In Ex-Aide's Testimony, A Spin Through VP's PR  —  Memo to Tim Russert: Dick Cheney thinks he controls you.  —  This delicious morsel about the "Meet the Press" host and the vice president was part of the extensive dish Cathie Martin served up yesterday when the former Cheney communications director took …

McCain says he'll propose benchmarks for Iraq … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. John McCain, a leading advocate of sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, said Thursday he'll try to blunt the impact of proposed Senate resolutions opposing a buildup with a new resolution of his own.

Angry Dispute Erupts Among Iraqi Lawmakers  —  Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's presentation of a new Baghdad security plan to the Iraqi Parliament on Thursday broke down in bitter sectarian recriminations, with Mr. Maliki threatening a Sunni Arab lawmaker with arrest and, in response …

Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq  —  Administration Strategy Stirs Concern Among Some Officials  —  The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across …

Does Anyone Else Detect a Trend?  —  Read through the last couple or three weeks of posts at B5 and Mudville, and one might get the impression that something good is afoot.  Without sounding too optimistic, I'm sure there must be a reason for the progress we are seeing in Iraq, and …

Who Wanted To Eliminate The Federal Minimum Wage?  —  Here's the Republican Senators who voted for the measure killed in the Senate yesterday that would have eliminated the Federal Minimum Wage entirely:  — Alexander (R-TN)  — Allard (R-CO)  — Bennett (R-UT)  — Bond (R-MO)

Rockefeller: Cheney applied 'constant' pressure to stall investigation on flawed Iraq intelligence  —  WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney exerted "constant" pressure on the Republican former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee to stall an investigation into the Bush administration's use …

Pelosi Says She Wasn't Consulted On Iraq  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that President George W. Bush did not consult her before announcing his new strategy for the war in Iraq — a sign that, despite the cozy rhetoric, the relationship between Washington's two powerhouses has already had its share of friction.

Helping Lara Logan  —  Sometimes it's hard to swim in the mainstream.  —  There has been much heated debate over the past few years over media coverage of the Iraq War.  The Bush administration has repeatedly attacked the 'liberal bias' of the mainstream news industry …

Schumer Believes Ordinary People, Not War, Will Become '08 Focus  —  Sen. Charles Schumer, architect of the new Democratic Senate majority, argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the 2008 elections will not center on Iraq.  —  "I think Iraq will not be as strong an issue in the 2008 elections …

Jimmy Carter: Too many Jews on Holocaust council  —  Former president also rejected Christian historian because name sounded 'too Jewish'  —  TEL AVIV - Former President Jimmy Carter once complained there were "too many Jews" on the government's Holocaust Memorial Council, Monroe Freedman …

Federal Agency Cleans Up Its Own Wikipedia Entry  —  Wikipedia has come of age.  The online user-created encyclopedia is now influential enough that the federal government feels the need to doctor it up.  —  In late August, someone with an IP address that originated from the National Institutes …

Perverted Justice  —  A Georgia Tragedy  —  America's history is littered with instances when laws have been misused — their intended purposes subverted and lives destroyed.  However, no case in recent memory can compare to the tragedy of Genarlow Wilson, a promising Georgia high schooler sentenced …

NPR's Rehm: Delayed Iraq NIE Will Undermine Case For Escalation  —  Six months ago, Harper's Ken Silverstein reported that "in spite of pressure from CIA analysts, intelligence czar John Negroponte was blocking a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq."

Outrage Over Texas College MLK Day Party  —  Event featured Aunt Jemima, gang apparel, fried chicken, malt liquor  —  Students at a Texas college threw a Martin Luther King Jr. Day party that featured attendees wearing gang apparel and Afro wigs, carrying malt liquor, handguns, and fried chicken …