Iraqi Premier Announces Baghdad Security Plan  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Saturday that Iraqi forces would launch a new effort — with U.S. troops in a supporting role — to wrest control of Baghdad's neighborhoods from militias and other sectarian killers.

HALF THE STORY: Don Surber notes, quoting a correspondent: … Well, that's half the numbers.  Filling in the other half (which, to Surber's credit, is linked from his post), we see that Bush is at 45% job approval and 54% disapproval, while Pelosi is at 43% favorable and 39% unfavorable.

E&P Nonsense on Jamil Hussein  —  E&P has a couple of pieces about Jamil Hussein.  One chronicles Kathleen Carroll's response as the Winning Party in this Vicious and Irresponsible Attack on the AP's Credibility: … Let me explain it to you Ms. Carroll.  It would be because there are many reasons to doubt the story.

Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch … WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Friday it would apologize to the families of about 275 officers killed or wounded in action who were mistakenly sent letters urging them to return to active duty.  —  The letters were sent a few days after Christmas …

House Tightens Disclosure Rules for Pet Projects  —  The House voted on Friday to pull the shadowy tradition of Congressional earmarking into the daylight, requiring lawmakers to attach their names to the pet items they slip into spending or tax bills and certify that they have no financial interest in the provisions.

Mr. Ford Gets the Last Laugh  —  IN recent days, I've been bombarded by requests to comment on my relationship with President Gerald Ford.  Until now, I've tried to say nothing — any remarks from me during the Ford family's private time of grief would have been inappropriate.

Death in Haditha  —  Eyewitness Accounts in Report Indicate Marines Gunned Down Unarmed Iraqis in the Aftermath of a Roadside Bombing in 2005  —  U.S. Marines gunned down five unarmed Iraqis who stumbled onto the scene of a 2005 roadside bombing in Haditha, Iraq, according to eyewitness accounts …

A Winnable War  —  The argument against the orthodox history of Vietnam.  —  Triumph Forsaken  —  The Vietnam War, 1954-1965  —  by Mark Moyar  —  Cambridge, 542 pp., $32  —  In the late summer of 1963, President John Kennedy dispatched two observers to South Vietnam.

Late Nite FDL: Spocko vs. The Rat  —  Evenin', fellow firedogs!  Tonight I'm going to attempt to get us all up to speed about a situation that I suspect we're going to be hearing a lot about in the near future.  This story was brought to my attention by ¡El Gato Negro!.  —  Where to begin?

E&P Survey Finds That, At Critical Point, Editorials Offer Little Commentary on Troop Escalation in Iraq  —  NEW YORK As a critical turning point in America's role in the nearly four-year-old Iraq war nears, the editorial pages of the largest U.S. newspapers have been surprisingly - even …

A Heckuva Claim  —  PRESIDENT BUSH wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday that "it is also a fact that our tax cuts have fueled robust economic growth and record revenues."  The claim about fueling record revenue is flat wrong, and it is shocking that the president should persist in making such errors.

Blue America: From the Swamps Of Florida Politics, Please Welcome a True Believer, David Lutrin  —  David Lutrin has been a good friend to Blue America and has always been available and candid with us.  He kept in great contact with us when he was running for Congress in FL-16 last summer …