Announcement  —  I was hired by the Edwards campaign for the skills and talents I bring to the table, and my willingness to work hard for what's right.  Unfortunately, Bill Donohue and his calvacade of right wing shills don't respect that a mere woman like me could be hired for my skills …

In Shift, Accord on North Korea Seems to Be Set  —  The United States and four other nations reached a tentative agreement to provide North Korea with roughly $400 million in fuel oil and aid, in return for the North's starting to disable its nuclear facilities and allowing nuclear inspectors …

Pace Demurs on Accusation of Iran  —  General Says He Knows Nothing Tying Leaders to Arms in Iraq  —  Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday that he has no information indicating Iran's government is directing the supply of lethal weapons to Shiite insurgent groups in Iraq.

Obama: Soldier deaths = "Wasted" lives  —  Sen. Barack Obama's nutroots are showing.  RedStateLady has the video of Obama arguing that each and every member of the military who volunteered to serve and died in Iraq wasted his/her life:  —  Transcript: … The audience roared with cheers and applause.

Libby Trial: What Scooter Didn't Do  —  Scooter Libby didn't tell Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus that former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife worked at the CIA.  Libby didn't tell Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward that she was employed at the CIA.

Breaking: Menendez Will Co-Sponsor Bill Banning Torture, Restoring Habeas Corpus  —  I rarely use "breaking" in titles but I think this deserves it.  After all the uproar over Senator Menendez's vote a few months ago for the unconstitutional Military Commissions Act which eliminated habeas corpus …

Purported al Qaeda message: Unite with Taliban … (CNN) — In a message released Monday, al Qaeda's No. 2 leader called on Muslims to unite under Taliban leader Mullah Omar, stop trying to form secular governments and instead follow strict Islamic Sharia law.

Federal surplus widens to $38.2 billion in Jan.  —  WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. federal budget surplus widened by 82% in January to $38.2 billion from $21 billion a year earlier, the Treasury Department reported Monday.  —  The surplus is slightly below the Congressional Budget Office estimate of about $40 billion.