Full Text of Email Reveals Greenwald Mischaracterizations  —  Welcome, fellow minions of the lgf New World Odor  —  Glenn Greenwald, as he had promised in his post at Salon, has forwarded the email he says he received from Colonel Steven A. Boylan, Public Affairs Officer for General Petraeus.

Iraqi troops free tribal leaders kidnapped by Mahdi Army commander  —  Just 24 hours after the capture of 11 Sunni and Shia tribal leaders in northern Baghdad, the Iraqi Army has freed eight of the sheikhs.  Meanwhile, Multinational Forces Iraq has identified the Mahdi Army commander responsible …

President Bush Announces Recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom  —  President George W. Bush today announced recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civil award.  Established by Executive Order 11085 in 1963, the Medal may be awarded by the President …

Obama issues 3-page memo defending gay-basher spokesman, explaining that McClurkin has no problem with "happy" gays  —  Obama's campaign now says that McClurkin only wants to cure the unhappy gays.  (The rest of us are, I guess, fine to continue trying to kill America's children.)  —  From the Washington Post:

GIULIANI'S LATEST....The Washington Post notes that Rudy Giuliani will be running a new radio ad in New Hampshire starting today: … You will be unsurprised to learn that Giuliani is full of s**t.  As you can see from the chart on the right, Britain and the United States have virtually identical mortality rates from prostate cancer.

Looming Catastrophe as Campaign Opportunity  —  If Obama is hoping for an issue to gain traction with vis a vis Hillary, he's really muffed it picking Social Security.  In itself the idea of removing or significantly restructuring the 'cap' on payroll taxes is a good one, at least one with a lot to recommend it.

Sarkozy storms out of "60 minutes" interview  —  PARIS: "No, no. This is stupid," President Nicolas Sarkozy snorted, abruptly unplugging his microphone and calling his press secretary an "imbecile" for setting up an interview with American television network CBS on a busy day.

Authority Figure  —  The childhood roots of Giuliani's strange views of liberty.  —  At a town hall meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire, last month, local resident Bob Roughsedge introduced Rudy Giuliani as "the next mayor of the United States."  No one tittered or spoke up.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds Will Now Tell All - and Face Charges if Necessary - to Any Major Television Network That Will Let Her  —  Attention CBS 60 Minutes: we've got a huge scoop for you.  If you want it.  —  Remember the exclusive story you aired on Sibel Edmonds …

KRUGMAN ON IRAN AND 9/11  —  I tend to agree with Paul Krugman's argument that "Islamofascism" has "no chance of collapsing the United States, let alone taking over the world."  However, this is a remarkable claim...  Here are passages from Chapter 7 of the 9/11 Commission Report.

AIDS virus invaded U.S. from Haiti: study  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The AIDS virus invaded the United States in about 1969 from Haiti, carried most likely by a single infected immigrant who set the stage for it to sweep the world in a tragic epidemic, scientists said on Monday.

Rep. Tancredo to Retire From House at End of Next Term  —  DENVER — Rep. Tom Tancredo plans to leave the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of 2008, whether his longshot presidential bid is successful or not, the Rocky Mountain News reported.  —  "It's the fact that I really believe …

U.S. destroyer pursuing hijacked ship  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A U.S. destroyer has entered Somali territorial waters in pursuit of a Japanese-owned ship loaded with benzene that was hijacked by pirates over the weekend, military officials said Monday.  —  The guided-missile destroyer USS …

Immunity Deals Offered to Blackwater Guards  —  State Department investigators offered Blackwater security guards immunity during an inquiry into last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians, government officials said today, calling it a potentially serious investigative misstep …

The Audacity of Homophobia  —  I could spend all day unpacking this Obama statement, but I'll try to stick to my usual terse self. … Aside from the adoption of right wing frames, this kind of statement is incredibly insulting to both the LGBT community who are apparently …