Dissidents' Detainee Bill May Face Filibuster  —  Frist Warns GOP Opponents of Bush's Proposal They Must Accept Two Key Provisions  —  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist signaled yesterday that he and other White House allies will filibuster a bill dealing with the interrogation and prosecution …

Carey backs Pope and issues warning on 'violent' Islam  —  THE former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton has issued his own challenge to "violent" Islam in a lecture in which he defends the Pope's "extraordinarily effective and lucid" speech.  —  Lord Carey said that Muslims must address …

Doubts Increase About Strength of Iraq's Premier  —  Senior Iraqi and American officials are beginning to question whether Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has the political muscle and decisiveness to hold Iraq together as it hovers on the edge of a full civil war.

Democrats accuse steele of blending puppies  —  Well not really.  Well as the Hedgehog Report reports … I'll admit, though I'm a Republican I'm not 100% sold on Steele.  His distancing himself from President Bush was extremely ham-handed.  Still these commercials have the aim of painting …

McAuliffe to join Clinton  —  Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has told business associates and Democratic donors that he will chair Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign next year, according to several Democratic sources.

Allen Says He Embraces His Jewish Ancestry  —  Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) said for the first time publicly yesterday that he has Jewish ancestry, a day after responding angrily to an exchange that included questions about his mother's racial sensitivity and whether his family has Jewish roots.

Georgia Law Requiring Voters to Show Photo ID Is Thrown Out  —  Judge Says Some Would Be Disenfranchised; State Plans Appeal  —  A state judge yesterday rejected a Georgia law requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, writing in his decision, "This cannot be."

BYZANTINE BUDAPEST  —  In Hungary over the past 48 hours it's the Nika riots all over again.  —  Sort of.  —  First, political parties in Hungary do not immediately line up into conveniently-intelligible left-wing/right-wing definitions, though some are easily mappable for Americans (the SZDSZ are basically libertarians).

Another fifth anniversary  —  Today is the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush's great speech before a Joint Session of the United States Congress following the attacks of September 11, 2001.  The speech (transcript and links to video) names the enemy and declares the tactics that will be used against it.

What Can I Do To Help?  —  Chris Bowers has a great number-crunching post up on MyDD today that shows the need for some serious GOTV efforts for Democrats for the November election.  We have to turn out our base.  Period.  And we need to do so through the usual — and some new — means of energizing Democratic-leaning voters.

Mubarak's Son Proposes Nuclear Program  —  Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egypt's president, proposed Tuesday that his country pursue nuclear energy, drawing strong applause from the nation's political elite, while raising expectations that Mr. Mubarak is being positioned to replace his father as president.

H.P. Said to Have Studied Infiltrating Newsrooms  —  Hewlett-Packard conducted feasibility studies on planting spies in news bureaus of two major publications as part of an investigation of leaks from its board, an individual briefed on the company's review of the operation said yesterday.

Wrong Turn on Eavesdropping  —  BEFORE WRAPPING up business and sending members home for the fall campaign, both houses of Congress are likely to take up measures to authorize the National Security Agency's program of warrantless surveillance.  The two main bills under consideration would both be disasters …

AIR KISS  —  American Airlines Flight 45—departing Charles de Gaulle at 10:40 A.M., arriving J.F.K. at one each afternoon—is a tourist's delight: timed just right to avoid late checkout, leaving time for one last Kir Royale at Les Deux Magots.  On August 22nd, the coach cabin was packed with vacationing New Yorkers.

WHO WAS THE "EDUCATED PERSIAN?"  —  Since the Papal Brouhaha erupted I have been very interested in identifying the "Educated Persian" with whom Manuel II Palaiologos carried on his famous religious debates.  The answer is fascinating.  —  First, it is important to note …