Romney speaks up for sons' decisions  —  BETTENDORF, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

INSTAPUNDIT IS SIX YEARS OLD TODAY: Here's what it looked like that first week.

The Democratic Candidates Forum  —  The following is the transcript of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. candidates forum, as provided by Federal News Service.  —  PARTICIPANTS:  —  MODERATOR: KEITH OLBERMANN: These formalities out of the way, the lucky recipient of our first question has been determined by lottery.

Terrorists teaming with drug cartels  —  Islamic extremists embedded in the United States — posing as Hispanic nationals — are partnering with violent Mexican drug gangs to finance terror networks in the Middle East, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report.

"To set the ship on a better course, you have to be ready to sink it."  —  The debate over bipartisanship continues.  I wrote a response to the many responses I got, on this blog and others, to my initial article calling for more bipartisanship in the Washington Post.

FBI seizes computers, store video in bomb case … TAMPA - Investigators have removed computers from the family home of a University of South Florida student accused of having pipe bombs in his car, according to Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Free Lunch on Health?  Think Again  —  The great hope of every health care reformer is that better care will mean cheaper care.  —  The three leading Democrats running for president have all put this idea at the center of their plans.  Rudy Giuliani, the first Republican candidate to offer …

Facts?  In the Lede?  Shocking!  —  Via Brian Beutler, the AFP tries a revolutionary experiment in writing their story in such a way as to make readers better informed about the issue at hand rather than more familiar with the president's propaganda.  Here's the lede: … Oh, my!

The political patrons of Your Black Muslim Bakery  —  The SFChron's Matier and Ross report on the political backers of Your Black Muslim Bakery.  You'll be thrilled to know that millions in federal tax dollars have been forked over to this thug enterprise (at least $1.2 million …

Clark County Republican leader elected to national post  —  Clark County's Republican Party chairman has been elected head of the Young Republican National Federation.  —  Glenn Murphy Jr., a 33-year-old from Utica, was elected to the chairman's post July 7 in Hollywood, Fla. …

THEY WANT TO FIRE ALBERTO GONZALES AND GIVE HIM NEW EAVESDROPPING POWERS?  —  Happy six-month anniversary, U.S. attorney scandal!  (And what do you get for the scandal that has everything?)  —  The half-birthday of the purge scandal's explosion onto the front pages last February brings …

Bonds Makes History With 756th Home Run  —  SAN FRANCISCO: Barry Bonds hit No. 756 to the deepest part of the ballpark Tuesday night, and hammered home the point: Like him or not, legitimate or not, he is baseball's new home run king.  —  Bonds broke Hank Aaron's storied record in the fifth inning …

Democratic Leaders Move the Goalposts on Iraq  —  It appears that today is a watershed day with regard to US policy in Iraq.  Democratic leaders now acknowledge that the surge is working.  The only catch is, they say it's no surprise, they've known it for a while, and it's nothing significant.

General Blames Clerical Errors In the Case of Missing Arms  —  Bookkeeping deficiencies allowed thousands of weapons issued to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 to then go missing, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said yesterday.  —  "Some percentage" …

White Man's Burden  —  Did anyone else ever see that terrible movie from the 90's?  Well, Elizabeth Edwards is doing a remake on the campaign trail.  Why?  Because she thinks John Edwards is getting screwed in press coverage.  So they're turning to the internet to help get the message …