Make the Bush Record the Issue  —  Absent amnesia—which only happens on soaps—Democrats will be fine.  —  Times are tough for the Republican Party and its candidates.  Earlier this month, according to Gallup, more people strongly disapproved of George W. Bush than any previous president since the advent? …

OPEC Interested in Non-Dollar Currency  —  Ahmadinejad: OPEC Members Interested in Converting Cash Reserves Into Non-Dollar Currency  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves …

"Tough" Tim Russert Refuses To Challenge Rudy's Dissembling  —  We keep hearing that Tim Russert is very, very "tough."  We keep hearing that he doesn't let any craven or dissembling politician slip any malarky past him, dammit.  —  Except, of course, that he does — when it's Rudy.

McCain on Secret Service: Why Do I Need It?  —  Sen. John McCain in the snows of New Hampshire.  (AP).  —  John McCain often says on the campaign trail that he wants to take on the system in Washington.  Usually, he's talking about congressional spending and pork-barrel projects.

A world dying, but can we unite to save it?  —  Pollution in the seas is now speeding global warming, says a devastating new climate report.  'IoS' Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean reports from Valencia  —  Humanity is rapidly turning the seas acid through the same pollution that causes global warming …

PATRIOTISM: NOT QUITE DEAD IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS  —  Conservatives tend to be skeptical of the public schools, which too often put more stock in political correctness than either academic achievement or traditional values.  So when the public schools do something well, it's good to take notice.

This Sounds Like a Really Fun Mission  —  Fred Kagan and Michael O'Hanlon say we'd better get ready to deploy "a sizable combat force" to Pakistan for a mission that "would involve supporting the core of the Pakistani armed forces as they sought to hold the country together in the face …

Created Equal  —  Liberal creationism  —  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ...  Last month, James Watson, the legendary biologist, was condemned and forced into retirement …

Rudy Giuliani jets to campaign stops using casino kingpin's plane  —  The Republican presidential hopeful anted up more than $122,000 last summer alone for jets traceable to casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands empire has made him the third-richest American, a Daily News review of campaign records shows.

Channeling Dick Cheney  —  I have no idea who is going to win the Democratic presidential nomination, but lately I've been wondering whether, if it is Barack Obama, he might want to consider keeping Dick Cheney on as his vice president.  —  No, I personally am not a Dick Cheney fan …

Huckabee: Abortion not states' call  —  WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee rejects letting states decide whether to allow abortions, claiming the right to life is a moral issue not subject to multiple interpretations.  —  "It's the logic of the Civil War," …

Tucson TV Station Broadcasts Arizona Fort Huachuca Terror Threat Report  —  KOLD News 13 Tucson is currently running a special report focused on a urgent FBI report outlining a possible terrorist threat in southern Arizona.  It speaks specifically to Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista.

Hezbollah rebuilds south Beirut  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - The Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah has launched a massive project to rebuild south Beirut, devastated in last year's war with Israel — and it's paying for much of the construction with international donor funds that were meant …

Bomber kills kids getting toys from troops  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A roadside bomb killed three Iraqi children and injured seven as they gathered around American troops handing out toys on Sunday, police and government officials told CNN.  —  Three U.S.soldiers were also killed …

FDL Book Salon Welcomes Naomi Klein  —  (Please welcome in the comment section author Naomi Klein — jh)  —  The political impulse to take advantage of social upheaval in order to implement unpopular policies that a citizenry would otherwise fight against seems to be throughout history a rather intuitive one.

Jefferson Accused of Two More Schemes  —  Federal prosecutors on Friday accused Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) of soliciting bribes in two alleged schemes that had not been previously disclosed.  —  The allegations, detailed in a seven-page document filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria …