Bush vetoes health and education bill  —  NEW ALBANY, Ind. - President Bush, escalating his budget battle with Congress, on Tuesday vetoed a spending measure for health and education programs prized by congressional Democrats.  —  He also signed a big increase in the Pentagon's non-war budget although …

A Not-So-Perfect Picture of Party Unity  —  On both sides of the ticket, the presidential nominating contest is growing increasingly combative, as voters may well witness Thursday during a debate in Las Vegas among the Democratic candidates.  —  So how is John Edwards feeling …

Democrats remain stalled on Iraq debate  —  As the congressional session lurches toward a close, Democrats are confronting some demoralizing arithmetic on Iraq.  —  The numbers tell a story of political and substantive paralysis more starkly than most members are willing to acknowledge publicly, or perhaps even to themselves.

His Ideas Are Good, But I Want More Bullet Points  —  So we're back to arguing about John Edwards' plan to strip members of Congress of their health care if they don't pass comprehensive reform.  I'm always astonished at how bizarrely literally pundits act when they approach this idea.

Clinton, McCain and the B-word  —  At a campaign event in South Carolina Monday, a female supporter asked John McCain: "How do we beat the bitch?"  —  If the Arizona senator objected to that particular characterization of Sen. Hillary Clinton, he didn't exactly say so.

The Daily Show  —  IN many towns and cities, the newspaper is an endangered species.  At least 300 daily papers have stopped publishing over the past 30 years.  Those newspapers that have survived are struggling financially.  Newspaper circulation has declined steadily for more than 10 years.

Say It Enough Times It Must Be True  —  First the Clinton campaign whines that the other candidates were picking on the girl.  Then, standing up to Russert is like standing up to Hitler.  Then Bill Clinton compared Russert to the Swift Boat Vets.  Now the Clinton campaign is warning Wolf Blizter that he better not "pull a Russert."

Court takes no action on gun case  —  The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced no action on a new case testing the meaning of the Second Amendment — an issue the Court has not considered in 68 years.  The Orders List contained no mention of either the District of Columbia's appeal (07-290) …

Karim Amer is getting tortured in Prison  —  Abdel Karim Soliman, famously now known as Karim Amer, who got jailed for "disdain for religion" and "insulting the president" on his blog, is reportedly getting tortured by the Prison authorities. … I wish I could say I am surprised by this …

Man Found Dead, Stuck In Cat Door  —  \32-Year-Old Trying To Get In Girlfriend's Home  —  ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Johns County deputies recently launched an investigation into what they called one of the strangest accidents they've ever seen when a man was found dead after getting stuck in a cat door.

Movin' On Up  —  A Treasury study refutes populist hokum about "income inequality."  —  If you've been listening to Mike Huckabee or John Edwards on the Presidential trail, you may have heard that the U.S. is becoming a nation of rising inequality and shrinking opportunity.

Planting Paranoia  —  There are good reasons to be paranoid after seven years of the Bush administration.  Questions for pres conferences are frequently screened beforehand.  Pundits are paid off to shill for Bush administration policy without revealing it.

2/3 of NYers Oppose Gov's License Proposals - New & Old  —  Spitzer Job Performance Is 2:1 Negative; Plurality View Him Unfavorably  —  Nearly Half of Voters Prefer "Someone Else" Over Spitzer for 2010  —  Loudonville, NY, Seven in ten New York voters who have read or heard …

HILLARY CLINTON LIBRARY CARD  —  On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton consistently speaks to her level of experience; yet, she will not allow details of that experience to be reviewed by the public.  —  The American people deserve to know what information is being guarded in her libraries.

Post Critic Page Apologizes for E-Mail Remarks To Barry Aide  —  A Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for The Washington Post has apologized to D.C. Council member Marion Barry for sending an intemperate e-mail to his spokesman.  —  "It's the stupidest thing I've done in 30 years in journalism," music critic Tim Page said yesterday.