Columbia's disgrace  —  There is a suicidal mania that grips elite opinion in the United States.  It is exemplified nowhere better than in our elite educational institutions.  Today, for example, Columbia University has issued the following statement to its alumni:

Donors Stir 'Bundling' Questions  —  Clinton Campaign Vows  —  To Check Contributions  —  Solicited by Supporter  —  BRISTOW, Va. — When Hillary Rodham Clinton held an intimate fund-raising event at her Washington home in late March, Pamela Layton donated $4,600, the maximum allowed by law …

Rather Strikes Back  —  I was extremely surprised by Dan Rather's lawsuit yesterday, but not as stunned as the CBS people I called, who just simply could not believe it.  —  No one was shocked that Rather is still mad at CBS — he made that clear when he left the network last year …

James Dobson to Fred Thompson: No Thanks  —  James Dobson, head of the influential Focus on the Family Ministry will be taking a pass on supporting Fred Thompson.  You can read why below from The Associated Press and then get my take afterwards: … Read the whole article here.

Reso Condemning MoveOn Passes Overwhelmingly, With Lots Of Dems  —  The GOP-introduced resolution condemning MoveOn just passed by a huge margin, 72-25.  Roughly half the Democrats in the Senate supported it.  —  A couple of the more interesting votes: Jim Webb, who just yesterday was a Netroots hero …

Senate Set To Vote Today On Condemning MoveOn — And On Boxer's Alternative  —  Looks like there's going to be another contentious vote in the Senate today.  Harry Reid's office tells me that there's going to be a vote today on a GOP-introduced resolution on whether to condemn MoveOn for running …

New al-Qaida video released  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the United States was being defeated in Afghanistan, Iraq and other fronts in a new video released Thursday, the latest in a series put out by the terror network.  —  The video came days …

Terror Watch: A secret lobbying campaign  —  The secret lobbying campaign your phone company doesn't want you to know about  —  The nation's biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve …

Fox's goddamn hypocrisy.  —  During the Fox network broadcast of the Emmy Awards this week, Actress Sally Field's acceptance speech was censored because she used the word "goddamn."  "If mothers ruled the world," Field said, "there would be no god-damned wars in the first place."

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  In just 10 days the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as S-CHIP, is set to expire.  This important program helps children whose families cannot afford private health insurance, but do not qualify for Medicaid to get coverage they need.

Fears of dollar collapse as Saudis take fright  —  Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve for the first time, signalling that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom is preparing to break the dollar currency peg in a move that risks setting off a stampede out of the dollar across the Middle East.

The Straight and Not Narrow  —  For some reason a couple of people who have written to me in the last few days, on matters unrelated to this post, have mentioned in passing that the Democrats won a "narrow victory" in 2006.  Apparently this is conventional wisdom, what you get from reading or watching a lot of commentary.

Congress Approval Rises Slightly to 24%  —  Gain almost entirely due to improved ratings from Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's 2007 polling from January through August chronicled a nearly relentless decline in public approval of the job Congress is doing.