Edwards' Bloggers Regret Critical Posts  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he was personally offended by the provocative messages two of his campaign bloggers wrote criticizing the Catholic church, but he's not firing them.

About My Personal Blog  —  My writings on my personal blog Pandagon on the issue of religion are generally satirical in nature and always intended strictly as a criticism of public policies and politics.  My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs …

Okay, so maybe a few more words on this whole Marcotte dustup.  Because Oprah tells me I need closure, and because, well, it dovetails nicely with some of my site themes (UPDATED)  —  Via Bumperstickerist, here is word from the Edwards campaign, which has decided to keep Marcotte and McEwan onboard the Edwards Express:

Sign Up  —  The Edwards campaign is standing by their bloggers as they came under assault by the rightwing noise machine and good for them.  —  But this is going to be the pattern unless the news media recognises that they have a substantial number of readers who will not tolerate a reprise …

Edwards Blogger Flap Discomforts Religious Left  —  As the flap over alleged anti-Catholic writings by two John Edwards campaign bloggers devolves into a shouting match between conservative religious voices and liberal bloggers, some members of the "religious left" say they feel - again - shoved to the margins of the Democratic Party.

Patriarchy thwarted!  Edwards to retain Marcotte, McEwan  —  He doesn't explicitly say so, but if they're on their way out, why bother with this?  —  Not since the Trump/Miss USA press conference have I felt so moved by redemption: … It wasn't their intention to malign anyone's faith?

End of The Standoff and Pointing Our Guns At The Right  —  We all know the scene from the end of Reservoir Dogs.  The main chararcters are holed up in a dingy warehouse, half-dead with guns pointed at each other.  Each man is set to do fatal violence to the other and as the scene develops …

Russert on the Hot Seat in Libby Trial  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — NBC's Tim Russert got the sort of "Meet the Press" interrogation he usually gives to his guests as attorneys Thursday flashed excerpts of his previous statements on a video monitor and asked him to explain inconsistencies.

The Trouble With Mary  —  (Graphics luv to commenter Andrea of the Huffington Post who sent this to Arianna.  Seemed so appropriate for today, somehow.)  —  It's just been one of those weeks for Mary Matalin, with all [Cheney's] her own words coming home to roost.