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 …

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 …

Senate tied in knots by filibusters  —  WASHINGTON — This year Senate Republicans are threatening filibusters to block more legislation than ever before, a pattern that's rooted in — and could increase — the pettiness and dysfunction in Congress.  —  The trend has been evolving for 30 years.

Breaking: Gates Distances Himself From Edelman's Attack On Hillary Clinton  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates is distancing himself from an under secretary's assertion that Senator Hillary Clinton's public questions about Pentagon troop withdrawal plans are aiding the enemy.

Fight Over Documents May Favor Bush, Experts Say  —  Contempt Charge Precedents Cited in Firings Case  —  The Bush administration's vow this week to block contempt charges from Congress could prove to be a successful strategy for protecting White House documents about the multiple firings of U.S. attorneys …

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 …

On Why So Few Bloggers Have Endorsed In 2008  — Part One: New Establishment Rising: The End Of The Flat Blogosphere  — Part Two: New Establishment Rising: Why So Few Bloggers Have Endorsed in 2008  —  Taking a quick look at The Liberal Blog Advertising Network …

Public vs Private Face of Omar Bakri Mohammed: "Peace" vs. "Hooray al Qaeda!"  —  This IHT report, also published in the New York Times, portrays Omar Bakri Mohammed as a man who has moderated his views and who is trying to promote peace between the Lebanese government and the al Qaeda linked …

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.

Rudy Giuliani: Asked About HIV, He Answers With 9/11  —  Rudy Giuliani gets Iowa punctuality.  In fact, he may be the first presidential candidate in years to show up early at a caucus campaign stop.  Razzed by the Des Moines Register for running late in his last Iowa trip …

The Sky's Still Up There  —  Kathleen Sullivan, the former dean of Stanford Law School (who would be on any Democratic president's shortlist for the Supreme Court), said the other day that conservatives should be "dancing in the streets" at the end of the first full term of the Roberts Court.

Bush Approves New CIA Methods  —  President Bush set broad legal boundaries for the CIA's harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects yesterday, allowing the intelligence agency to resume a program that was suspended last year after criticism that it violated U.S. and international law.

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 …

Binman's St George bandana 'is racist'  —  A black dustman has been banned from wearing a St George's Cross bandana because council officials say it could be regarded as racist.  —  Matthew Carter, 35, who was born in Barbados, used the headgear to keep his dreadlocks out of the way while he was on his rounds in Burnley, Lancs.