An Open Letter To Pope Benedict XVI  —  To His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI:  —  I went to church angry today for the first time in quite a while, perhaps since 9/11.  We are called to humble ourselves when we worship God, and while I'm far from being the world's best example of Catholicism …

A very rushed post  —  Just outside Westminster Cathedral today...  I thought I'd refrain from posting anything substantial about this uproar about the Pope's speech, since I'm sure other bloggers can put things more eloquently than me.  ( here and here and here : "If the Pope does not appear …

If It Was a Prize Fight, It Would Have Been Stopped at the First Commercial Break  —  I just finished watching the George Allen - Jim Webb debate on "Meet the Press."  For conservatives wishing for Allen to retain his seat, their best hope is that Virginians were otherwise occupied this morning …

How 3 G.O.P. Veterans Stalled Bush Detainee Bill  —  Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham cornered their partner, Senator John W. Warner, on the Senate floor late Wednesday afternoon.  —  Mr. Warner, the courtly Virginian who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee …

U.S., Afghan troops launch offensive  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Thousands of American and Afghan troops unleashed a new offensive against Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday in an effort to expand the government's reach into the volatile Pakistani border region.

U.S. holds AP photographer in Iraq 5 mos  —  The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing.  —  Military officials said Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen …

Report: AQ warns Muslims to leave NYC, Washington  —  The worry meter remains at midlevel, but I'm obliged to follow up on that earlier post.  Via Bama Pachyderm via Gateway Pundit via World Net Daily, Pakistani journalist Hamir Mir says the end is nigh: … Let's wait and see about that audio message.

U.S. war prisons legal vacuum for 14,000  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - In the few short years since the first shackled Afghan shuffled off to Guantanamo, the U.S. military has created a global network of overseas prisons, its islands of high security keeping 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law.

Called From Diplomatic Reserve  —  Former Secretary of State Leads Attempt to Salvage Iraq Mission  —  Is Jim Baker bailing out the Bushes once again?  —  The former secretary of state, James A. Baker III, a confidant of President George H.W. Bush, visited Baghdad two weeks ago to take a look …

Muslims read riot act  —  AUSTRALIA'S Muslim leaders have been "read the riot act" over the need to denounce any links between Islam and terrorism.  —  The Howard Government's multicultural spokesman, Andrew Robb, yesterday told an audience of 100 imams who address Australia's mosques …

A liberal hawk strikes back  —  THE CIRCULAR firing squad is the signature practice of the Democratic Party.  Think of 1968, or 1972, or everything that happened during the Clinton presidency except impeachment, or the Howard Dean campaign.  Democrats are never truly happy unless they're at each others' throats.

Swedish Opposition Wins Election, Exit Polls Show (Update3)  —  Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Sweden's four-party opposition ousted Prime Minister Goeran Persson's Social Democrats after 12 years in power as voters backed their plans to cut taxes to make it easier for companies to hire and sell off state assets, exit polls indicated.

How the Presidency Regained Its Balance  —  FIVE years after 9/11, President Bush has taken his counterterrorism case to the American people.  That's because he has had to.  This summer, a plurality of the Supreme Court found, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, that Congress must explicitly approve military commissions …

Pessimistic Germans Losing Faith in Democracy, Study Shows  —  A recent report confirms the stereotype of Germany as a nation of pessimists.  Increasingly, citizens are discontent with their living standards, and their form of government as well.  —  According to a new report put …