Gates Coaxes Iraq on Political Front  —  Defense Secretary, in Baghdad, Reiterates That U.S. Street Patrols Aren't Indefinite  —  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, unsatisfied with the pace of political reconciliation in Iraq, laid down an implicit deadline Friday by urging Iraqi leaders …

Limbaugh: Conservatives Should 'Circle The Wagons' Around 'Idiot,' 'Weak Attorney General'  —  On his radio show Friday, Rush Limbaugh encouraged conservatives to "circle the wagons" around Alberto Gonzales, recycling his argument that winning elections is more important than governing.

Rutgers team skips Clinton meeting  —  NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton finally dropped by Rutgers to meet with the school's women's basketball coach — but the players themselves skipped the half-hour meeting, citing their studies and Imus fatigue.

Deliver us from evil  —  According to the AP.  Iraqi insurgents are now fighting each other, as "moderate" Sunni terrorists tangle with "extremist" al-Qaeda whose brand of Islam is so radical that it prohibits placing cucumbers beside tomatoes because these vegetables have different genders.

Lieberman Scolds Reid For 'War Lost' Remark  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman rebuked Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on Friday, saying he strongly disagreed with Reid's assessment that the Iraq war is "lost."  —  "This is exactly the wrong time to question our strategy in Iraq …

Land-Swap Plan Causes Trouble For Congressman  —  Mr. Renzi Offers Field  —  To Mining Companies;  —  Grand Jury Is Active  —  SUPERIOR, Ariz. — As they dig for nickel, copper and other commodities in the far corners of the earth, the world's largest mining companies …

The Saturday Cartoons  —  All cartoons are posted with the artists' express permission to BobGeiger.com.  Please visit the following sites to see more work from these fine cartoonists:  —  Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle  —  Tony Auth, The Philadelphia Inquirer  —  Justin Bilicki, City Pulse

Jihadist video shows boy beheading man  —  KILI FAQIRAN, Pakistan - The boy with the knife looks barely 12.  In a high-pitched voice, he denounces the bound, blindfolded man before him as an American spy.  Then he hacks off the captive's head to cries of "God is great!" and hoists it in triumph by the hair.

To Call Maureen Dowd Catty Would Be An Insult To Cats  —  We are currently suffering through the last two years of a President who is manifestly unqualified for the job, and has no discernible interest in most of the issues that affect ordinary Americans.  Thank heavens, then …

Iraqi doctor who disputes official death tolls is denied visa to visit UW  —  An Iraqi doctor who made international headlines after stating that civilian deaths in the Iraq war far exceeded officially reported numbers is not being allowed to travel to North America to meet other academics.

Blue America: This Year, We Will Put A Doctor In the House — Victoria Wulsin  —  [FDL is so pleased to welcome Victoria Wulsin back for a chat.  Please stop by in the comments and give her a big FDL welcome, but be polite and stay on topic.  Any off-topic conversations should be taken to the prior thread.

Weapons to go offstage  —  Trachtenberg cites Virginia Tech attack  —  In the wake of Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech in which a student killed 32 people, Dean of Student Affairs Betty Trachtenberg has limited the use of stage weapons in theatrical productions.

Gunman knew engineer he killed at NASA, police say … HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) — A NASA engineer Friday shot and killed another engineer and then turned the gun on himself at the Johnson Space Center, police and NASA officials said.  —  The shootings occurred in a single office in Building 44 on the sprawling campus.

Gun-free zones are recipe for disaster  —  Editor's note: Rock guitarist Ted Nugent has sold more than 30 million albums.  He's also a gun rights activist and serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association.  His program, "Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild," can be seen on the Outdoor Channel.