Is a Dem Also Holding Up the Porkbusting Bill?  —  There's a loose thread to this "secret hold" story, and it bothers us.  —  By this morning, the dogged persistence of hundreds of bloggers and blogreaders garnered denials from 98 senators saying they did not hold up the Coburn/Obama spending transparency database bill.

PRESIDENT BUSH 'ASSASSINATED' IN NEW TV DOCUDRAMA  —  This is the dramatic moment when President George Bush is gunned down by a sniper after a public address at a hotel, in a gripping new docudrama soon to be aired on TV.  —  Set around October 2007, President Bush is assassinated as he leaves the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago.

Helen Ubiñas  —  Liebermont Bickering Gets Old  —  A little advice for Joe Lieberman's new communications director, Dan Gerstein: Think about the "good stuff," buddy.  —  Gerstein was downright chafed when I called him about the New Age-y Lieberman ad that urges folks to step away …

Rumsfeld's Four Questions  —  THE SECRETARY'S GHASTLY SPEECH TO THE AMERICAN LEGION.  —  The fifth anniversary of 9/11 looms before us, and it's hard to say which artifact is gloomier: the awful memory of the attack itself (especially to those of us who witnessed the towers crumbling) …

State on Verge of Greenhouse Gas Restrictions  —  The Senate votes to slash emissions 25%, the first such action in the nation.  Business groups are angry, but the governor is on board.  —  SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders agreed Wednesday on a plan to cut …

Burns says terrorists drive taxis by day  —  BELGRADE, Mont. - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

Gingrich: Powerful Pelosi 'would be a disaster'  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. - Ex-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that the thought of California Rep. Nancy Pelosi becoming the next leader of the House and being third in line to the presidency is frightening.

We're Not Winning This War  —  Despite Some Notable Achievements, New Thinking Is Needed on the Home Front and Abroad  —  Are we winning the war?  The first question to ask is, what war?  The Bush administration continues to muddle a national understanding of the conflict we are in by calling it the "war on terror."

There Is Silence in the Streets; Where Have All the Protesters Gone?  —  It was almost painful the other night to hear Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sing about a war whose purpose Americans never really understood, started by a president who didn't tell the truth and then waged the war ineptly.

Positive Press on Iraq Is Aim of U.S. Contract  —  U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more positive coverage of news from Iraq.

No Day at the Beach  —  Bloggers Struggle With What to Do About Vacation  —  A banner stripped across the top of the Daily Dish declares that the popular Web log's host, Andrew Sullivan, has "gone fishing."  Mr. Sullivan declared a two-week vacation and opted to leave his political blog behind.

National Guardsman Attacked by Leftist Douchebags  —  Words have consequences and these types of attacks are inevitable given the rhetoric of the increasingly not-so-fringe left .  —  At some point saying "I support the troops" while simultaneously jumping on every allegation …

Cousin: Rampage driver became enraged after argument with mother  —  The arguments began over the weekend.  Omeed Popal begged his father for permission to return to Afghanistan to be with his new bride.  —  The tension heightened Tuesday morning when his mother, like his father, refused to let him go.

Back to the Congressional Future  —  Let's think about how the Democrats would govern.  —  With a little more than two months to go before midterm elections, the polls show Democrats well positioned to win the House after 12 years out of power.  So it's not too soon to consider who these Democrats are and how they would govern.

Pinocchio and friends converted to Islam  —  Malcolm Moore in Antalya  —  Pinocchio, Tom Sawyer and other characters have been converted to Islam in new versions of 100 classic stories on the Turkish school curriculum.  —  "Give me some bread, for Allah's sake," Pinocchio says to Geppetto …

Tweaking of 'No Child' Seen  —  Education Chief Urges Bigger Role for States in Initiative  —  As schools nationwide open for business, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings took the opportunity yesterday to compare the centerpiece of the administration's education policy to soap.

Lebanese PM: Aid won't go to Hezbollah  —  STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Lebanon's prime minister urged world donors Thursday to help his country recover after Israeli bombing wiped out "15 years of postwar development" in 34 days of fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas.

Hizbullah presents: How to recruit children  —  Alongside weapons, rockets and explosives found by IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon, troops also discover booklets containing questions for children on terror group, its struggle.  Goal: Conveying messages to youth, who will later become organization's future terrorists

Game over on the Plame leak?  Maybe not  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — There's a new twist to a controversy that has been roiling the political waters for more than three years.  —  This week numerous news organizations, including CNN, have identified former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage …