A New Channel for Soft Money Starts Flowing  —  The so-called Wounded Warriors Act, legislation intended to improve health care for veterans, has attracted nearly unanimous, bipartisan support in Congress.  So why would the newly formed Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America begin running …

Edwards, Obama: The enemy of my enemy ...  They switched on the lights in the bar at the Hotel Fort Des Moines at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, and a crowd of two dozen buoyant young field organizers for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spilled out onto the sidewalk, some jostling past Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman …

Anti-abortion group to endorse Thompson  —  Fred Thompson will pick up the support of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) tomorrow, according to two Republicans familar with the decision.  —  For a candidate who came up empty-handed last week when three prominent Christian conservatives …

Iran has a right to seek nuclear capability  —  is a writing fellow with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the 1985 Nobel Peace laureate  —  Some call it "the nuclear double standard;" others, "nuclear apartheid;" still others, "America's nuclear hypocrisy."

Falling Flags  —  ABC News' Eloise Harper and Rick Klein Report: It's been a rough stretch for Hillary Clinton — a tough debate performance, a lost voice, and the revelation that the Clinton campaign had been coaching questioners at events.  —  Then, on Sunday, everything started falling down around her.

Al Gore's next act: Planet-saving VC  —  The recovering politician is teaming with a legendary venture capitalist and bigtime moneyman to make over the $6 trillion global energy business.  A Fortune exclusive  —  (Fortune Magazine) — It's lunchtime on Sand Hill Road, and Al Gore wants answers.

Farmers Ask Federal Court To Dissociate Hemp and Pot  —  Wayne Hauge grows grains, chickpeas and some lentils on 2,000 acres in northern North Dakota.  Business is up and down, as the farming trade tends to be, and he is always on the lookout for a new crop.  He tried sunflowers and safflowers and black beans.

Climate scepticism: The top 10  —  What are some of the reasons why "climate sceptics" dispute the evidence that human activities such as industrial emissions of greenhouse gases and deforestation are bringing potentially dangerous changes to the Earth's climate?

Reason No. 384 Why I Love Our Commenters  —  Richard Armitage was a guest on CNN's Late Edition yesterday.  Crooks and Liars has the full clip of his appearance where, surprisingly, he was asked about his betrayal of Valerie Plame Wilson (to both Bob Novak and Bob Woodward, just to be clear on all the facts, since only Novak comes up).

LFL LOL  —  Hollywood anti-war Bush-bash surge tanks at the box office.  UK Guardian: Lions for Lambs turns out to be a turkey.  Spanked by a B, I mean Bee Movie, a gangster's flick and some holiday schlock. … As predicted by Agence France Presse: … The French pegged it.

SPEAKING SOFTLY....Admiral William Fallon thinks that the war party needs to ratchet down its Iran rhetoric, and today David Ignatius reports that Efraim Halevy, the former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, agrees: … This is, though hardly a majority view in Israel, not an uncommon one either.

Did David Brooks Tell the Full Story About Reagan's Neshoba County Fair Visit?  —  In his November 9, 2007, column in the New York Times, David Brooks discussed Ronald Reagan's appearance at the Neshoba County Fair in 1980 and his use of the term "states' rights."

Broder Says He Won't Write About Rudy's Marriage — Despite Devoting Multiple Columns To The Clinton Marriage  —  I'd missed this on Friday but it's definitely worth a quick note.  Check this out from David Broder's chat with readers: … So Broder won't be writing about the Clinton and Giuliani marriages going forward?

'I'll Sell My Soul to the Devil'  —  Corruption Scandals Involve Alaska's Biggest Political Names  —  ANCHORAGE — When the FBI came looking for corruption in Alaska politics, it found an excellent perch in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Juneau, the state capital.

Colorado Springs and the Politics of Conformity  —  What are the effects of the Internet on democracy?  The answer depends, of course, on how people use the Internet.  But let's begin with a possible clue, coming from a small experiment in democracy, held in Colorado in 2005.