Arab op-ed: Pope's remarks may lead to war  —  Muslim world newspapers filled with articles slamming pope's remarks; 'it is clear that such remarks only contribute to the fueling of the fire raging between Islam and the West,' op-ed published in al-Sharq al-Awsat says  —  Roee Nahmias

Save Yourself, Blame Bush  —  I can't help but feel sorry for my old Republican friends in Congress who are fighting for their political lives.  After all, it must be tough explaining to voters at their local Baptist church's Keep Congress Conservative Day that it was their party that took …

What Would the Democrats Do?  —  Some Democrats in the center of the war debate: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, James Webb of Virginia, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Senator John Kerry, Patricia Madrid of New Mexico and Senator Joseph Biden Jr.  —  FOR Democrats in Congress and those hoping to join them …

Racial Politics This Week — A Roundup  —  Brought to you by Jill Tubman of Jack and Jill Politics  —  This week, a controversial photo snapped at a blogger lunch in Harlem with Bill Clinton is under much discussion in the progressive blackosphere.  You can follow the conversation here …

Bayh says Democrats can't be 'bunch of wimps' on terror  —  DES MOINES, Iowa - Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh defended Democratic assaults on President Bush's prosecution of the war on terror, but he warned Friday that his party can't come across as "a bunch of wimps" on security issues.

In Campaign Ads for Democrats, Bush Is the Star  —  From Rhode Island to New Mexico, from Connecticut to Tennessee, President Bush is emerging as the marquee name in this fall's Congressional elections — courtesy not of his Republican Party but of the Democrats.

Major Problems At Polls Feared  —  Some Officials Say Voting Law Changes And New Technology Will Cause Trouble  —  An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat …

The Late Show  —  Even a blind pig, they say, can occasionally find an acorn.  And in like fashion, Peggy Noonan appears to have stumbled across an insight: … The Rovians have always acted as if constant, mind-numbing repetition was an absolute virtue — the key to drowning out any competing message.

UN should stick to defending Lebanon from Israel: Hezbollah  —  TYRE, Lebanon (AFP) - A top Hezbollah leader said the Shiite group would have no problems with UN peacekeepers as long as they limit their work to defending Lebanon against Israel and do not pursue other agendas.

Getting Lebanon Wrong  —  Right after the end of the Hezbollah war I interviewed two members of Israel's Peace Now who stayed on a kibbutz just a few kilometers south of the border under Katyusha fire attack.  Not wanting to give space only to the Israeli left, I sought out someone who could give …

Katrina Queen Of The Desert  —  Atrios links to another lengthy part of this fascinating article but I think the lede is worth excerpting too.  Before there was Katrina, there was the CPA: … (Jim O'Beirne, by the way, is the husband of wingnut welfare queen Kate O'Beirne, naturally.

War Inside the Wire  —  You can handle the truth about Guantanamo Bay.  —  GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba—You might call Rear Adm. Harry Harris a jailer.  As commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, a job he has held for six months, he is in charge of one of the world's best-known detention facilities.

real feminists don't look like women  —  note: if your notions of civility are more about form than content, you might want to skip the rest of this.  —  as I'm hat-tipped in the fuss of the moment, I'll reprint what I had to say about it at Feministing

HERETICALLY SEALED  —  I don't do Christianity any better than I do atheism (nor am I Jewish), so I may not be the right person to propose something like this.  —  But it occurred to me that the best way to honor Oriana Fallaci might be with some sort of alliance between religious and non-religious …