Queen Hillary, Empress of Mesopotamia  —  My friend, David Brooks, does his best to reinforce the Hillary-Is-Inevitable consensus in Washington right now.  He may regret this, though: … Then we hear this from a right-wing reporter with access to Bush:

Bed-wetter Nation  —  Here's a big question that I want to start addressing in upcoming posts: what is conservative rule doing to our nation's soul?  How is it rewiring our hearts and minds?  What kind of damage are they doing to the American character?  And can we ever recover?

Ahmadinejad Gets Laughed At  —  Watch Ahmadinejad's face here.  —  He's not being feared.  He's being laughed at.  Imagine how the Iranian people feel seeing these clips (and they're seeing them).  Imagine how the rest of the Iranian government feels being made to look so foolish …

Webb: Lieberman And Kyl's Hawkish Iran Amendment Is 'Cheney's Fondest Pipe Dream'  —  On the Senate floor today, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) made an impassioned appeal to his fellow senators, declaring that the Lieberman-Kyl amendment on Iran should be "withdrawn" because the "proposal is Dick Cheney's fondest pipe dream."

House Passes Expanded Children's Health Insurance  —  With an overwheming bipartisan vote of 265-159, the House has just passed the final House-Senate agreement to reauthorize the successful Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), H.R. 976, for an additional five years.

Iraqi Prime Minister Says That Civil War Has Been Prevented  —  Maliki Also Plays Down Iran's Influence  —  Civil war has been averted in Iraq and Iranian intervention there has "ceased to exist," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said yesterday.  —  "I can't say there is a picture …

Video: Tiny terrorist declares end of world order, dawn of new golden age  —  A few highlights stitched together.  The World War II era, "as well as the era of materialistic thoughts based on arrogance and domination," hath ended and the new age of love, peace, justice, dignity, friendship …

Bush, at U.N., Announces Stricter Burmese Sanctions  —  President Bush, calling on countries to live up to freedoms and rights promised by the United Nations almost six decades ago, on Tuesday announced tighter sanctions on Myanmar and denounced the governments of Belarus, Cuba, Iran …

Bush's UN Speech Full of Fone-eh-tick Pronunciations for World Leaders  —  ABC News' Ann Compton and Jennifer Duck report: Never before has the White House released a draft version of the President's speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly.  —  But this year, a glimpse …

Pay Pals — Paul supporters reach into their pockets  —  Supporters of long-shot GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) are putting their money where their mouth is — the Internet.  —  With the third quarter drawing to a close, the campaign said it expects to exceed the $2.4 million haul …

House Panel Approves a Trade Pact With Peru  —  A trade pact between the United States and Peru won bipartisan support in a crucial Congressional committee Tuesday, signaling that some Democrats will be receptive to new trade deals as long as they call on other nations to adhere to international labor and environmental standards.

Hollywood reporting for duty?  —  What duty, if any, does Hollywood have to the country?  What role should it play in the national discourse? … Good night and good laugh  —  By Andrew Breitbart  —  David,  —  Trust me, David, my expectations for the cinematic braintrust you eagerly defend are quite low.

Koppel on Rather Suit: Squeezing Out of Newsman was a 'Travesty'  —  Calling the ouster of Dan Rather from CBS News in 2006 a "travesty," newsman Ted Koppel said today that he hopes the $70 million suit filed by Mr. Rather against CBS and Viacom will bring Mr. Rather "relief from his [emotional] pain."

Hofstra Law School Hosts Sixth Biannual Legal Ethics Conference "Lawyering at the Edge: Unpopular Clients, Difficult Cases, Zealous Advocates"  —  Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, NY: Hofstra Law School is pleased to announce its upcoming 2007 Legal Ethics Conference, Lawyering at the Edge …

House panel debates hip-hop lyrics  —  WASHINGTON - Two rappers, sitting side-by-side in an ornate House hearing room, went in different directions Monday on the need for hip hop artists to expunge their work of sexist and violent language.  —  One, Master P, apologized to women for past songs …