Bush bars CIA from using torture, but details remain cloudy  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush signed an executive order Friday barring the CIA from using torture, acts of violence and degrading treatment in the interrogation and detention of terrorism suspects, but human rights experts questioned its scope.

The Phony Debate  —  THE SENATE Democratic leadership spent the past week trying to prove that Congress is deeply divided over Iraq, with Democrats pressing and Republicans resisting a change of course.  In fact that's far from the truth.  A large majority of senators from both parties favor …

Court Tells U.S. to Reveal Data on Detainees at Guantánamo  —  A federal appeals court ordered the government yesterday to turn over virtually all its information on Guantánamo detainees who are challenging their detention, rejecting an effort by the Justice Department …

White House Declares Bush Emperor  —  George Bush's White House has leaked a story (anonymously, of course) to the Washington Post which is truly stunning, and which should concern any citizen who values checks and balances in American government.  They are asserting that Emperor Bush …

Senate Debates Iraq Withdrawal; Report Shows Al-Qaida Regrouping  —  As the Senate debated different proposals for redeploying troops from Iraq, the National Intelligence Estimate revealed that al-Qaida is regrouping despite the war on terrorism.  Political analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the week's events.

Bald eagles  —  Our political cartoonist casts his eye towards the presidential campaign  —  A GROWING number of Republicans are hoping that Fred Thompson, a former senator and television actor, will throw his hat into the presidential ring.  Should he do so, he'd be wise to keep his head …

The Pentagon Gets a Lesson From Madison Avenue  —  U.S. Needs to Devise a Different 'Brand' to Win Over the Iraqi People, Study Advises  —  In the advertising world, brand identity is everything.  Volvo means safety.  Colgate means clean.  IPod means cool.

The Pentagon Insults Hillary Clinton  —  BIG MISTAKE.  —  The extraordinary exchange of letters between Sen. Hillary Clinton and the undersecretary of defense for policy may turn out to be a signal event in the congressional debate over the Iraq war—and possibly in the 2008 presidential election.

Doctors remove polyps from Bush's colon  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Saturday reclaimed his presidential power from Vice President Dick Cheney after undergoing a routine colonoscopy, a White House spokesman said.  —  Five polyps were found in the examination, spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

They Don't Really Support the Troops  —  The latest from the New Republic and the Nation.  —  Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq, emerged on the American political scene two years ago.  Distraught and unstable, she was shamelessly exploited by opponents of George W. Bush …

"Sometimes I can't believe it when I look up in the mirror"  —  All Russian female names end in "A".  My grandmother was Sarra, her sister Raya.  My other grandma was Antonina.  My mom is Nina.  Her sister is Gyala.  So, when people meet me and learn I was born in the Soviet Union they ask "so what is your Russian name?"

Romney targets Obama - with a twist  —  Promoting sex education for kindergarten students—kind of a sexy topic — was injected into the 2008 presidential race.  It conjures up visions of condoms and cupcakes passed around before the afternoon naptime.  Except that it is not true.