A Tool We Need to Stop the Next Airliner Plot  —  Imagine that our troops in Afghanistan raided an al-Qaeda safe house and captured a computer containing the cellphone numbers of operatives in Europe.  Wouldn't it be important to know whether one of those cellphone numbers was used to book a transatlantic flight?

Bush Cites Progress in Gulf Coast Visit  —  On the eve of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush returned to the devastated Gulf Coast today promising to continue federal assistance, and eagerly pointing out signs of progress.  —  "It's amazing, isn't?" he told a gathering under a sweltering sun.

Karr Won't Be Charged In Death of JonBenet  —  Prosecutor Says DNA Samples Did Not Match  —  Prosecutors dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the decade-old killing of JonBenet Ramsey on Monday, abruptly ending a 12-day whirlwind that reached halfway around the globe …

Iran's leader calls for TV debate with Bush  —  Adjust font size:  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on U.S. President George W. Bush to participate in a "direct television debate with us," so Iran can voice its point of view on how to end world predicaments.

Volcanic Ash  —  A totally independent, slightly irreverent and hopelessly idealistic view of people and events in Hawai'i and beyond.  David Shapiro has covered Hawai'i and national news for 38 years as a reporter, editor and columnist.  —  Reach David at volcanicash@gmail.com.

Group of Iraqi Soldiers Refuses to Go to Baghdad  —  A group of Iraqi soldiers refused to go to Baghdad to participate in the effort to restore order in the Iraqi capital, a senior American military officer said today.  —  Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who oversees the American-led effort to train …

Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby  —  It was quite a boner.  —  University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer was in town yesterday to elaborate on his view that American Jewish groups are responsible for the war in Iraq, the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and many other bad things.

Plame and the 'Bush Lied' Meme  —  A new book by Michael Isikoff, an investigative reporter for Newsweek, and David Corn, who writes for the far left wing magazine The Nation, casts many powerful people in Washington in an unflattering light — but not the people who Mr. Isikoff and Mr. Corn wish to besmirch.

Slowly Sidling To Iraq's Exit  —  Many GOP Candidates Part Company With Bush  —  By Election Day, how many Republican candidates will have come out against the Iraq war or distanced themselves from the administration's policies?  —  August 2006 will be remembered as a watershed in the politics of Iraq.

The Conservative Case Against Rudy Giuliani In 2008  —  Rudy Giuliani, a contender for the Presidency in 2008, is receiving an inordinate amount of positive attention.  That's quite understandable since Rudy is charismatic, did a great job on the campaign trail for President Bush in 2004 …

Democrats Now Favored to Take Over DeLay's Old Seat  —  The Texas Republican Party establishment has rallied around a single candidate, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, in their unusual write-in campaign to salvage the 22nd Congressional District seat vacated in June by Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader.

Democrats See Victory in U.S. House Races, Senate Within Reach  —  Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Charles Rangel and Chairman — again — John Dingell.  Those titles will soon sound familiar.  —  Barring an unexpected and big event, Democrats will win control …

A GOP Terror Bump  —  There seems to have been a change in the political winds.  They've been blowing pretty strongly against George W. Bush and the Republicans this spring and early this summer.  Now, their velocity looks to be tapering off or perhaps shifting direction.