"New Broom" To Head Chiefs Of Staff  —  Pace is out as Chief of Staff, in an unexpected move. … Mullen is obviously intended to repair bridges with America's European defense partners so damaged by Rummie's "Old Europe" policies.  In his bio, his experience in working with NATO and European officers is the big stand-out point.

Defections to Fred Thompson Pose a Major Threat to McCain  —  John Dowd represented Sen. John McCain in his darkest hour, the "Keating Five" scandal.  He supported McCain the first time he ran for president in 2000 and signed up to be a major fundraiser for him in this year's presidential race.

White House: Bush wants immigration bill back  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush considers it premature to declare the immigration reform bill dead in the Senate, White House adviser Dan Bartlett said Friday.  —  A motion to cut off debate on the measure failed Thursday night, stopping the proposal from coming up for a vote.

Leading Conservative Activist Seeks Punitive Damages  —  Judge Robert Bork, one of the fathers of the modern judicial conservative movement whose nomination to the Supreme Court was rejected by the Senate, is seeking $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages, after he slipped and fell at the Yale Club of New York City.

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Lies, Sighs and Politics  —  If early campaign reporting is any guide, the bad media habits that helped install the worst president ever in the White House haven't changed a bit.

Hilton Ordered Back to Jail!  —  Paris Hilton was just ordered back to jail in Lynwood to serve out the remainder of her sentence!  She'll get credit for at least 5 days already served.  —  Hilton left the courtroom in tears, screaming, "Mom, Mom, Mom."  Hilton was also heard saying "It's not right."

Happiness and the Ideological Mediation of Adaptation  —  The truly delicious bits of this new NBER working paper by Di Tella, Haisken-De New, and MacCulloch on adaptation to income and status is the stuff on political leanings: … That is (in case you're confused), folks on the left get used to money …

Two Years of Humble Pie  —  In Britain, Canada and other civilized places, national elections are often called, run and concluded within six weeks.  In America, election campaigns go on forever.  It used to be one year, now it's two.  No one planned this, but like other evolutionary artifacts …

Ars takes a field trip: the Creation Museum  —  A museum like no other  —  Here at Ars Technica we've written about the US creationist movement and its attack on science quite regularly.  From attempts to alter the way science is taught in different states across the US to statements …

Don't Ask, Don't Translate  —  IMAGINE for a moment an American soldier deep in the Iraqi desert.  His unit is about to head out when he receives a cable detailing an insurgent ambush right in his convoy's path.  With this information, he and his soldiers are now prepared for the danger that lies ahead.

Turning the Page: The Real Che?  —  He's the ultimate symbol of radical chic but was Che Guevara really a homophobic, racist square who personally ordered the jailing and executions of innocent men, women and children?  —  That's according to Humberto Fontova, the author of …

"His Personality Cult is All Personality and No Cult."  —  I pick on John Edwards a lot, possibly too much, and have (luckily) been asked to explain why.  OK, here's why: There's no reason for him to run and several reasons for him not to run.  Edwards entered politics as a Clintonite Southern psuedo-populist.