Fred Thompson running for president  —  Fred Dalton Thompson is planning to enter the presidential race over the Fourth of July holiday, announcing that week that he has already raised several million dollars and is being backed by insiders from the past three Republican administrations, Thompson advisers told The Politico.

E. coli conservatism (19): the ne plus ultra  —  Offered without comment.  What is there possibly to say? … Oh, all right.  One small comment.  First, observe the contempt for liberty.  When E. coli conservatives say self-regulation is preferable to government, they're even lying about that.

Bush envisions U.S. presence in Iraq like S.Korea  —  Source: Reuters  —  President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House said on Wednesday.

Right-wing noise machine: Plame not covert  —  (updated below - updated again - Update III)  —  NBC News, yesterday: … The right-wing noise machine spent the last two years repeatedly, continuously and emphatically telling their followers the exact opposite:

Clinton defends Iraq war funding vote  —  LAS VEGAS - White House hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday defended her vote against an Iraq war funding bill, saying she believes President Bush will begin withdrawing troops from Iraq soon.  —  The New York senator said she came …

Iraq—the Coming GOP Collapse?  —  Was talking to an influential Republican strategist who thinks if Iraq looks the way it does now in September, Bush will lose about 25 Senate Republicans on a bill with some sort of timetable for withdrawal.

TB Patient Says He Was Advised Not to Fly  —  A man who may have exposed passengers and crew members on two trans-Atlantic flights earlier this month to a highly drug-resistant form of tuberculosis knew he was infected, and had been advised by health officials not to travel overseas.

ACLU: Boeing offshoot helped CIA  —  NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday it is suing Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Co., claiming it provided secret CIA transportation services to shuttle three terrorism suspects overseas, where they were tortured.

Our 44th President  —  Fred Thompson is so three hours ago.  Via Ballot Access News comes new info about former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, last seen punching a Capitol Hill cop and then losing re-election: … Please note that she includes "impeachment of the president" among her potential campaign planks …

Lawyer: Cheney Visitor Logs Not Recorded  —  WASHINGTON — A lawyer for Vice President Dick Cheney told the Secret Service in September to eliminate data on who visited Cheney at his official residence, a newly disclosed letter states.  —  The Sept. 13, 2006, letter from Cheney's lawyer …

It's official  —  The U.S. Justice Department has notified Arkansas's congressional delegation that Interim Eastern District U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin is resigning effective Friday, June 1.  Jane Duke will become acting U.S. attorney.  (This is the assistant in the office who the Justice Department once …

Economix: Truth, Fiction and Lou Dobbs  —  The whole controversy involving Lou Dobbs and leprosy started with a "60 Minutes" segment a few weeks ago.  —  The segment was a profile of Mr. Dobbs, and while doing background research for it, a "60 Minutes" producer came across a 2005 news report …

Dying for an Iraq That Isn't  —  Of all the absurdities attending our unending war in Iraq, the greatest is this: We are fighting to defend that which is not there.  —  We are fighting for a national government that is not national but sectarian, and has shown no capacity to govern.

Jeff Gerth, meet Judith Miller  —  Isn't former New York Times reporter Jeff Gerth writing the definitive book about Hillary Clinton sort of like Judith Miller deciding to write the definitive book about Iraq's WMDs?  It just doesn't add up.  —  After all, both Gerth and Miller …

Libertarians, beware the rigid reign of Rudy  —  Behind Rudy Giuliani's impressive lead in the polls is one fact that puzzles the pundits: Many cultural conservatives are backing a pro-choice, pro-gun control candidate.  But what should be equally surprising is the strong support Giuliani …