Baghdad Diarist Was On Guard When Questioned by Editors  —  The soldier whose New Republic article about military cruelty in Iraq was labeled false by Army investigators refused to defend his accusations when questioned by the magazine, even after being told that the editors could no longer support him unless he cooperated.

New Steps by U.S. Against Iranians  —  The Bush administration will announce a long-debated policy of new sanctions against Iran on Thursday, accusing the elite Quds division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps of supporting terrorism, administration officials said Wednesday night.

Bobby Caina Calvan Blog : the entire post with comments preserved  —  UPDATE: Good gracious, blogging since '97 and my first Instalanche.  Thank you Mr. Reynolds!  Thank you AOSHQ and the lovely and talented Michelle Malkin as well.  —  The entire site is 404′d, and the comments were the sweetest plum!

'DREAM Act' backers still dreaming  —  The immigration issue has become so toxic in American politics that Congress is now unable to pass even modest measures that once had widespread support, and immigration supporters who were once on the verge of a bipartisan breakthrough are now in danger of a backlash in next year's elections.

Clinton, Giuliani hold big leads in Florida  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - A new Quinnipiac poll out of Florida Thursday shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani each hold a substantial lead over their competitors in the Sunshine State.

Soros-backed Medicare insurer raided by FBI  —  The St. Petersburg Times reports on an FBI raid of WellCare, a shady Medicare insurer...initially funded by far Left billionaire George Soros and run by one of his acolytes: … Wellcare serves Medicare and Medicaid customers-more than 350,000 seniors in Florida alone.

Time for the Bundesmacht  —  Remember the Wehrmacht?  It was a formidable fighting force.  The modern German army, the Bundeswehr, is also very effective.  Thing is, it is reluctant to fight or even place itself in danger.  —  Given history, that may seem just fine.

In His Words: Giuliani on Torture  —  DAVENPORT, Iowa — At a town hall meeting here last night, Rudolph W. Giuliani expanded upon his views of torture.  Here is a transcript of the exchange.  —  Linda Gustitus, who is the president of a group called the National Religious Campaign Against Torture …

Musn't say the V-word  —  I read this sort of thing and I just do a slow burn. … The more interesting question is why should all of the parents who don't have the choice to send their kids to a private school, or move to the suburbs?  How do you write an article this long without noting …

Biden Stumbles in Interview  —  In an interview with The Washington Post's editorial board, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) asserted that he is more prepared to be president than any other candidate, disputed the notion that governors are better suited for the White House than senators and warned …

STRESS MESS IN U.S.  —  48% CAN'T SLEEP  —  We're stressed out, we can't sleep, we're drinking too much - and it's getting worse.  —  Forty-eight percent of Americans say they're more stressed now than they were five years ago, and the same percent report regularly lying awake at night because of stress …