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.

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.

Tempting Fat  —  THE COMING CRACKDOWN ON TRANS FATS.  —  Put your hands in the air, and step away from the cookie.  —  That's the message from New York City, where the health department has just ordered the city's 25,000 restaurants to purge nearly all trans fats from their menus.

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.

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.

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.

Full text of Blair's multiculturalism speech  —  We should begin by celebrating something.  When we won the Olympic Bid to host the 2012 Games, we presented a compelling, modern vision of Britain: a country at ease with different races, religions and cultures.

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.

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.) …

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.

Jeane Kirkpatrick  —  Her blunt style and strong defense of liberty will be missed.  —  Jeane Kirkpatrick, who died yesterday at 80, was that rare thing—a public intellectual and a public figure.  She excelled at both.  —  Ms. Kirkpatrick is known to the public at large because Ronald Reagan …

Chickenus Dovus Asniniensis  —  The anti-war movement's big moment has arrived.  The pressure for cut-and-walk is on.  The moment of defeat is at hand!  —  Back when the war started, there were some highly principled peaceniks who decided to go to Iraq to shield the innocent Iraqi people …

Uploading American Politics  —  Technology won the 2006 elections for the Democrats.  No, not electronic voting machines, but the power of the Internet, fueled by innovative applications that let citizens create and publish their own content.  The Internet not only changed the balance …

4 -year-old Accused of Improperly Touching Teacher  —  BELLMEAD- A four-year-old hugged his teachers aide and was put into in-school suspension, according to the father.  But La Vega school administrators have a different story.  —  Damarcus Blackwell's four-year-old son was lining …