al-Sadr calls for attacks on U.S. troops  —  BAGHDAD - The renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqi forces to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate their attacks on American troops rather than Iraqis, according to a statement issued Sunday.

Speaker Pelosi's adventure in Damascus has cost her a lot of political capital  —  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria was the liveliest topic inside the Beltway last week.  Three points — one political, one constitutional and one relative to Mrs. Pelosi's job skills — are pertinent.

Hero's tale is 'too positive' for the BBC  —  Amid the deaths and the grim daily struggle bravely borne by Britain's forces in southern Iraq, one tale of heroism stands out.  —  Private Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act …

Gonzales Crams for a Senate Grilling  —  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee—a session widely seen as a crucial test as to whether he will survive the U.S. attorney mess.

Another Enemy of the People?  —  I am posting the below with the permission of Professor Walter F. Murphy, emeritus of Princeton University.  For those who do not know, Professor Murphy is easily the most distinguished scholar of public law in political science.

Levin: Senate Won't Withhold Iraq Funds  —  Senate Will Not Stop Paying for Iraq War, Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin Says  —  The Senate will not stop paying for the Iraq war nor relent from insisting that President Bush keep pressing the Baghdad government for a negotiated end to the violence …

Identity, Progressivism, and American Patriotism  —  Ever since I started working full-time in politics about three or four years ago, I noticed something about myself that had not always been clear when I was a younger man: I really, really love America.  I don't just mean this is the sense …

Scandal puts spotlight on Christian law school  —  Grads influential in Justice Dept.  —  VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The title of the course was Constitutional Law, but the subject was sin.  Before any casebooks were opened, a student led his classmates in a 10-minute devotional talk …

MTP Transcript for April 8, 2007  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Easter Sunday: The president and congressional Democrats square off on Iraq.  —  The attorney general prepares to testify under oath about the eight dismissed U.S. attorneys.  —  And the presidential candidates raise big money for a very long campaign.

April 8: Democrats back away from Iraq troops withdrawal demand  —  Also on the Sunday shows: Gingrich says it's best for Gonzales to Go; Huckabee says he's the man to take on Clinton; Thompson lists Iraq principles  —  For the second straight weekend, top Senate Democrats shrunk further away …

Iraqi insurgents recruit among U.S.-held detainees  —  Former inmates say radicals operate with impunity in prison camps.  —  BAGHDAD — U.S.-run detention camps in Iraq have become a breeding ground for extremists where Islamic militants recruit and train supporters, and use violence …