NIE: Iraq 'Unable to Govern' Itself Effectively  —  Iraq remains "unable to govern" itself effectively and hobbled by the absence of strong leadership, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's inability to broker political accord continues to make him vulnerable, according to a new U.S. intelligence report released today.

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.

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.

AZ-01: Under Fire, Renzi Will Retire  —  With the retirements of Reps. Hastert (IL-14), Pryce (OH-15), and Pickering (MS-03) last week, the Republican caucus has been bracing itself for more surprises.  Today brings another retirement: embattled Rep. Rick Renzi (AZ-01).  From Roll Call:

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" …

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.

New Construction Accident at the Deutsche Bank Building  —  A piece of construction equipment fell from the scaffolding surrounding the troubled, partly demolished Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan at 1:54 p.m. today, injuring two firefighters, according to city officials.

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.

Mexican Senate sides with mom deported from USA  —  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican Senate committee passed a measure Wednesday urging President Felipe Calderon to send a diplomatic note to the United States protesting the deportation of an illegal migrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year.

Arizona School Suspends 13-Year-Old Boy for Drawing Gun  —  MESA, Arizona — Officials at an Arizona school suspended a 13-year-old boy for sketching what looked like a gun, saying the action posed a threat to his classmates.  —  The boy's parents said the drawing was a harmless doodle and school officials overreacted.

Why America's Pullout From Vietnam Worked  —  The truth behind Bush's mangling of Cold War history.  —  The Soviet Union was in its final days of existence when I visited Vietnam in late December of 1991.  The cold war was about to end forever with the collapse of one of the two adversaries that had kept it going for 40-odd years.

Today's Moment of Zen  —  Serious!  —  ...this is from May 30, 2003, about 2.5 months after the war started.