Former Top General in Iraq Faults Bush Administration  —  In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top American commander called the Bush administration's handling of the war incompetent and warned that the United States was "living a nightmare with no end in sight."

How to Win a Nobel Peace Prize  —  Al Gore did it—you can too!  —  In the last decade, Al Gore has won the triple crown: an Oscar, a Nobel Peace Prize, and (this is disputed) Florida.  Now, winning an Oscar is hard—you usually have to pretend to be handicapped, or speak …

RUDY GIULIANI ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FOREIGN POLICY ADVISORS  —  The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee today announced additional members of Mayor Giuliani's foreign policy team, including Dr. Ruth Wedgwood, an internationally-renowned legal and United Nations expert, as a member …

This Is Mean, Unfair, And Amusing  —  But people, as in voters, pick up on it:

Who Lost Turkey?  —  Turkey has been the strongest ally that the United States has had in the Middle East since the end of WW II.  The Marshall Plan started with Northern tier states like Turkey and Greece.  Turkey joined NATO and was a key player in the American victory in the Cold War.

On Ezra Klein  —  I can't say I read him very often but I came across this chilling post of his from last week.  It's an attack on any independent thought outside of the situational demands of a political coalition.  It is a full-throated and not-even-regretful support for the subjugation …

Legal or Not, Abortion Rates Compare  —  A comprehensive global study of abortion has concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it.

Newsweek's Jaw-Dropping Erratum  —  The editor of Newsweek has added a remarkable erratum to the sidebar to a nasty article by Michael Hirsh about the Giuliani campaign, "Would You Buy a Used Hawk From This Man?"  First, here is the sidebar: … The subsequent correction warrants a place in Guinness World Records.

"MEANIES," "HYPOCRITES," AND THE INFANTILIZATION OF POLITICS  —  The infantilization of American politics is nearly complete.  Exhibit A is the Democrats' use of a 12 year-old to give the party's radio address.  Exhibt B is much of what E.J. Dionne writes.  —  These exhibits come together in Dionne's latest column.

USS Cole Anniversary Today: Media Silent  —  On this day in the year 2000, the guided missile destroyer USS Cole was attacked by Islamic terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden's al-Quaeda group.  Today is the seventh anniversary of that attack.  Seventeen American sailors were killed …

Fred Thompson: The Next Ronald Reagan?  —  Fred Thompson made his first major appearance in the CNBC/MSNBC debate earlier this week.  It's difficult to say why, but Chris Matthews thought Thompson deserved more time than any of the other candidates.  So how did the 18-year veteran lobbyist do?

Associated Press Is Outdone In Accuracy By...Fox News!  —  Updated below.  —  It's a very sad day for a reputable news organization when it finds itself badly outdone on accuracy by Fox News, but that's exactly what happened to the Associated Press today.  —  The AP is running with a story right …