Democrats' Iraq Push on Hold  —  Reid Plans Spring Effort to Set June 2008 Pullout Deadline  —  Unable to garner enough Republican support, Senate Democratic leaders said yesterday that they are abandoning a bipartisan effort to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq by next spring.

'Dozens died in Syrian-Iranian chemical weapons experiment'  —  Proof of cooperation between Iran and Syria in the proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction was brought to light Monday in a Jane's Defence Weekly report that dozens of Iranian engineers and 15 Syrian officers were killed in a July 23 accident in Syria.

Introducing This Blog  —  "I was born in 1953.  Like the rest of my generation, I took the America I grew up in for granted - in fact, like many in my generation I railed against the very real injustices of our society, marched against the bombing of Cambodia, went door to door for liberal candidates.

Iraqi Report Says Blackwater Guards Fired First  —  A preliminary Iraqi report on a shooting involving an American diplomatic motorcade said Tuesday that Blackwater security guards were not ambushed, as the company reported, but instead fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman's call to stop, killing a couple and their infant.

Debate No-Shows Worry GOP Leaders  —  Candidates Are Urged to Attend Forums Sponsored by Minorities  —  Key Republican leaders are encouraging the party's presidential candidates to rethink their decision to skip presidential debates focusing on issues important to minorities …

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village  —  LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.  —  Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled …

Md. Ban On Gay Marriage Is Upheld  —  Law Does Not Deny Basic Rights, Is Not Biased, Court Rules  —  Maryland's highest court yesterday upheld a 34-year-old state law banning same-sex marriage, rejecting an attempt by 19 gay men and lesbians to win the right to marry.

Migration Reshapes Iraq's Sectarian Landscape  —  A vast internal migration is radically reshaping Iraq's ethnic and sectarian landscape, according to new data collected by thousands of relief workers, but displacement in the most populous and mixed areas is surprisingly complex …

Police report student told them: 'You didn't do anything wrong'  —  GAINESVILLE - Police have released the incident report detailing the Tasering of a University of Florida student during a campus forum with Sen. John Kerry Monday, and the officer who actually Tasered Andrew Meyer wrote …

U.S. Working to Reshape Iraqi Detainees  —  Moderate Muslims Enlisted to Steer Adults and Children Away From Insurgency  —  The U.S. military has introduced "religious enlightenment" and other education programs for Iraqi detainees, some of whom are as young as 11, Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone …

the claim  —  "You know, you look back over our history, and it doesn't take you long to realize that our people have shed more blood for other people's liberty than any other combination of nations in the history of the world.''  — Fred D. Thompson, stump speech in Des Moines, Sept. 7

In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge  —  SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney walked onto the Olympic stage in 1999 a rich businessman still smarting from losing his first bid for public office.  He walked off, three years later, a star-polished candidate who would be elected governor of Massachusetts in a matter of months.

The Real Bush Record  —  In his new book, "The Age of Turbulence," my longtime friend Alan Greenspan argues that President Bush's economic and budget policies have been fiscally irresponsible.  I've known and admired Alan for years, and I believe he was a great chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Mortgages and Monetary Policy  —  In the past 50 years, there have been two macroeconomic policy changes in the United States that have really mattered.  One of these was the supply-side reduction in marginal tax rates, initiated after Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980 and continued …

Reader's Alley  —  Right fire decisions  —  Sen. Barkus, R-Kalispell, is wrong to attack Montana firefighters who have worked tirelessly this year to deal with multiple fires sparked by record-breaking heat.  —  Sen. Barkus called for an investigation of firefighting decisions and accused …