The Implosion Of Senator John McCain  —  No, the picture above isn't evidence of the latest GOP scandal.  —  One day, this campaign 2004 photo will be considered the photo that helped sink a candidacy.  Not since singer Sammy Davis, Jr. hugged a seemingly embarrassed President Richard Nixon …

Deserting Petraeus  —  "The key to turning [Anbar] around was the shift in allegiance by tribal sheiks.  But the sheiks turned only after a prolonged offensive by American and Iraqi forces, starting in November, that put al-Qaeda groups on the run."  —  Finally, after four terribly long years, we know what works.

Michael Gerson's Moral Advantage  —  I'm not surprised that Michael Gerson, who reportedly coined Bush's Axis of Evil framing, would conclude that atheists are inherently incapable of answering the more interesting moral questions merely because they lack an objective basis for discerning good from evil …

Defending an Iraq Strategy in a Race Against Time  —  Once again, President Bush tried today to buy more time for his strategy in Iraq, refusing to say when conditions there might allow him to begin the troop drawdown that he insists is his ultimate goal.  —  For now, at least …

Christian activists disrupt Hindu prayer in US Senate  —  WASHINGTON: Christian activists briefly disrupted a Hindu invocation in the US Senate on Thursday, marring a historic first for the chamber and showing that fundamentalism is present and shouting in the US too.

House OKs plan to withdraw US troops  —  WASHINGTON - The Iraqi government is achieving only spotty military and political progress, the Bush administration conceded Thursday in an assessment that war critics quickly seized on as confirmation of their dire warnings.

The New York Times Surrenders A monument to defeatism on the editorial page  —  On July 8, the New York Times ran an historic editorial entitled "The Road Home," demanding an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq.  It is rare that an editorial gets almost everything wrong, but "The Road Home" pulls it off.

Hold Your Fire and Brimstone  —  Perhaps because no one else will do it, I want to offer a qualified defense of Sen. David Vitter, the socially conservative Louisiana Republican who faces a bit of a problem.  —  Vitter admitted Monday night to a "very serious sin in my past" …

Musharraf declares war on Muslim extremists  —  President Pervez Musharraf pledged to combat Muslim extremists across Pakistan yesterday as furious crowds demonstrated against the storming of the Red Mosque and two suicide bomb attacks left six dead.  —  In a televised address to the nation …

Brown message to US: it's time to build, not destroy  —  Minister signals foreign policy shift ahead of PM's Washington trip  —  The first clear signs that Gordon Brown will reorder Britain's foreign policy emerged last night when one of his closest cabinet allies urged the US to change …

The cry should go up in Europe: more babies, please  —  Of all the bogeys you might have thought well and truly nailed in the past decade or so, the population control movement seemed most obviously to have a stake through its heart.  At a time when we - I mean, anyone over 35 …

Democrats Lead in Raising Money Online  —  The Democrats have established a commanding and growing dominance over Republicans in securing contributions online, reshaping the fund-raising landscape heading into the 2008 elections.  —  Online donations are emerging as a cornerstone …

Tax Loopholes Sweeten a Deal for Blackstone  —  The Blackstone Group, the big buyout firm, has devised a way for its partners to effectively avoid paying taxes on $3.7 billion, the bulk of what it raised last month from selling shares to the public.  —  Although they will initially pay $553 million …

People who need people  —  Derb's post on Nicholas Eberstadt's population paper makes a number of points.  —  First, he's correct about the importance of "localized numbers".  Population is the most obvious example of why we should be suspicious of universalizing problems and demanding they can only be solved globally through the UN.

Arrested pol is McCain campaign Florida co-chairman  —  You can DIGG this story, by clicking on this link: Arrested pol is McCain campaign Florida co-chairman.  —  A member of the Florida House of Representatives arrested yesterday on charges of soliciting a male undercover police officer …

Poison for Profit  —  In November 2006, America's dogs and cats started dying painful, mysterious and sometimes gruesome deaths—canaries in the coal mine of a food safety system on the verge of collapse.  Previously healthy pets would suddenly vomit blood and bile, produce bloody diarrhea and lose control of bladder and bowel.