Democrats' New Intelligence Chairman Needs a Crash Course on al Qaeda  —  Forty years ago, Sgt. Silvestre Reyes was a helicopter crew chief flying dangerous combat missions in South Vietnam from the top of a soaring rocky outcrop near the sea called Marble Mountain.

Democrats frustrated by Bush's reaction to Iraq report  —  WASHINGTON - Top Democrats in Congress left a White House meeting with President Bush on Friday frustrated over what they perceived as his reluctance to embrace major recommendations from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Democratic Leadership Knew About Foley E-mails  —  Rhonda Schwartz Reports:  —  The House Ethics Committee Report includes new information that top Democrats were also aware in 2005 of Mark Foley's inappropriate e-mails to congressional pages at about the same time as outgoing Speaker Dennis Hastert's office was informed.

Iraqis Near Deal on Distribution of Oil Revenues by Population  —  Iraqi officials are near agreement on a national oil law that would give the central government the power to distribute current and future oil revenues to the provinces or regions, based on their population, Iraqi and American officials say.

Romney's Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire  —  Gov. Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts Republican who has built a presidential campaign on a broad appeal for conservative support, is drawing sharply increased criticism from conservative activists for his advocacy of gay rights in a 1994 letter.

Senators to Gather in Closed Meeting  —  Reid Plan Defended as Effort to 'Establish a Dialogue,' but Some See a Bad Precedent  —  Senate Democrats, who campaigned on a pledge of more openness in government, will kick off the 110th Congress with a closed meeting of all 100 senators in the Capitol.

Iraqis Line Up to Put Hussein in the Noose  —  One of the most coveted jobs in Iraq does not yet exist: the executioner for Saddam Hussein.  The death sentence against Mr. Hussein is still under review by an appeals court, but hundreds of people have already started lobbying the prime minister's office for the position.

Semi-random notes while listening to Jelly Roll Morton and making excuses for not having posted for a couple of days:  —  Actually, I've been busy with a translation and so have had little desire to do any more typing.  One thing running this blog taught me how to do is touch-type, and I'm actually pretty fast now.

Majority Fact of the Day  —  SENATOR INHOFE ANNOUNCES PUBLIC RELEASE OF "SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO DEBUNKING GLOBAL WARMING"  —  Contact: Marc Morano (Marc_Morano@epw.senate.gov ), Matt Dempsey (Matthew_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov )  —  Washington D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) …

A Pre-History of Violence  —  MEL GIBSON'S BLOODY, BEWILDERING APOCALYPTO.  —  Here is a partial list of the indignities to which the human body is subjected in Mel Gibson's Mayan epic Apocalypto (Buena Vista): being impaled on a trap made of animal bones.  Being forced to ingest tapir testicles.

Neoconservatives — exposed, scorned, but still in control  —  The one positive aspect of the Baker-Hamilton report is that the reactions it is provoking — both positive and viciously negative — have shed as bright a light as one could hope for on our current predicament.

How George W. Bush has ruined the family franchise.  —  On the eve of a report that repudiates his son's leadership, former president George H.W. Bush broke down crying when he recalled how his other son, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, lost an election a dozen years ago and then came back to serve two successful terms.

China, Shy Giant, Shows Signs of Shedding Its False Modesty  —  China's Communist Party has a new agenda: it is encouraging people to discuss what it means to be a major world power and has largely stopped denying that China intends to become one soon.  —  In the past several weeks China …

'Restoration' after the fall  —  Fellow evangelicals seek to help the Rev. Ted Haggard address the behaviors that snared him in a scandal.  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — The Rev. Ted Haggard this week formally begins his long journey toward recovery from a drugs-and-gay-sex scandal that forced …

Rumsfeld Discusses Successes, Failures  —  Defense Secretary Says Abu Ghraib Was a Low Point  —  Departing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday that his most difficult moment on the job was when he learned of the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Hey, Rosie O'Donnell: Did you teach your kids to speak "ching chong," too?  —  Typical Hollywood liberal: She's the first and loudest to accuse others of bigotry—pausing only to take a breath before practicing it herself.  Click to watch the video of Rosie O'Donnell on The View …