Thanks and Praise  —  Thanks and Praise: I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John's Church in Baghdad.  They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome.  —  A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from …

Pat Robertson Endorses Rudy: Deems Him 'More Than Acceptable to People of Faith'  —  Pat Robertson, one of the most influential figures in the social conservative movement, announced his support for Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid this morning at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. [Watch the video below]

Good as Gold  —  Kevin Drum calls Ron Paul a "fruitcake" and demands that you—yes, you!—stop taking him so damn seriously. … Dean Barnett trods some of the same territory, arguing that Paul is a crazy candidate for crazy people who won't run on sensible ideas like doubling Gitmo and moving …

U.S. Aid to Musharraf is Largely Untraceable Cash Transfers  —  After Pervez Musharraf declared martial law this weekend, Condoleezza Rice vowed to review U.S. assistance to Pakistan, one of the largest foreign recipients of American aid.  Musharraf, of course, has been a crucial American ally since …

Girl gets detention for hugging  —  Illinois middle school bans public displays of affection; parents urge change  —  MASCOUTAH, Ill. - Two hugs equals two days of detention for 13-year-old Megan Coulter.  —  The eighth-grader was punished for violating a school policy banning public displays …

ENDA passes the House.  —  The House passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed this evening with a 235-184 vote.  Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), on the verge of tears, one of two openly gay members of the House, delivered an emotional speech denouncing the efforts of conservatives …

Ex-Navy Instructor Promises to Hit Back If Attacked on Torture  —  Malcolm Nance, good-spirited though he is, is a pugnacious guy.  Nearly 20 years' service in the Navy, including time instructing would-be Navy SEALs how to resist and survive torture if captured.  Intelligence and counterterrorism expert.

Election 2008: New Hampshire Democratic Primary  —  New Hampshire: Clinton Lead Shrinks to 10 Points  —  Senator Hillary Clinton's lead in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire Primary has fallen to its lowest level of the season.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone poll …

Top Conservative Group Wants To Know: Does Rudy Agree With Robertson On 9/11?  —  Rudy's willingness to accept Pat Robertson's endorsement — despite his agreement that America "deserved" to be attacked on 9/11 — is discomfiting at least one major social conservative group that disagreed …

U.S. Prosecutors to Seek Charges Against Kerik  —  Federal prosecutors are scheduled to seek a grand jury indictment on Thursday of Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, on a list of charges that include tax fraud, corruption and conspiracy counts, according to people who have been briefed on the case.

Court strikes down Jan. 15 primary  —  Voter participation lists called unconstitutional  —  Michigan's star-crossed bid to leap to the head of the presidential primary nominating process appeared to go up in smoke Wednesday as an Ingham County Circuit Court judge ruled that a provision …

Countdown: Impeachment Impediment  —  Keith Olbermann brings my favorite talking head, Air America's Rachel Maddow, to discuss the fumbling and cowardly manner in which Dennis Kucinich's motion to impeach Dick Cheney was handled yesterday. … I know from the contents of my email inbox …

Gunmen open fire on Venezuelan protesters  —  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on students, killing at least one, as they were returning from a march Wednesday at which 80,000 people denounced President Hugo Chavez's attempts to expand his power.  —  At least one person was killed and six were wounded, officials said.

Report: Abstinence not curbing teen sex  —  WASHINGTON - Programs that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenager sexual behavior, although they are eligible for tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, according to a study released by a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce teen pregnancies.

Giuliani Is Still Standing By Questionable Figures  —  The former New York mayor would have us believe that he was off by one percentage point at most in calculating his chances of surviving prostate cancer in Britain.  In fact, he was spectacularly wrong the first time and equally wrong the second time.

Bush: If I Were Iraqi, I'd Be Saying, 'God, I Love Freedom'  —  This afternoon, President Bush held a joint press conference with French President Nicholas Sarkozy.  A reporter asked Bush where he stood "on Iraq and your domestic debate on Iraq," and whether he had a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops.