12 Captains  —  With an alarmingly poor grasp of political and military realities in Iraq and the United States weigh in with the following at the Washington Post: … It would be far quicker, cheaper and less politically traumatic to simple expand the military, and offer financial incentives to boost enlistment.

Thanks For the History Lesson  —  I value the writers' service and their opinions as soldiers who have served in Iraq, but wouldn't this editorial have meant more if the Washington Post had managed to find soldiers to write it who had actually been in in Iraq in the last year?

Breaking News: Hillary Pledges to End War "Immediately" Upon Taking Office  —  Every year I go to a fundraiser luncheon sponsored by group called Eleanor Roosevelt's Legacy Committee.  It's a group that raises money, recruits and trains Democratic women candidates and give campaign grants to those running in New York.

McConnell aide shared blog tips  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's spokesman acknowledged yesterday that he alerted reporters last week to questions bloggers raised about the financial circumstances of a 12-year-old boy Democrats had used to urge passage of an expanded children's health insurance program.

A Still, Small Voice  —  A few weeks ago, I interviewed Deborah Pryce, the Republican congresswoman, in her Washington office.  There was a doll propped up against a windowsill, and I wanted to ask her if it had belonged to her daughter, who died of cancer at age 9 in 1999.