GOP rivals embrace unproven Iraq-9/11 tie  —  WASHINGTON — In defending the Iraq war, leading Republican presidential contenders are increasingly echoing words and phrases used by President Bush in the run-up to the war that reinforce the misleading impression that Iraq was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Bush's Monica problem: the Gonzales mess  —  Gonzales, the president's lawyer and Texas buddy, is twisting slowly in the wind, facing a vote of no confidence from the Senate.  —  The United States Department of Justice has not always been above politics.  John F. Kennedy, after all …

More details on Flight 327 released  —  The inspector general for Homeland Security late Friday released new details of what federal air marshals say was a terrorist dry run aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles on June 29, 2004.  —  Several portions of the report remain redacted.

Shackled in the war on terror  —  The absconding of three people on control orders because of suspicion of their involvement in terrorism has, once again, thrown into sharp relief the debate about terrorism and civil liberty.  Within the next few weeks we will publish new proposals on anti-terror laws.

U.S. Security Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad  —  Blackwater Employees Were Involved in Two Shooting Incidents in Past Week  —  Employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week …

U.S. rescues 42 Iraqis from Al Qaeda hideout  —  BAGHDAD — U.S. forces raided an Al Qaeda hide-out northeast of Baghdad on Sunday and freed 42 Iraqis imprisoned inside, including some who had been tortured and suffered broken bones, a senior U.S. military official said Sunday.

SHEEN RETHINKS NUTTY 9/11 FILM  —  SUPPORT for the loopy 9/11 documentary "Loose Change" - which argues that the World Trade Center terror attack was part of a secret U.S. government conspiracy - is quickly losing steam.  —  A source tells us Charlie Sheen "is having second thoughts" …

SO MY PANEL was on — hold your breath — blogging, and featured Anthony Duignan-Cabrera of Space.Com, Alan Boyle of MSNBC's Cosmic Log, Rob Pearlman of CollectSpace, and uber-spaceblogger Jeff Foust.  (Another uber-spaceblogger, Clark Lindsey, wasn't here, and was missed.)

'This Week' Immigration Showdown  —  Sen. Menendez and Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez Debate Family Reunification and the Proposed Immigration Reform  —  Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., spoke out against proposed immigration legislation in the Senate on ABC News' "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

Tehran confident ahead of US talks  —  By Gareth Smyth in Tehran and Guy Dinmore in Washington  —  Iran enters talks with the US in Baghdad on Monday confident that the situation in Iraq is working in its favour but wary that Washington may not have abandoned hopes for regime change in Iran or may plan to bomb its nuclear facilities.

Clueless  —  Of all the people who deserve some blame for the debacle in Iraq, don't forget the American public.  Today, about two-thirds of Americans oppose the war.  But back in March 2003, when United States troops stormed into Iraq, nearly three out of four Americans supported the invasion.

Doubts Grow as G.I.'s in Iraq Find Allies in Enemy Ranks  —  BAGHDAD — Staff Sgt. David Safstrom does not regret his previous tours in Iraq, not even a difficult second stint when two comrades were killed while trying to capture insurgents.  —  "In Mosul, in 2003, it felt like we were making the city a better place," he said.

Back to the Schools  —  Oh man.  I don't think I've seen anyone make a serious effort to argue that ongoing school construction endeavors in Iraq outweigh the fact that we aren't achieving any of our mission objectives, but apparently Chris Muir didn't get the memo that these talking points are inoperative:

Borger Predicts 'Mass Resignation' Of House Members Due To Stricter Ethics Standards  —  On Thursday, the House passed new ethics legislation "that would penalize lawmakers who receive a wide range of favors from special interests, and would require lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they collect and deliver to lawmakers."

Rallying Big For Free Speech In Venezuela  —  Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans demonstrate for free speech in Caracas  —  Imagine a world with no free press.  For many Venezuelans, this has dawned on them that this is no imaginative idea anymore, for the first time.

Michael Moore's Math: 'Sicko,' Castro and the '120 Years Club'  —  CUBA works hard to jam American TV signals and keep out decadent Hollywood films.  But it's a good bet that Fidel Castro's government will turn a blind eye to bootleg copies of "Sicko," Michael Moore's newest movie, if they show up on the streets of Havana.