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.

Battling With Sadr for Iraqi Soldiers' Hearts  —  BAGHDAD — The Iraqi soldiers broke into chants to commemorate the 86th anniversary of the creation of their army.  —  "Muhammad, Haider, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn!" shouted a group of dancing soldiers, bellowing the names of the prophet …

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.

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 …

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?

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.

"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.

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.

A Skeptic's Case For the Surge  —  President Bush's plan for a surge of American troops in Iraq has run into a brick wall of congressional opposition.  Critics rightly argue that it may well be too little, way too late.  But for a skeptical Congress and nation, it is still the right thing to try …

Bush set for climate change U-turn  —  Downing Street says that belated US recognition of global warming could lead to a post-Kyoto agreement on curbing emissions  —  Gaby Hinsliff, Juliette Jowit and Paul Harris  —  George Bush is preparing to make a historic shift in his position …

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 …

Rice says U.S. won't pull plug on Iraq  —  JERUSALEM - Americans' skepticism about Iraq will not change until they see progress, but the U.S. will not "pull the plug" on the war, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.  —  Rice, at the start of a Mideast trip, would not detail any backup strategy …

On Iraq, U.S. Turns to Onetime Dissenters  —  Timothy M. Carney went to Baghdad in April 2003 to run Iraq's Ministry of Industry and Minerals.  Unlike many of his compatriots in the Green Zone, the rangy, retired American ambassador wasn't fazed by chaos.  He'd been in Saigon during the Tet Offensive …

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 …