WaPo math: Troops=mercenaries  —  Here's Washington Post national security reporter/blogger William Arkin's screed against NBC's report, which quoted troops who want Americans to support their mission.  An excerpt from Arkin's unhinged diatribe: … Is he auditioning for a Daily Kos diarist spot?

THE PERIL OF NEWSPAPER BLOGS...  ...is that a reporter might say what he actually thinks before an editor catches up with him and makes him stop.  A case in point: William Arkin writes on "national and homeland security" for the Washington Post.  Yesterday morning, in his blog titled Early Warning …

Columnist Molly Ivins dies  —  AUSTIN — Molly Ivins, whose biting columns mixed liberal populism with an irreverent Texas wit, died at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at her home in Austin after an up-and-down battle with breast cancer she had waged for seven years.  She was 62.

Biden Calls Obama To Clarify  —  Joe Biden called Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to clarify his "clean" comment to the New York Observer, Biden told reporters in a conference call this afternoon.  Biden said Obama told him: "You don't have to explain anything to me.  I know exactly what you meant."

Bullying Iran  —  Given America's bitter experience in Iraq, one would think that President Bush could finally figure out that threats and brute force aren't a substitute for a reasoned strategy.  But Mr. Bush is at it again, this time trying to bully Iran into stopping its meddling inside Iraq.

Senate foes of troop buildup join forces  —  WASHINGTON - Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, leading separate efforts to put Congress on record against President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq joined forces Wednesday, agreeing on a nonbinding resolution that would oppose the plan and potentially embarrass the White House.