TIMES GIVES LEFTIES A HEFTY DISCOUNT FOR 'BETRAY US' AD  —  The New York Times dramatically slashed its normal rates for a full-page advertisement for MoveOn.org's ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.  —  Headlined "Cooking the Books …

Abu Risha murdered  —  I was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on an short piece about Iraqi Sunni politics due out later today when I got an urgent flash that Abd al-Sattar Abu Risha had been murdered in Anbar.  Nothing could have been more predictable than the murder of Abu Risha …

Clinton, Pelosi, Greenspan, Bloomberg, Gates, Annan Also Say Interviews 'Fakes'  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  Former President Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates …

The Other Iraq Surge  —  A sharp increase in contributions from the military to Democrats suggests the Republican commander-in-chief and his party are losing the troops' support.  —  Assessed favorably this week by the war's lead general, the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq appears to be causing …

Dems Demand Boehner Apologize For "Small Price" Troop Deaths Remark  —  Okay, here we go.  —  Democratic leaders are now opening fire on GOP House leader John Boehner, demanding that he apologize for saying in an interview yesterday that troop deaths in Iraq would be a "small price" …

CT-Sen: Lamont would win rematch  —  Daily Kos commissioned the following poll from independent pollster Research 2000:  —  Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/10-12.  Likely voters.  MoE 4% (No trend lines) … Lieberman won 50-40-10 in 2006, so the poll tracks closely.

Is a Fred Thompson Campaign Necessary?  —  Fred Thompson's plunge into the presidential pool — more belly-flop than swan dive — was the strangest product launch since that of New Coke in 1985.  Then the question was: Is this product necessary?  A similar question stumped Thompson the day he plunged.

Obama: Congress Won't Challenge Bush  —  MAQUOKETA, Iowa — Despite the unpopularity of the Iraq war, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama predicted Thursday that Congress won't directly challenge President Bush's plans and will focus instead on putting a ceiling on the number of troops deployed to that country.

FRED: NOT SURE ABOUT NATIONAL CAT FUND, SCHIAVO  —  THE VILLAGES — Republican Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, addressing some Florida-specific questions for a Tampa Bay-area cable program, says he doesn't have an opinion about a national catastrophic insurance fund or the 2005 congressional intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.

As Bush Prepares for 'Surge' Address Tonight: Here Is What He Promised in January Speech  —  NEW YORK With President Bush reportedly ready to endorse a full continuation of the "surge" in Iraq through next summer in a speech to the nation tonight, a look back at what he promised in his address …

Researcher: Bin Laden's beard is real, video is not  —  On the Friday before the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Osama bin Laden appeared in a new video, his first since prior to the U.S. presidential elections in 2004.  In analyzing the video, Neal Krawetz of Hactor Factor, an expert on digital image forensics …

43% Support Petraeus Recommendation, 38% Oppose  —  Forty-three percent (43%) of Americans favor the recommendation made by General David Petraeus to withdraw 30,000 soldiers from Iraq but leave 130,000 troops in place at least through the summer.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found …

CALIFORNIA VOTERS CAN'T CHANGE THE 2008 ELECTION RULES ON THEIR OWN.  —  Republican presidential candidates are crossing the country promising voters that they'll pick judges who will be "strict constructionists" of the U.S. Constitution.  Meanwhile, Republican activists in California …

The Immigration Charade  —  State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America  —  America's ongoing argument about immigration has followed a fairly consistent sequence for three decades.  Each round begins with news reports about the fact that thousands of new immigrants are settling here illegally every week.

A New Strain of Anti-Semitism is Spreading  —  Who recently said: "These Jews started 19 Crusades.  The 19th was World War (1).  Why?  Only to build Israel."  —  Some holdover Nazi?  —  Hardly.  It was former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan of Turkey, a NATO ally.

Crocker's Fuzzy Economics  —  NEWS: Ambassador Ryan Crocker had tough marching orders this week: Spin the political and economic chaos of Iraq into something that sounds like progress.  But even the mild gains Crocker professed don't stand up to close scrutiny.