House Democrats pass contempt citation  —  WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee approved a contempt of Congress citation Wednesday against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and one-time Counsel Harriet Miers, setting up a constitutional confrontation over the firings of federal prosecutors.

Bill O'Reilly's Web site threatens Hillary's life  —  FOX News' Bill O'Reilly has been attacking the liberal blog Daily Kos, and liberal blogs in general, over some extreme comments left by some of our visitors.  It's interesting therefore that O'Reilly's own Web site contains some of the most hideous hate you've ever seen.

National Intelligence Estimate claim over Iran-linked threat unsupported, CIA sources say  —  Current and former intelligence officials say the Bush Administration's National Intelligence Estimate regarding terrorist threats to the United States does not provide evidence to support its assertions …

The Scott Thomas affair at New Republic — maybe a different take  —  My agent always urges me to provide a sound bite version of any idea I put out in public.  I don't actually think there are very many interesting ideas that fit into sound bites, but here's the short version for those of you without …

Document drop: A new critique of the 2004 Lancet Iraq death toll study  —  One of the most useful roles of the blogosphere is its service as an open-source intelligence-gathering medium.  You can draw on the expertise of people around the world at the touch of a button.

Michigan Young Republican pleads guilty in sex case  —  The former head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans admitted today that he sexually abused a colleague during a national convention here last summer.  —  Michael Flory, a 32-year-old attorney from Jackson, Mich. …

Specter to probe Supreme Court decisions  —  Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) plans to review the Senate testimony of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel J. Alito to determine if their reversal of several long-standing opinions conflicts with promises they made to senators to win confirmation.

Another Resignation From Team Thompson  —  The day after his would-be campaign manager was replaced, Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson has another senior staff position to refill.  —  J.T. Mastranadi was hired just a week and a half ago to be the campaign's director of research.  He resigned this morning, a friend of his said.

Conservatives call for Bush to emphasize 'leaving Iraq'  —  Some conservative activist leaders, fearing voter anger with the Iraq war, want President Bush and GOP leaders to begin emphasizing that U.S. troops will be "leaving Iraq" to give Republicans cover as they head into a tough political landscape in 2008.

Nonny Mouse Goes Down Under  —  The travel and tourist industry is one of the United State's biggest money-makers, generating $103 billion in tax revenue every year.  Without this tax revenue, every American household would pay nearly $1,000 more in taxes every a year.

Private Equity, Public Benefits  —  Why does Congress think that sharply boosting taxes on private-equity companies will do anything other than stall or disrupt what is clearly a thriving American economy?  Make no mistake: The Baucus-Grassley legislation in the Senate and the Levin bill …