Experts Doubt Drop In Violence in Iraq  —  Military Statistics Called Into Question  —  The U.S. military's claim that violence has decreased sharply in Iraq in recent months has come under scrutiny from many experts within and outside the government, who contend that some of the underlying statistics …

Reacting to Fred on Jay Leno  —  I held off on assessing the transcript, I wanted to see how Fred Thompson came across to a viewing audience.  —  The Upsides: Thompson is a likeable figure.  He comes across as a decent man; there's none of the I-don't-trust-this-guy-slickness of John Edwards or the brittleness of Hillary.

Transcript of the Fox News Republican Presidential Candidates Debate  —  The Fox News Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in Durham, N.H. with candidates: Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas); the former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani; the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee …

FBI Makes 11 Corruption Arrests In N.J.  —  NEW YORK — Eleven public officials were charged Thursday in a widespread FBI corruption investigation in New Jersey, officials said.  —  Among those charged were Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera and Orange Mayor Mims Hackett, investigators said.

The Making of the Front-Runner  —  As the serious stage of the presidential campaign begins this fall, Hillary Rodham Clinton has clearly established herself in the lead of the race for the Democratic nomination.  That makes her the most worthy subject for examination among all the White House prospects.

How I Didn't Dismantle Iraq's Army  —  "The Iraqi Army of the future cannot be an extension of the present army, which has been made into a tool of dictatorship."  — Report by the Department of State's Future of Iraq Project, May 2002  —  IT has become conventional wisdom that the decision …

US Democratic hopeful Kucinich meets Assad, blasts Bush  —  US Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, on a Mideast visit that included a stop in Syria, said the country lambasted by the Bush administration deserves credit for taking in more than a million Iraqi refugees.

"Muslim Student Association Harasses Women and Jews at University of Texas-San Antonio"  —  Happily, they shot their own video to document the occasion.  —  I'm interested to hear what the diversity czars and the risk-averse university bureaucrats have to say about this kind …

GOP senators hold 'spirited' discussion on Craig  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican senators held what one participant called a "passionate" and "spirited" closed-door discussion Wednesday afternoon about how their leaders responded to the sex scandal involving their colleague Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, CNN has learned.

Judge Strikes Down Part of Patriot Act  —  NEW YORK -  —  A federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court's approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.

SO I'M READING JACK GOLDSMITH'S NEW BOOK, The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration, and so far it's quite good.  Excerpt: … As I've said before, this war has been overlawyered, which is not to say it has been well-lawyered.  Goldsmith notes that the Defense …

Petraeus for President?  —  "Senators and distinguished guests, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify in respect of progress in the Battle of Iraq.  Before I do however, there are a few things I'd like to get off of my chest.  Although your house of Congress confirmed …

A Wall Street Trader Draws Some Subprime Lessons: Michael Lewis  —  Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) — So right after the Bear Stearns funds blew up, I had a thought: This is what happens when you lend money to poor people.  —  Don't get me wrong: I have nothing personally against the poor.

Let Bush Be Reagan  —  New Rule: For the next 18 months, let Bush be Reagan.  A completely dissociative personality who lets the real work of the nation go on elsewhere, while he sits behind his desk and hums.  I don't think the problem is that Bush lives in a bubble.  I say make the bubble thicker.

Larry Craig and "Don't Tap, Don't Tell"  —  The ignominious fall of Senator Larry Craig casts new light on the importance of the nation's "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning open homosexuals from military service.  —  If preventing public sex in airport men's rooms is important enough …

September 6, 2007 - Clinton Opens Lead Over Giuliani As Dems Surge In Ohio, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Little Unity Among Republicans  —  Ohio, the key state in the 2004 presidential election, is turning blue in the 2008 campaign, with Democratic candidates winning 11 of 12 matchups …