Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs  —  In his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) to address inaccuracies in his 2006 testimony in relation …

Giuliani flays Dems in race as defeatists, pessimists  —  Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani loosed a blast at Democrats while he was in San Francisco Monday, lambasting the party's major presidential candidates — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards …

Clinton takes Obama to task over statements  —  TODAY: (Updated 12:25 p.m.) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton today called rival Barack Obama's statement that he would meet with the leaders of several countries antagonistic to the United States "irresponsible" and "naive."

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: A Reality-Based Economy  —  The neopopulist story line about skyrocketing inequality and the tides of globalization is incredibly simple-minded.

In the Wake of the Surge  —  BAGHDAD - 82nd Airborne's Lieutenant William H. Lord from Foxborough, Massachusetts, prepared his company for a dismounted foot patrol in the Graya'at neighborhood of Northern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiyah.

Comment by Vadept on Should the DailyKos be Subject to the Federal Election Commission?  —  And if the shoe were on the other foot?  I cannot countenance trying to silence my political opponents simply because they are my political opponents.  Perhaps next we should try muzzling Michael Moore and his ilk!

A cemetery, not a "mass grave"; Update: NYT scrubs TNR editor's "near certainty" that Thomas is a soldier; Update: Original quote restored Update: MNF-I response added  —  "Scott Thomas" makes the NYT.  Franklin Foer is still trying to corroborate his correspondent's writings by talking to his buddies.

Outsourcing the Picket Line  —  Carpenters Union Hires Homeless to Stage Protests  —  The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message.  —  Many have arrived with large suitcases …

A War the Pentagon Can't Win  —  AS the National Intelligence Estimate issued last week confirms, a terrorist haven has emerged in Pakistan's tribal belt.  And as recent revelations about an aborted 2005 operation in the region demonstrate, our Defense Department is chronically unable …

Spitzer Aides Cited for Use of Police to Tarnish Bruno  —  Gov. Eliot Spitzer's aides, including one of his closest advisers, improperly used the State Police to gather information about the governor's chief rival, Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, in an effort to plant …

Not the Retiring Kind  —  As a retiree, Cindy Sheehan was the Michael Jordan of the peace movement.  —  "I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she announced in her May 29 "resignation letter" as antiwar activist.  "Good-bye America."  —  The retirement — and Sheehan's attempt to …

Diplomats Received Political Briefings  —  White House aides have conducted at least half a dozen political briefings for the Bush administration's top diplomats, including a PowerPoint presentation for ambassadors with senior adviser Karl Rove that named Democratic incumbents targeted …

Further politicization of the U.S. military's public statements  —  In light of the decision last week by Gen. David Petraeus to choose Hugh Hewitt, of all people, to interview him, and in light of the post I wrote concerning Gen. Petraeus' three-year history of dubious and seemingly partisan claims …

Another Cheney-Linked Hawk Down  —  Vice President Cheney is losing a trusted aide: David Wurmser, Cheney's chief adviser on Middle East affairs and perhaps the Bush administration's most radical hawk.  According to multiple sources, Wurmser will leave the office of the vice president (OVP) …

Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah  —  Lebanese Cleric  —  Considered the leading Shi'ite Muslim Intellectual in Lebanon, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah is a controversial figure known primarily for his support of the armed Shi'ite resistance movement, Hezbollah and for his uncompromising stance against the State of Israel.