A dose of discipline for McCain's campaign  —  The Sergeant has been promoted.  —  Whenever Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) needed an answer to a political question during long days on buses and planes with reporters during the GOP primary, he would turn to a linebacker of a campaign adviser.

Judge Rejects Bush's View on Wiretaps  —  WASHINGTON — A federal judge in California said Wednesday that the wiretapping law established by Congress was the “exclusive” means for the president to eavesdrop on Americans, and he rejected the government's claim that the president's constitutional authority …

A Supreme Court on the Brink  —  In some ways, the Supreme Court term that just ended seems muddled: disturbing, highly conservative rulings on subjects like voting rights and gun control, along with important defenses of basic liberties in other areas, including the rights of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Can Barack Buy the Presidency?  —  On the money front, how do Sens. Obama and McCain stack up?  No contest, it seems.  Since the campaign began, Mr. Obama has raised a staggering $295-plus million, versus Mr. McCain's almost $122 million.  But that's misleading.  —  Mr. Obama spent a lot to win the nomination.

Election 2008: Montana Presidential Election  —  Montana: Obama Leads McCain By Five  —  Barack Obama is leading John McCain by five percentage points in Montana.  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Obama attracting 48% of the vote while McCain earns 43%.

Hostage Rescue Is Happy Coincidence for McCain in Colombia  —  Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, and his wife, Cindy, visited a Colombian Navy drug interdiction boat off Cartagena on Wednesday.  Mr. McCain cited both progress and work to be done in stemming the flow of drugs into the United States.

YOU AND YOUR CELL....All modern cell phones are equipped with GPS capability that allows your location to be tracked within a few meters at all times.  Question: does the federal government have access to this tracking information without a warrant?  The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information request …

Research: Wind power pricier, emits more CO2 than thought  —  'Windfarm output is never zero.  Sometimes it's less'  —  Fresh contenders have entered the UK wind power debate, as a turbines expert funded by the Renewable Energy Foundation publishes an investigation into a hotly-disputed subject …

Panel Questions State Dept. Role in Iraq Oil Deal  —  Bush administration officials knew that a Texas oil company with close ties to President Bush was planning to sign an oil deal with the regional Kurdistan government that ran counter to American policy and undercut Iraq's central government, a Congressional committee has concluded.

MoJo Convo: Iran Panic?  A Follow Up Question for the Experts  —  Earlier this week MoJo writer Laura Rozen asked an Israeli intel correspondent, an Iranian American activist, an arms expert, a former peace negotiator, and an anti-war intellectual:  —  How likely is a scenario in which the US …

McCain Allies Find Finance-Law Holes  —  Governors' Fund Recruits Big Donors; Bid to Catch Obama  —  Allies of Sen. John McCain have found new loopholes in the campaign-finance law he helped write — and they're using them to reel in huge contributions to help him compete with Sen. Barack Obama.

America's Days Aren't Numbered  —  I have a simple request.  As we celebrate the birth of the American Republic, can we all stop predicting its death?  It's getting depressing.  —  The last time I strolled through the local Barnes & Noble, there were so many books announcing the end of American power …

CNBC Contributor Blasts Limbaugh Deal: ‘What Are These People Smoking?’  —  Vanity Fair media columnist says popular host will be ‘oddity,’ claims ‘rise of conservatism’ ‘coming to an end.’  —  Business & Media Institute  —  It's time to short-sell Clear Channel Communications stock …

FISA: Keep The Pressure Going...  digg it  —  Yesterday, Blue America launched a call tool to help you get in touch with Senators regarding the FISA bill.  —  As I said yesterday, we've launched this tool in support of the Dodd-Feingold-Leahy Amendment to strip telecom immunity from the bill.

Crime doesn't pay  —  I just found out a friend of mine got shot three times in the stomach last night in my neighborhood during a mugging.  He's in the hospital, possibly facing major surgery.  —  This seems like a terrible time to launch into a diatribe on gun control …

Iraq Hints at Delay in U.S. Security Deal  —  BAGHDAD — Declaring that there will not be “another colonization of Iraq,” Iraq's foreign minister raised the possibility on Wednesday that a full security agreement with the United States might not be reached this year, and that if one was, it would be a short-term pact.

(Updated) Why Are Right-of-Center Bloggers So Silent On Torture?  —  As you know if you are a reader of this or any number of other blogs, The New York Times broke a biggie yesterday in reporting that the Pentagon knowingly employed torture techniques that the Communist Chinese used …