Hillary Clinton Says She Wouldn't Have Voted For Iraq War  —  ABC News' David Chalian Reports: As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to assess a possible presidential candidacy and the contours of a Democratic nomination fight, she has taken another step away from her 2002 vote authorizing President Bush …

Ahmadinejad in electoral setback  —  The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, of Iran faced electoral embarrassment today after the apparent failure of his supporters to win control of key local councils and block the political comeback of his most powerful opponent.

The March to Mecca  —  HELLO EVERYONE.  I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I've been very busy working on my book and television and web projects.  However, after receiving this press release from the Huffington Post, I had no choice but to return.

Talk in Class Turns to God, Setting Off Public Debate on Rights  —  KEARNY, N.J. — Before David Paszkiewicz got to teach his accelerated 11th-grade history class about the United States Constitution this fall, he was accused of violating it.  —  Shortly after school began in September …

Desperation in the White House  —  The power brokers in Washington carefully arranged fig leaves and tasteful screens to cover the emperor's nakedness while he was busy pretending to listen hard to everyone with an opinion about Iraq while hearing nothing.  —  Sometime early in the new year …

A War That Abhors a Vacuum  —  THE niceties are up for debate: phased or partial withdrawal from Iraq would entail pulling troops back to their bases across the country, or leapfrogging backward to the nearest international border, or redeploying to bases in nearby countries.

American Apparel to Be Sold to Investment Firm  —  American Apparel, the casual clothing chain whose socially-conscious manufacturing, sexually-charged advertising and snug-fitting T-shirts have generated a cult-like following, will be sold to a little-known investment firm for $382.5 million, according to people briefed on the matter.

Video: "Open Season"; Update: Video banned from honors at YouTube?  —  Anti-jihad nu metal.  I never thought I'd see the day.  —  The band is Stuck Mojo from Atlanta.  The lyrics are here; the guitarist posted some thoughts about the song on his fan site.  You will recognize, and appreciate, the sentiments.

The Bar Fight Primary  —  When Ronald Reagan announced his Presidential run in 1980, he did it in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the town where three Civil Rights workers were killed.  He faced Jimmy Carter in the general, a conservative white evangelical who had built up the military budget …

TEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR 17-YEAR-OLD WHO HAD CONSENSUAL ORAL SEX WITH 15-YEAR-OLD: The Georgia Supreme Court just upheld this.  The sentence strikes me as unduly harsh even on its own terms, but it seems especially unjustifiable given that:  —  The age of consent in Georgia is 16.

These Are Not The Droids You Are Looking For...  [Update: Malkin is retracting her post..murkier and murkier]  —  OK, folks, this is what open source is about - you put things out there and the rest of the world improves on them - so here it goes.  I think we discovered something, but it turns out probably not to have been useful.

Democrats leave Bono disappointed  —  Anti-poverty activist gets no promise of funds  —  Meetings in Washington last Thursday between rock star Bono and Democrats, including Senate leader Harry Reid of Nevada, yielded a nice photo-op but not much else, according to Bono.

MSNBC's Olbermann Seeks Big Raise  —  Olbermann and MSNBC are knocking heads over a new contract.  The controversial host of Countdown With Keith Olbermann is said to be seeking "north of $4 million" a year, according to an industry source, to re-up on his pact that comes due in April.

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MR. SNOW: Hello, welcome.  I'm ready for questions.  —  Q Now that you've had a chance to hear more about the NSC meeting today, is there anything you can share with us?  —  MR. SNOW: It's just a situational briefing.

Blood and Money  —  In what might be called the mother of all surprises, Iraq's economy is growing strong, even booming in places.  —  Newsweek International  —  It may sound unreal, given the daily images of carnage and chaos.  But for a certain plucky breed of businessmen, there's good money to be made in Iraq.

You're A Mean One...  (The Grinch and Elliott Abrams.  Separated at birth?)  —  ***HEADS UP: Per angie in the comments, Flynt Leverett will be on C-Span1 discussing these issues [any time now] [at 12:45 pm ET per C-Span] right this minute, at 12:40 pm ET.  Juan Cole has a call to action …

Would Legal Marijuana Mean an Excise Tax Bonanza?  —  Today I was supposed to appear on KPCC, an NPR afiliate in Los Angeles, to discuss Jon Gettman's report on marijuana production in the U.S. (mentioned by Dave Weigel earlier today).  In preparation, I started collecting numbers on the fiscal …

Beam Me Up, Mr. (Ex-) Speaker!  —  Say what you will about Newt Gingrich, but he has that rare political gift: he sounds captivating and forceful even while talking complete dreck.  I witnessed that up close a couple of years ago when I crashed a meeting of conservative activists …