Army chief declares war on Blair: 'We must quit Iraq soon'  —  The head of the Army is calling for British troops to withdraw from Iraq "soon" or risk catastophic consequences for both Iraq and British society.  —  In a devastating broadside at Tony Blair's foreign policy …

Russia, China Oppose N. Korea Sanctions  —  UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Russia and China on Thursday opposed tough sanctions the U.S. wants to impose against North Korea this week for its claimed nuclear test, saying they want more time to work out a more moderate response to Pyongyang's nuclear brinkmanship.

A "Deep Blue Sea" in the 2006 Midterms?  —  Small Craft Advisory becomes Gale Warning for GOP  —  Just a few weeks ago, President Bush and the GOP appeared to be staging a remarkable comeback that would have enabled the Republicans to retain their congressional majorities.

The Coming Gay Republican Purge  —  Immediately after the Mark Foley scandal broke, some anti-Republican gay-rights activists composed a memo containing the names of closeted gay Republican Congressional staffers and sent it to leading Christian-right advocacy groups.

Mark Warner Bows Out  —  Mark Warner announced this morning that he's not running for president.  As Prince Metternich asked when informed that the Russian ambassador had suddenly dropped dead, "What can have been his motive?"  I suppose it was a calculation that he was just not going to overtake Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A Newspaper Investigates Its Future  —  Newspapers are all looking for ways to gain readers, and many have hired consultants to help them.  In an unusual twist, The Los Angeles Times is looking to chart its future by using its own reporters and editors, who rank among the best investigators in the business.

Senate Report: Five Nonprofit Groups Sold Clout to Abramoff  —  Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued today.

Allen's Advisers Try Mute-Button Strategy  —  RICHMOND — Weeks after George Allen 's mouth got him into serious trouble, the senator's advisers have apparently decided that he should shut up.  —  At least when it comes to talking directly to the media, that is.

Schoolgirl arrested for refusing to study with non-English pupils  —  A teenage schoolgirl was arrested by police for racism after refusing to sit with a group of Asian students because some of them did not speak English.  —  Codie Stott's family claim she was forced to spend three …

Libertarian Democrats  —  I thought I might comment a bit on Markos' "libertarian democrats" concept since, technically, abstract political theory is actually what I know about.  But let me start off with a little political analysis.  Insofar as we're talking about attracting libertarian voters …

Jayson Blair Writes New Joe Lieberman Ad [15]  —  Jayson Blair Writes New Joe Lieberman Ad  —  Apparently Joe Lieberman's creepy infatuation with Ned's wife has come to pass.  The Senator leapt into a new gutter today, lying about Ned's entrepreneurial success in his latest attack ad.