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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Iraq security adviser says violence levels falling  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - The level of violence in Baghdad has fallen sharply since July thanks to troop reinforcements and the new government's efforts to reconcile warring Shi'ites and Sunnis, Iraq's national security adviser said on Tuesday.

Connecticut Groups Push to Remove Lieberman From Ballot  —  Critics of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's independent run to keep his job attacked on two fronts Monday, with one group asking an elections official to throw him out of the Democratic Party and a former rival calling on state officials to keep his name off the November ballot.

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:

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 …

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 …

Iranian Troops Fire on Romanian Oil Rig  —  BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania said Iranian troops opened fire from a warship and seized a Romanian oil rig Tuesday off the coast of Iran, holding its workers in an incident stemming from a commercial dispute.  —  Sergiu Medar, a national security adviser …

Is a Federal Tax on Damages for Emotional Distress Unconstitutional?  —  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today held that a federal statute, which imposes a tax on awards of compensatory damages for emotional distress and loss of reputation …

Katrina  —  I watched the first half of Spike Lee's documentary on Hurricane Katrina last night.  Riveting and gut-wrenching.  If you get HBO, be sure to see it.  —  Among many things revealed by the storm was our ambivalence about federalism and the respective roles of state and federal government.

Obsessed Bin Laden wanted to kill Whitney Houston's husband  —  Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden is so obsessed with singer Whitney Houston he thought about killing her husband, Bobby Brown, it was claimed last night.  —  The suggestion is made by Sudanese poet and novelist Kola Boof …

Thousands of Marines face involuntary recalls  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps said Tuesday it has been authorized to recall thousands of Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.  —  Up to 2,500 Marines will be brought …

Chad-free voting machines can be hacked  —  WASHINGTON - Our house just had a plumbing line break; it was a big deal because here in California, many houses are built on slabs, which means that you have to tear rooms up and jackhammer concrete to get to the lines and fix them.

Malaga passenger defends actions  —  A man on board a flight to Manchester from Malaga has defended passengers' actions after their suspicions led to two men being removed from the plane.  —  David Wearden, 42, from Chester, said it was reports that the pair had been overheard claiming …