Giuliani Inspires Threat of a Third-Party Run  —  Alarmed at the possibility that the Republican Party might pick Rudolph W. Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate.

Sen. Clinton's Empty Table  —  "THERE ARE basically only three options: We can raise taxes again, which no one wants to do because the payroll tax is regressive. . . We can cut benefits. . . Or we can work together to try to find some way to increase the rate of return."

Roddy Stinson: Passenger sitting behind soldier reports 'a very moving moment'  —  THE GOOD  —  Last Wednesday, while flying from Phoenix to the Alamo City on U.S. Airways Flight 207, a San Antonio man, Gil Anderson, witnessed something memorable.  —  Shortly before takeoff …

Gotbaum kin's plea before dying: I'm not a terrorist!  —  BY SOO YOUN in Phoenix and ETHAN ROUEN and ADAM LISBERG in New York  —  The daughter-in-law of one of New York's top officials screamed, "I'm not a terrorist!" and fought with security officials in the Phoenix airport before being wrestled …

Burma: Thousands dead in the massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle  —  Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ruling junta has revealed.  —  The most senior official to defect so far …

Michigan Goes Smoot-Hawley In The Early Morning  —  The economic woes of Michigan appear ready to worsen, thanks to a budget agreement reached this morning as the state government began shutting down.  Michigan residents will see their taxes increase by over a billion dollars …

Peace is Dangerous  —  As the level of American casualties in Iraq falls to its lowest level in more than a year, while Iraqi casualties fall as well, Erick at Red State notes that as tragic as the loss of life is, the final year of the Carter administration saw greater losses of life among U.S. soldiers …

First Read: Thompson's fundraising struggles  —  Here's something to compare Thompson's money to: the 1st Q numbers of his three main rivals: Romney raised 21.2M; Giuliani raised 16.6M; McCain raised 13M.  —  By comparison, Fred's $7-8M (or even $10 million) this quarter is not great.

Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out  —  Since Clarence Thomas joined the Supreme Court 16 years ago, he has largely remained silent, and his silence has become part of his mythology.  He rarely speaks from the bench.  He hasn't responded to legions of critics.

Podhoretz: 'I Believe Bush Is Going To Order Airstrikes On Iran Before He Leaves Office'  —  Norman Podhoretz, widely reputed as the "godfather" of neoconservatism, has released a new book entitled World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofacism, a strident call for continuing the Bush strategy of preemptive wars.

What We Owe the Burmese  —  An upheaval like the pro-democracy uprising taking place in Burma over the past month tends to shake up certainties that had seemed self-evident.  Certainties such as the primacy of justice.  Or the sanctity of the Olympic Games.

High Court won't hear birth control case  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to enter a church-state dispute over whether some religious organizations can be forced to pay for workers' birth-control health insurance benefits, a growing trend in the states.