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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

'World News Tonight' Kicks off Global Warming Series as Record Cold Grips Nation  —  This is really hysterical, and requires all sharp objects, food and drinking vessels to be properly stowed before proceeding.  —  On Saturday evening, ABC's "World News Tonight" kicked off its series …

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.

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 …

State GOP official pushed vote fraud issue  —  The mystery is solved.  —  For weeks, it was unclear who whined to the White House last year that not enough voter fraud cases were being prosecuted in Milwaukee.  —  Now we know.  —  The state Republican Party went straight to the top …

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 …

McCain: It's 'Fun' When I 'Misspeak' About Progress In Iraq  —  In a recent TV interview, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticized CNN's Wolf Blitzer, saying he didn't know what was going on in Iraq.  As proof of progress, McCain claimed, "General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee."

Johnny Hart, RIP  —  Comic strips used to be one of my passions.  I learned to read from Peanuts strips and books, and ever since, my subscriptions to the newspapers in the various places I have lived had as much to do with the comics section as the op-ed pages and news articles.