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

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 …

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.

Broad Concerns about Internet Voting  —  The verdict is in on Internet voting, and if Caucus readers are any guide, it's a non-starter, at least for now.  We asked our readers a few days ago whether Internet voting might be a plausible way to stage re-votes in Michigan and Florida.

Defending Bill Clinton  —  You may want to sit down, but I read the following Bill Clinton remarks yesterday and didn't see anything untoward about them: … I don't think he's implying that Obama doesn't love his country or is not devoted to the interest of this country (although you could, with some strain, parse it that way).

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Keep the Christ in Christmas...  ...but take Him out of Easter: … So now the story ends with the Last Supper - and presumably afterwards Jesus and His friends watch Elmo and then go to bed.  That the foundational event of your faith is now excessively “disturbing” is almost too parodic …