Bush open to benchmarks for Iraq … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush said Thursday he will veto any bill with "haphazard, piecemeal funding," but agreed that setting benchmarks is a good way to evaluate progress in Iraq.  —  Bush said he has asked his chief of staff, Josh Bolten …

Did informant aid Fort Dix plotters?  —  Entrapment defense may be presented in court for alleged plot against U.S.  —  CHERRY HILL, N.J. - He railed against the United States, helped scout out military installations for attack, offered to introduce his comrades to an arms dealer and gave …

Giuliani Snubs Jones County  —  OLIN-Last weekend Deb and Jerry VonSprecken of Olin received a call from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign office asking them if they would be interested in holding a campaign rally on May 4, after she had donated to his campaign.

Gonzales and The Secret Collaborative Process  —  Alberto Gonzales' strategy in a nutshell: to defend the firing of the U.S. attorneys whenever possible, but when confronted with inescapable evidence that the process was a sham, to backpedal and either blame Kyle Sampson or admit that the process could have been more "rigorous."

Karl Rove's big election-fraud hoax  —  By evil chance, I spent the Saturday night before Election Day 2000 at a jolly dinner for high-level Republicans.  Most of the talk over the entrees concerned why then-candidate George W. Bush had been too pusillanimous to tell the voters that Al Gore …

How the CIA Failed America  —  George Tenet sets the stage in his memoir by recalling a conversation he claims to have had with me on Sept. 12, 2001: "As I walked beneath the awning that leads to the West Wing[, I] saw Richard Perle exiting the building just as I was about to enter. …

Critics fault Romney's abortion record  —  AGAWAM, Mass. - Conservative activists criticized Mitt Romney over his abortion record Thursday as the Republican presidential contender received an award from an anti-abortion group that also used to complain about his support for abortion rights.

As Gas Prices Rise Again, Democrats Blame Big Oil  —  A week after U.S. gasoline prices hit a near-record $3.05 a gallon, Democrats in Congress are promoting legislation taking aim at the big oil companies, although industry experts say that the efforts aren't likely to have any effect.

CBS fires Gen. Batiste over VoteVets ad.  —  Iraq veteran Gen. John Batiste "has been asked to leave his position as a consultant to CBS News" over a new VoteVets ad criticizing the Iraq war.  He was interviewed tonight by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.  Watch it:  —  Digg It!  —  The URI to TrackBack this entry is:

Free Speech Fracas: Joke Describes Violent Sex Assault of Condoleezza Rice  —  Warning: Extremely Vulgar Language.  XM Shock Jocks Opie and Anthony engage in discussion about forced sex with the Secretary of State.  A studio guest, Homeless Charlie, begins describing the scenario as the hosts laugh and encourage him.

In Praise of Budweiser (contains extended footnotes)  —  I tend to regard myself as Crooked Timber's online myrmidon of a number of rather unpopular views; among other things, as regular readers will have seen, I believe that the incitement to religious hatred legislation was a good idea …

Gun Shy  —  Sipping soda from a straw and leaning on his elbows at Perkins, Troy Scheffler seems harmless enough.  The 31-year-old Hamline University grad student resembles a post-Pulp Fiction John Travolta—slightly overstuffed, with graying sideburns and a small, tense smile.