günter Grass was above all fortunate in his enemies.  In West Germany, these enemies took two forms.  The first was the large number of citizens who were queasy …

Educators Question Absence of Evolution From List of Majors Eligible for New Grants  —  Like a gap in the fossil record, evolutionary biology is missing from a list of majors that the U.S. Department of Education has deemed eligible for a new federal grant program designed to reward students majoring …

August 22nd: The recriminations begin  —  It's after midnight in Tehran.  The apocalypse turned out to be four soldiers getting froggy with some Romanian laborers.  —  I won't name names, but my feelings about the people who were pimping this are the same as my feelings about Amir Taheri …

GOP operatives say state law is too confusing.  —  The law that helped drive U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay from office and put two of his allies under criminal indictment can't be understood by the "man in the street," defense lawyers argued this morning.  —  Lawyers for Jim Ellis and John Colyandro …

The Fertility Gap  —  Liberal politics will prove fruitless as long as liberals refuse to multiply.  —  The midterm election looms, and once again efforts begin afresh to increase voter participation.  It has become standard wisdom in American politics that voter turnout is synonymous …

Leiberman Still Ahead In CT  —  A new ARG poll has some interesting numbers when compared to the Qinnipiac poll which came out last week.  First off, the ARG poll theoretically shows a tight race: … As a CNN report on the poll notes, the big difference is the number of undecideds which are 2% in the Qinnipiac Poll.

HAIL TO THE CHIEF  —  I had the opportunity this afternoon to be part of a relatively small group who heard President Bush talk, extemporaneously, for around forty minutes.  It was an absolutely riveting experience.  It was the best I've ever seen him.  Not only that; it may have been the best I've ever seen any politician.