Senators Block Vote on Gonzales  —  The Senate yesterday rejected a bid to conduct a vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, as Republicans declined to defend the embattled presidential confidant but rejected the effort as a political stunt.

Appeals Court Orders Enemy Combatant Free by Military  —  In a stinging rejection of one of the Bush administration's central assertions about the scope of executive authority to combat terrorism, a federal appeals court ordered the Pentagon to release a man being held as an enemy combatant.

Anti-Blogger?  Anti-Urban?  Racist?  —  To those of you out there who have called me these names and more, here is my response:  —  1.-Nowhere in my first post did I say I was "anti-blogging".  Quite to the contrary, I said to bloggers who want to take the Democratic Party back into the big tent, "God bless you and thank you."

Some in U.S. Intelligence See Musharraf on His Way Out  —  Since September 11, 2001, the U.S.'s Pakistan policy can be summed up in two words: Pervez Musharraf.  But within the U.S. intelligence community, and in Pakistan, there's a growing belief that the U.S.-friendly military dictator's days …

David Chase speaks!  —  What do you do when your TV world ends?  You go to dinner, then keep quiet.  Sunday night, "Sopranos" creator David Chase took his wife out for dinner in France, where he's fled to avoid "all the Monday morning quarterbacking" about the show's finale.

Rivals Warn Sarkozy Could Face Dissent  —  PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy appears to have won a mandate for change after his party swept first-round parliamentary elections, and he is picking up speed in his plans to overhaul France's welfare state.  But rivals say he should watch out.

CAIR membership plummets  —  ONLINE EXCLUSIVE / DEVELOPING:  —  Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has declined more than 90 percent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Audrey Hudson will report in Tuesday's editions of The Washington Times.

Joe Klein's stirring defense of Lewis Libby  —  It is difficult to recall a single episode which has been more revealing of our political culture than the collective Beltway horror over the plight of the poor, maltreated and persecuted (and convicted felon) Lewis Libby.

Rather Attacks Couric: 'Dumb It Down, Tart It Up'  —  As already noted on NewsBusters, former CBS anchor Dan Rather appeared on Monday's edition of "Morning Joe" and lobbied for a "a strategic withdrawal from Iraq."  He also found time to twice bash his "Evening News" successor Katie Couric for dumbing down and "tarting up" the news.

Diamonds Are a Girl's Worst Friend  —  THE TROUBLE WITH ENGAGEMENT RINGS.  —  The retail fantasy known as a "traditional" American wedding comprises many delicious absurdities, ranging from personalized wedding stamps to ring pillows designed for dogs to favors like "Love Mints."

American Company Hosting Taliban Websites  —  A Georgia based company continues to host two official websites for the Taliban after being warned numerous times that providing business services to the Islamist group is against U.S. law.  The 'Voice of Jihad' websites are in Arabic and in English.