UPDATE: Maureen Dowd Column Incites Hillary-Obama War of Words  —  NEW YORK Maureen Dowd's column in The New York Times today, in which she quoted former Bill Clinton supporter David Geffen offering a few caustic comments, has incited a strong Hillary Clinton campaign attack on Geffen …

Militants Using Chemical Bombs in Iraq  —  For the third time in a month, insurgents deployed a new and deadly tactic against Iraqi civilians today: A chemical bomb combining explosives with poisonous chlorine gas.  —  A pickup truck carrying canisters of the gas, which burns the skin …

Blair to Draw Down British Troops  —  Tony Blair is taking 1600 troops out of Basra in the next few months and will aim to be down to only 3,000 or so (from 7,100 now) by the end of the year.  Denmark is also going home.  —  This is a rout, there should be no mistake.

Arguing from ignorance  —  Paul Campos has beclowned himself.  He did it in the usual way, by arguing loudly about things he does not understand.  —  Campos chose to devote an entire column ("The right's Ward Churchill," Feb. 20) to a blog entry of mine from last week …

Petition for a Fair Presidential Debate  —  Target: Nevada State Democratic Party Sponsor: Fair Forum … The Nevada State Democratic Party has partnered with Fox News to host the first-ever 2008 Democratic presidential debate on August 14.  —  For an example of how disrespectful …

WHY I VOTED FOR CAROL SHEA-PORTER THIS MORNING  —  Today Russ Feingold started up his Pick A Progressive Patriot Campaign again.  It's a great idea and helps grassroots Democrats get acquainted with our representatives.  The winner will get $5,000 from Russ' PAC.

February 21, 2007 - Giuliani Tops Clinton In 2008 Presidential Race, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Republican Runs Strong In Red, Blue And Purple States  —  Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani leads Sen. Hillary Clinton 48 - 43 percent among American voters …

Iraq's Newest Export: Refugees  —  1.6 million Iraqis have been displaced within the country.  As many as 1.8 million have left Iraq, with 3,000 fleeing daily.  Saudi Arabia is building a 560-mile border fence to keep them out.  As many as 700,000 Iraqi refugees now live in Jordan.

Where Tim Hardaway Was Right  —  Recent comments by retired basketball star Tim ("I hate gay people") Hardaway did serious damage to his image and career but also unwittingly raised serious cultural issues about sexuality and gender.  —  Hardaway appropriately apologized for his harsh remarks …

Liveblogging the Carson City AFSCME Forum  —  In the interest of as clear disclosure as possible, my trip to Nevada has been sponsored by AFSCME.  —  I'm now in the Carson City Community Center for the first Democratic presidential forum ahead of the Nevada caucuses.

Edwards: Israel NOT a Threat to World Peace  —  (02/21/07 — WASHINGTON, DC) - John Edwards' presidential campaign wants to make it clear that he doesn't consider Israel a threat to world peace.  —  Also on abc11tv.com:  —  A spokesman for the 2008 Democratic candidate issued …

Worship of Incumbency  —  Joe Klein's just trolling at this point, so no linky for him, but I've been long fascinated by the elite consensus that there's something distasteful about running primary challengers against incumbents.  Certainly primary challenges can be strategically stupid …

Tougher Tactics Deter Migrants at U.S. Border  —  SAN LUIS RÍO COLORADO, Mexico — For 10 years, Eduardo Valenzuela has been crossing the border illegally near Yuma, Ariz., trekking over desert scrub and hopping a freight train to get back to his job with a construction company in Phoenix.