Approval of Congress lowest in a decade  —  Only about a quarter of Americans approve of how it's doing its job, a poll shows; most see 'business as usual.'  —  WASHINGTON — Fueled by disappointment at the pace of change since Democrats assumed the majority on Capitol Hill …

Rudy Giuliani's 12 Commitments  —  Rudy Giuliani gave a speech this afternoon announcing his "Twelve Commitments to the American people, a bold vision aimed at moving America forward through change and reform, overcoming new challenges and increasing accountability in Washington."

Mystery of President Bush's watch in Albania  —  Now you see it.  Now you don't.  —  George W Bush was visibly cheered when he received a hero's welcome in Albania at the weekend, with Albanians draped in the Stars and Stripes reaching out to hug him and shake his hand.

Hamas captures Fatah security HQ  —  Hamas forces captured the headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza, seizing control of a key prize in the bloody power struggle between the sides, Hamas and Fatah officials said.  —  Hamas attacked the compound with mortars and automatic gunfire …

Border Security Can Be Implemented Without Senate Bill  —  Today, nine U.S. Senators wrote a letter to President Bush urging him to fulfill the border security provisions listed in the Senate immigration bill whether the legislation passes or not.  Each border security trigger in the bill …

Newhouse Breakfast: Moonves Slam Rather, Defends Couric  —  The battle of the sound bites rages on.  —  Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation, called former CBS News anchor Dan Rather's comments that the CBS Evening News has been "tarted up" under new anchor Katie Couric, "sexist" and a "cheap shot."

President Bush Attends Dedication of Victims of Communism Memorial  —  Washington, D.C.  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming.  Please be seated.  Dr. Edwards, thanks for your kind words.  Congressman Lantos — no better friend to freedom, by the way; Congressman Rohrabacher, the same.

Joe Lieberman Is At It Again  —  After wrongly supporting George W. Bush's strategic blunder of attacking Iraq, and continuing to support Bush's failed policies after the invasion, Senator Joe Lieberman made irresponsible comments this weekend regarding military action against Iran.

The group blog of The American Prospect  —  FERGUSON'S FACT-LESS CHECK OF GORE.  In Sunday's Washington Post, Weekly Standard senior editor Andrew Ferguson had a little hit job on Al Gore's new book, built around Gore's citation of an Abraham Lincoln quote which, according to Ferguson …

In Parting Shot, Blair Calls Press a 'Feral Beast'  —  In the land that produced "Scoop," Evelyn Waugh's novel of journalistic ambition and ineptitude, it would seem unsurprising for politicians to criticize reporters on occasion.  But was it justified, as Prime Minister Tony Blair did today, to call the press a "feral beast"?

A Jolly Good Show, but the Wrong Side of the Pond  —  Give him a sword and a tunic, and Chuck Schumer would have made a passable Oliver Cromwell as he stood on the Senate floor yesterday.  —  The New York Democrat, playing a British parliamentarian, had come to seek a "vote of no confidence" …

Hawks for Thompson  —  Thompson puts together a foreign policy team.  —  FRED THOMPSON IS adding more big-name policy talent as his testing-the-waters committee continues to grow into a real presidential campaign.  Among the new additions: Mark Esper, national security adviser …

A Compass That Can Clash With Modern Life  —  First came the breast-feeding fatwa.  It declared that the Islamic restriction on unmarried men and women being together could be lifted at work if the woman breast-fed her male colleagues five times, to establish family ties.  Then came the urine fatwa.

The System at Work  —  We have become political hypochondriacs.  We seem eager to declare that "the system" has come down with some dread disease, to proclaim that an ideological "center" blessed by the heavens no longer exists, and woe unto us.  An imperfect immigration bill is pulled …

Do away with public schools  —  Government is inept at running schools.  It should subsidize education for needy students, then get out of the way.  —  HERE'S A GOOD question for you: Why have public schools at all?  —  OK, cue the marching music.  We need public schools because blah blah blah and yada yada yada.

What Would Harry Truman Do?  —  Madeleine Albright just walked right in to one of my pet peeves, calling for the United States to adhere to a moderate (i.e., neither isolationist nor imperial) foreign policy, and then sets it up with the old "consider Harry Truman."

Now That I Have Your Attention...  Many of you have asked about how Democrats can get through the culture of the South and the Heartland...God, guns, gays, and race.  Since I have been stereotyped (by some) as a racist over the last 12 hours or so, let's start with the racial wedges that the Republicans have used against us.

"TEAR DOWN THIS WALL"  —  Twenty years ago today Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate and gave the speech heard 'round the world.  Our friend Peter Robinson was the man who wrote the speech.  He tells the story behind the speech in his terrific book How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life.

U.S. Warns Iraq That Progress Is Needed Soon  —  The top American military commander for the Middle East has warned Iraq's prime minister in a closed-door conversation that the Iraqi government needs to make tangible political progress by next month to counter the growing tide of opposition to the war in Congress.

CAIR membership falls 90% since 9/11  —  Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has declined more than 90 percent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to tax documents obtained by The Washington Times.  —  The number of reported members spiraled …

How much is an immigrant's life worth, exactly?  —  How do you justify a border fence?  Why is it OK to consign millions of unskilled Mexicans to lives of desperate poverty?  I'm told it's because Americans should care more about their countrymen than about a bunch of foreigners.  OK, but how much more?

The Bombed Bridges of Baghdad  —  Unlike the film, The Bridges of Madison County, the bombed bridges of Baghdad are not a quaint romantic tale, but a warning sign of potential disaster for U.S. forces in Iraq.  The ongoing attacks on bridges in and around Baghdad creates significant risks …

Disaffected conservatives set a litmus test for '08  —  Want vow to curb presidential power  —  WASHINGTON — A new political group recently asked Mitt Romney to promise not to wiretap Americans without a judge's approval or to imprison US citizens without a trial as "enemy combatants."

Judges Say U.S. Can't Hold Man as 'Combatant'  —  The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., ruled yesterday that the president may not declare civilians in this country to be "enemy combatants" and have the military hold them indefinitely.  The ruling was a stinging rejection …