Military Expands Domestic Surveillance  —  The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering.

In hindsight, Sunni jihadis not sure killing Shiites was such a good idea; Update: Mahdi Army lowers its profile  —  They were hugely outnumbered, but they made a deal with the devil and now the bill's come due. … That conversation happened in October; Abu Omar has long since disappeared …

Boxer comments to Rice draw fire from the right  —  Senator says she won't apologize for 'strong message'  —  Was Sen. Barbara Boxer's heated confrontation this week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a case of "vicious" feminine politics — as some critics have suggested — or merely the politics of frank talk in tough times?

Video: Barney Frank throws a fit ... on the House floor  —  The Republican arguing with power-hungry Barney Frank is Patrick McHenry.  McHenry rose to offer an amendment that would exempt American Samoa from the stem-cell bill — a clear dig at the fact that Samoa, which is home to StarKist factories …

"I'm shocked.  The lawyers who are doing the representation should be shocked.  The American people should be shocked."  —  (CBS/AP) The Pentagon on Saturday disavowed a senior official's remarks suggesting companies boycott law firms that represent detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Bush Lashes Out at Opponents on Iraq Plan  —  President Bush fought back at lawmakers opposing his new plan for Iraq today, charging that simply being against the strategy without suggesting alternatives was "irresponsible."  He challenged them to come up with a better plan.

Deletions in Army Manual Raise Wiretapping Concerns  —  Deep into an updated Army manual, the deletion of 10 words has left some national security experts wondering whether government lawyers are again asserting the executive branch's right to wiretap Americans without a court warrant.

Rod Dreher: "Hadn't the hippies tried to tell my generation this"?  —  (updated below)  —  Rod Dreher is as conservative as it gets — a contributor to National Review and the Corner, a current columnist for The Dallas Morning News, a self-described "practicing Christian and political conservative."

Steve Kagen: My Favorite New Member  —  I saw this link on Drudge.  Yes, I actually look at that once a day.  Maybe twice.  —  http://www.valleyscene.com/coverstory.h tml  —  Before the midterm election, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Steve Kagen at a fundraiser for his campaign.

Criticism over golly exhibition  —  An exhibition of golly badges at a Hampshire museum has been criticised.  —  The private collection on display in Westbury Manor Museum in Fareham has been criticised for its perceived racist connotations.  —  Dr John Molyneux, from the University of Portsmouth …

ERITREA SIDES WITH AL-QAEDA IN SOMALIA  —  A Pajamas Media Exclusive by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross.  —  Eritrea has deployed some two thousand troops to fight alongside Somalia's al-Qaeda linked Islamic Courts Union, Pajamas Media has learned.  —  Thus, Ethiopia and the United States …

Democrats may push to shutter war prisons  —  Party leaders say they'll cut funding  —  WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders yesterday outlined plans to try to force the Bush administration to close the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba …

House GOP Shows Its Fractiousness In the Minority  —  House Republican leaders, who confidently predicted they would drive a wedge through the new Democratic majority, have found their own party splintering, with Republican lawmakers siding with Democrats in droves on the House's opening legislative blitz.