Shiite Militia Clashes With Iraqi Forces, Killing 15  —  Members of a Shiite militia killed at least 15 Iraqi soldiers in fierce fighting today in the southern city of Diwaniya, Iraqi officials said.  —  Some of the soldiers were executed in a public square after they ran out of ammunition …

Year After Katrina, Bush Still Fights for 9/11 Image  —  When the nation records the legacy of George W. Bush, 43rd president and self-described compassionate conservative, two competing images will help tell the tale.  —  The first is of Mr. Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks …

Why we don't believe you  —  Does the mainstream press ever wonder why conservatives distrust them so much?  —  If so, they need look no further than the "fauxtography" scandals of the last couple of weeks.  Conservative bloggers have been hard at work sniffing out suspected fakery and staging …

Eyeless in Gaza  —  The engine of a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza into Israel by Palestinian terrorists  —  SOUTHERN ISRAEL, NEAR GAZA - All eyes turned from Gaza to Lebanon as Israel fought a hot war with Hezbollah across its northern border.  Before the Lebanon war broke out …

Shopping for Support Down the Wrong Aisle  —  Once upon a time, smart Democrats defended globalization, open trade and the companies that thrive within this system.  They were wary of tethering themselves to an anti-trade labor movement that represents a dwindling fraction of the electorate.

Securing Future Fiscal Health  —  The economic and moral case for long-term reform of fiscal policy is clear.  Yet politicians refuse to act.  If this stalemate persists, it could end in catastrophe.  —  Over the next 30 years, spending on federal programs is on track to go up by 50 percent as a share of the economy.

Rebel killing raises stakes in Pakistan  —  Guest journalist Ahmed Rashid assesses what the killing of a rebel tribal leader in Balochistan province means for the Baloch rebel movement and for the Pakistani government.  —  In his death and the manner in which it was carried out …

Adnan Hajj Reloaded - Another Hajj/Al-Reuters Photoshop  —  I've actually been sitting on this one for a while, after a reader named Michelle linked me to this Hajj fauxto, but I've been too busy to post on it the way I wanted to.  So without further ado, let's get it on...

Election In The Streets  —  How The Broadcast Networks Promote Illegal Immigration  —  Executive Summary  —  Spurred by a passionate public outcry against the tide of illegal immigration, on December 16, 2005, the House of Representatives passed a bill to curb the flow of illegal aliens …

Ohio Governor: Strickland Lead Widens to 25 Points  —  Blackwell (R) 32% Strickland (D) 57%  —  During the past several months, Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland's edge over Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has ranged from four to seventeen percentage points.

Blogosphere Unites in Pursuit of Masked Senator  —  Who's trying to stop the government from telling its citizens where their tax dollars are being spent?  Help find out.  —  Just before the August recess, the Senate was set to vote on a bill co-sponsored by Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) …

In Defense of Andrew Young  —  Andrew Young unwittingly ended his brief tenure as Wal-Mart's ambassador to U.S. cities this month with his remarks about the nation's urban mom and pop shops:  —  "Those are the people who have been overcharging us — selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables …

America: More Like Sweden Than You Thought  —  One of the joys of my working life is that I get to read papers like "The State of Working America" from the Economic Policy Institute.  They are, as you may know, the people who urge that the USA become more like the European countries, most especially the Scandinavian ones.

Cheney Chooses Chief Propagator of False Iraq-9/11 Link To Be Official Biographer  —  Vice President Cheney — "the man running the country" — is now working on an official biography.  —  But don't hold out any hope that the biography will offer any revealing insight into "Dick Cheney's dark, secretive mind-set."

Headteacher who never taught again after daring to criticise multiculturalism  —  Early yesterday afternoon, Ray Honeyford was listening with unconcealed delight to the radio commentary from the C&G Cup final at Lord's cricket ground as the Sussex batsmen, already 68 for 5, battled to find some form.

Exclusive Interview with Tom Friedman (Part I)  —  This past Friday evening, I was given the opportunity to sit down with New York Times columnist Tom Friedman at his house in Bethesda (fortuitously located directly across the street from my own house.  Every blogger should be so lucky!).

Bin Laden, Most Wanted For Embassy Bombings?  —  Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is a longtime and prominent member of the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list, which notes his role as the suspected mastermind of the deadly U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa on Aug. 7, 1998.  —  is nowhere to be found on the same FBI notice.

Life and Death  —  Western guilt blinds us to the nature of Islamic extremism.  —  The simple back-and-forth of war can create the illusion that both sides have a legitimate point to make even when this is not so, and it is clear that Hezbollah's cause has greatly benefited from war's "equalizing" effect.