Bush reaffirms rejecting timetable  —  Reid spoke a few hours after Bush said he will reject any legislation along the lines of what Democrats will pass.  "I will strongly reject an artificial timetable (for) withdrawal and/or Washington politicians trying to tell those who wear the uniform how to do their job," the president said.

JESUS WANTS US TO EXPLOIT THIS TRAGEDY  —  Well, it's a free country, so the Reverend Donald Wilmon's American Family Association has the inalienable right to post "The Day They Kicked God Out of the Schools," a video making those old familiar arguments — that school shootings are the fault …

Saving the Earth: The Biodiesel Bus Blog  —  Singer Sheryl Crow and environmentalist Laurie David have been traveling across America on a two-week Stop Global Warming College Tour, which winds up today at George Washington University.  Crow and David (co-producer of the documentary …

The GOP: Waiting for Him to Walk  —  The President's Old Friend: The A.G.'s poor performance at the hearings cost him support on the Hill  —  The pressure on Alberto Gonzales to resign intensified last week following his daylong grilling before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Ever-Larger Media Matt  —  Okay.  The time has come to let you all in on some changes forthcoming soon in my life and on this blog.  Most notably, I'm leaving my job at The American Prospect to take a position at The Atlantic Monthly where my primary responsibility is going to be . . . producing this blog.

Debates Losing a Bit of Luster in a Big Field  —  The last time Jonathan Prince checked, there were nearly 40 requests for John Edwards, the Democratic presidential candidate for whom he works, to appear at a candidate debate or forum.  —  They came from state Democratic parties and county Democratic committees.

'Gated Communities' For the War-Ravaged  —  U.S. Tries High Walls and High Tech To Bring Safety to Parts of Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD — The U.S. military is walling off at least 10 of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods and using biometric technology to track some of their residents …

Funding the Troops  —  End the war.  Fund the troops.  You can sum up the argument between George W. Bush and the Democratic majorities in Congress in just six words.  Both the House and the Senate have now passed supplemental appropriations that in different ways call for a beginning of an end to our military involvement in Iraq.

FDA Was Aware of Dangers To Food  —  Outbreaks Were Not Preventable, Officials Say  —  The Food and Drug Administration has known for years about contamination problems at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease outbreaks that killed three people …

Democrats Craft New Tax Rules, New Image  —  Plan Tries to Shield Middle Class From Paying High Rates  —  House Democrats, aiming to seize taxes from Republicans as a political issue, have come up with a plan to shift the burden of the hated alternative minimum tax onto the shoulders of the nation's richest households.

Bedlam Revisited  —  Why the Virginia Tech shooter was not committed.  —  I was in graduate school, studying clinical psychology when they began shutting down the asylums.  The place was California, the time was the early 1970s, and "they" were an unprecedented confederation of progressives, libertarians and fiscal conservatives.

Finish the Job. 5 Senators Remain.  —  There are only 5 Senators who refuse to state if they have a hold or an objection to S. 223, the campaign finance electronic filing bill.  Let's finish the job and call their offices.  There is no reason remaining for any Senator who does not have a hold …

Harry Potter and the Mystery of Inequality  —  J.K. Rowling is the first author in the history of the world to earn a billion dollars.  I do not disparage Rowling when I say talent is not the explanation for her monetary success.  Homer, Shakespeare and Tolkien all earned much less.  Why?

Few Specifics Evident As Padilla Trial Nears  —  Prosecutor Calls Charge 'Hard to Particularize'  —  MIAMI — The trial of Jose Padilla, the "dirty bomber" whose alleged plotting was used to justify extraordinary presidential power, will get underway next month, and the prosecution's case is rich in atmospherics.

Former Russian Leader Boris Yeltsin, 76, Dies  —  Boris Yeltsin was once asked to name his greatest goal as president.  He answered that more than anything, he wanted tranquility for Russia.  —  Ultimately, Yeltsin failed to achieve it in his own term.  But the burly Siberian who was Russia's …

Candidates hope ideas strike chords  —  Voters getting an early dose of substance  —  WASHINGTON — Barack Obama is unleashing the fine print.  —  In the political hothouses of town meetings and union gatherings, the Democratic presidential candidate has shared his soothing style and intriguing background.