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."

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Fundraising: Fred's 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.

U.S. Pays Steep Price for Private Security in Iraq  —  It costs the U.S. government a lot more to hire contract employees as security guards in Iraq than to use American troops.  —  It comes down to the simple business equation of every transaction requiring a profit.

Sy Hersh on Bush's New Strategy for Iran  —  It seems the Bush administration has given up trying to convince Congress and the American people that Iran must be attacked because their nuclear program (currently under inspection by the IAEA) is an imminent threat to the US and its ally, Israel, requiring military action.

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.

Democrats to run radio ads against GOP  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - As President Bush prepares to brandish his veto pen, House Democrats are wasting no time in criticizing him and several Republicans who oppose the SCHIP health care legislation.  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee …