First a Tense Talk With Clinton, Then Richardson Backs Obama  —  PORTLAND, Ore. — “I talked to Senator Clinton last night,” Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico said on Friday, describing the tense telephone call in which he informed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton that, despite two months …

Passports probe focuses on worker  —  The State Department investigation of improper computer access to passport records of three presidential candidates is focusing on one remaining employee — a contract worker with a company headed by an adviser to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama

White House: Computer hard drives tossed  —  WASHINGTON - Older White House computer hard drives have been destroyed, the White House disclosed to a federal court Friday in a controversy over millions of possibly missing e-mails from 2003 to 2005.  —  The White House revealed new information …

No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film  —  Two evolutionary biologists — P. Z. Myers of the University of Minnesota, Morris, and Richard Dawkins of Oxford — tried to go to the movies at the Mall of America in Minneapolis Thursday evening.  Dr. Dawkins got in.  Dr. Myers did not.

Washington Post's curious Iran reporting  —  William Branigin and Robin Wright have a rather factually flawed Washington Post article on President Bush's speech on Iran that suggests either extreme sloppiness or that integrity has gone out the window in the news section.

Reporting Facts, Not Opinions  —  I think most readers of Talk Left know that it is my opinion that because Florida and Michigan will not have a revote, Hillary Clinton's chances to win the nomination are slim at best.  The key point here is it is my opinion, not a fact.

Incompetence  —  The past week saw a lot of “what did I get wrong"-type articles about Iraq and they frequently put me in the mind of the incompetence dodge.  I note that one frequent way in which people argue for the proposition that poor execution, rather than an underlying flawed concept …

A Very Rough First Week  —  Governor David Paterson should have been on cloud nine this week, having been sworn in as Governor of New York on Monday, replacing disgraced Democrat Eliot Spitzer.  Paterson, a Democrat himself, promptly began providing cannon fodder for the papers because he admitted …

American Public Says Government Leaders Should Pay Attention to Polls  —  Eight in Ten Say Public Should Have Greater Influence on Government  —  In sharp contrast to views recently expressed by Vice President Cheney, a new poll finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe government leaders …

Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out  —  PHILADELPHIA — It was hailed as Internet for the masses when Philadelphia officials announced plans in 2005 to erect the largest municipal Wi-Fi grid in the country, stretching wireless access over 135 square miles with the hope …

Newsrooms Revolt!  —  Profound sadness was my dominant emotion as I watched one of the cable news shows this morning.  Two attractive young ‘political analysts’, a handsome African American and a winsome blonde, (guess their politics), ‘illuminated’ the presidential race.