Breaking: Group claims responsibility for Centanni abduction (Video added)  —  The "Holy Jihad Brigades"?  Whose very first act of holy jihad is to kidnap a reporter and a cameraman?  —  That's a shrewd way to get press, but at the rather large expense of antagonizing the Palestinian terror …

A Law Unto Herself  —  TO end her opinion in American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency — the case that enjoins President Bush's warrantless surveillance program — Judge Anna Diggs Taylor quoted Earl Warren (referring to him as "Justice Warren," not "Chief Justice Warren," …

Lieberman Warns of Danger of the U.S. Pulling Out of Iraq  —  Suggesting that he sees parallels between the war in Iraq and the early struggle against fascism, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman said on Tuesday that the United States would create a dangerous world if it left Iraq too soon.

12 arrested after Northwest Airlines turned back  —  Passengers 'looked into plastic bags, passed cell phones'  —  AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (CNN) — Dutch police said Wednesday that 12 passengers were in custody after a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Mumbai, India, returned to Amsterdam when several people on board aroused concern.

Senator Jokes About House Painter  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as "a nice little Guatemalan man" and suggested that worker as well employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally.

"Rockey I": If it sounds too good to be true...  The good news is that CNN seems to have finally stop obsessing over John Mark Karr.  Instead, they've found a new soap opera to go ga-ga over, Katrina survivor Rockey Vaccarella, who drove his FEMA trailer from his home in ravaged St. Bernard Parish …

Gov. Murkowski Concedes Defeat in Alaska  —  Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski concedes race for second term in Alaska  —  (AP) Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski, stung by accusations of arrogance and stubbornness, lost his bid for a second term Tuesday after polling last in a three-way GOP primary.

Marines Who Served Will Be Ordered Back  —  The involuntary return to active duty will affect up to 2,500 reservists at a time.  The Pentagon is scrambling to meet the demands of war.  —  WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps said Tuesday that it would begin calling Marines back to active-duty service …

Don't Marry Career Women  —  Guys: A word of advice.  Marry pretty women or ugly ones.  Short ones or tall ones.  Blondes or brunettes.  Just, whatever you do, don't marry a woman with a career.  —  Why?  Because if many social scientists are to be believed, you run a higher risk of having a rocky marriage.

L'Affaire GoldFrisch III: We All Knew This Was Coming  —  This post was co-written with Tim Dreier of The One-Handed Economist; both of us are graduates of the University of Oregon in Eugene, where Deb Frisch now lives.  As a matter of full disclosure, we've had a few scrapes with Frisch of our own …

The Battle of Baghdad  —  Rampant insecurity—and a detailed plan to combat it.  —  BAGHDAD—Although there has been much good news to report about security progress in Iraq this summer—the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the handover of security responsibility for Muthanna province …

ON POLITICS  —  By Heather Greenfield, National Journal's Technology Daily  —  President Bush is not the only one facing falling polling numbers.  Conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" is having to factor in his own losses when it comes to Internet traffic.

Is the Bush Doctrine Dead?  —  The president's critics are wrong.  That includes the neocons.  —  In recent months, we have been bombarded with reports of the death of the Bush Doctrine.  Of course, there have been many such reports since the doctrine was first promulgated at the start …

Cubin's Weak Showing in Wyoming Could be Warning Sign  —  Republican Barbara Cubin, Wyoming's sole House member, won her primary election Tuesday and is favored to win a seventh term this November.  But her underwhelming showing against a little-known opponent suggested that she could be vulnerable …

Bin Laden still deadly relevant  —  Ex-CIA official says cleric sets cap of 10 million U.S. deaths … LONDON, England (CNN) — Nearly five years have passed since the September 11 terrorist attacks, yet Osama bin Laden — the world's most-wanted terrorist — remains a dangerous fugitive …

E&P editor attacks bloggers over Reutersgate  —  I was going to make the title, "E&P editor attacks bloggers over Reutersgate, misrepresents pretty much everything," but his article's only the first of two parts.  So perhaps the misrepresentations will be addressed in today's exciting conclusion.

Fixing the Federal Spending Problem  —  On the road tonight, after a full day with great candidates and committed patriots in Alabama.  While scrolling down Instapundit a little while ago, I found a blog post from Andrew Stuttaford at The Corner, discussing the Federal Funding Accountability …

Buchanan book featured on Today: For nation to "survive[ ]," U.S. must keep "Americans of European descent" from becoming "minority" … On the August 22 edition of NBC's Today, guest host and NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory interviewed MSNBC political analyst …

Allen's Campaign Shifts Gears, Seeks Help  —  Burned by a blog-induced firestorm over an an off-hand comment at a campaign rally, Sen. George Allen's campaign is seeking a conservative blog maven who can blunt future attacks and help rally conservatives in the state and elsewhere behind Allen's campaign.

Connecticut Senate: Lieberman, Lamont Still in a Toss-Up  —  Lieberman (I) 45% Lamont (D) 43%  —  America's two-party system generally marginalizes Independent and third-party candidacies, but every once in a while a contest shows the system is not set in concrete: Ross Perot running for President …

What Your Freshmen Don't Know  —  Beloit College has released its latest "Mindset List," to help academics understand what freshmen know — and what they don't have a clue about.  This list has been prepared each August since 1998 and past lists are available online.  —  Here is this year's list, for the Class of 2010: