Report Cites Grave Concerns on Iraq's Government  —  The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki will become "more precarious" over the next six months to a year, and while its security forces have improved they are not strong enough to operate without outside help …

No More Vietnams (or Cambodias)  —  In his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars yesterday, President Bush reminded us of the agony and genocide that followed the American retreat in Vietnam: … These words summon to mind a powerful passage from the third volume of Henry Kissinger's memoirs …

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery: "To Build One America, End the Game"  —  Hanover, New Hampshire  —  August 23, 2007  —  This election is unlike any we have faced before.  The stakes are higher.  And the challenges we face as a nation are greater than at any time in memory.

NYC Muslim Calls Korean Hostages "Terrorists", Smiles at thought of Daniel Pearl Style Beheading  —  American Muslim convert and New York City native Yousef al-Khattab outdoes himself and compares the Korean hostages to "terrorists" and suggests that because they are guilty of the "crime" …

Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining  —  The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal.  The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams.

Two General Election Maps  —  Taking the most recent poll from each state in the country from sources like Polling Report, Rasmussen and Survey USA, I have been able to piece together maps showing the state by state general election between both Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, and also between Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.

Sen. Warner: Start bringing troops home by Christmas  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — One of the Senate's top Republicans has called on President Bush to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq by Christmas, telling reporters Thursday that a pullout was needed to spur Iraqi leaders to action.

What September Won't Settle  —  Come September, America might slip closer toward a Weimar moment.  It would be milder than the original but significantly disagreeable.  —  After the First World War, politics in Germany's new Weimar Republic were poisoned by the belief that the army …

The Weimar President  —  His speech yesterday actually managed to shock.  You might think that, in wartime, a president would acknowledge what no one denies is a terribly grim decision in front of us - whether to pursue a clearly unwinnable war in order to govern a clearly ungovernable country …

Atlanta considers banning baggy pants  —  ATLANTA - Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs would be illegal under a proposed amendment to Atlanta's indecency laws.  —  The amendment, sponsored by city councilman C.T. Martin, states that sagging pants are an "epidemic" that is becoming a "major concern" around the country.

Fox-Backed Democrat Debate Called Off  —  Sept. 23 Debate Will Not Be Held; Major Candidates Had Been Planning To Skip  —  (AP) Fox News and a black political group say they will not hold a Sept. 23 Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, which the leading candidates already were planning to skip.

Military Coup Planned for Iraq?  —  A rumor is circulating among well-connected and formerly high-level Iraqi bureaucrats in exile in places like Damascus that a military coup is being prepared for Iraq.  I received the following from a reliable, knowledgeable contact.

MANO A MANO: SPENCER V DERBYSHIRE  —  When Robert Spencer read John Derbyshire's "marvelously written and delightful to read" but "full of inconsistencies" review of his book, Religion of Peace?  —Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't, he promised Pajamas Media a response.  He has delivered.

Vitter Needs Only 10 Hours In Iraq To Declare 'The Surge Is Working Very, Very Well'  —  Yesterday, Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Bob Corker (R-TN) returned from a brief trip to Iraq, proclaiming that they saw "clear success" on the ground.  But their definitive claims of witnessing success …