Old legal feuds divided, linked McCain and ex-wife  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An old lawsuit on record at the city courthouse reveals a moment of friction between John McCain's mother and his ex-wife.  Years later, McCain and his former wife presented a united front in a lawsuit of their own.

Manhunt backlash  —  The executives of a gay sex site are apparently more concerned about the perception that they're associated with John McCain than McCain is about the association with them.  —  The chairman of the board of Manhunt, the Cambrige-based hook-up site, was forced to resign after reports that he gave $2,300 to McCain.

History's Back  —  Ambitious autocracies, hesitant democracies.  —  One wonders whether Russia's invasion of Georgia will finally end the dreamy complacency that took hold of the world's democracies after the close of the Cold War.  The collapse of the Soviet Union offered …

JUDGE NULLIFIES JUROR NULLIFICATION: A very interesting post today by Tim Lynch on Cato @ Liberty on a recent jury trial in a drug case: … To read his analysis go to Juror Becomes Fly in the Ointment.  —  For those with a serious interest in jury nullification, I highly recommend Jury Nullification …

Rep.: Half of House Dems may vote Hillary at DNC  —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez says she's happy for the chance to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention—and she predicts that as many as half of the Democrats in the House could join her.

Candidates Face Three Critical Weeks  —  Barack Obama returns to action Saturday after a week's vacation for a joint appearance with John McCain at the Saddleback Church in California.  Obama's reappearance on the campaign trail signals the beginning of three of the most critical weeks of the general election.

U.S. May Ease Police Spy Rules  —  More Federal Intelligence Changes Planned  —  The Justice Department has proposed a new domestic spying measure that would make it easier for state and local police to collect intelligence about Americans, share the sensitive data with federal agencies and retain it for at least 10 years.

Man of Courage  —  Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008.  —  Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero's virtue of courage.  He displayed courage, he reflected on it.  The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep, difficult, and reserved.  Back to this in a moment.

Democratic Leaders  —  Congressional Leaders  —  Speaker of the House: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)  —  Nancy Pelosi made history this year, breaking the marble ceiling to become the first woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.  With Democrats returning to the majority …

Candidates make their appeals to evangelicals  —  LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Until recently, an event like this would have been unimaginable: The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees meeting at a megachurch to face questioning from an evangelical preacher.

“Media Matters”; by Jamison Foser  —  Sixteen years later, media still peddle Bob Casey myth  —  For the past 16 years, news organizations have been repeating an obvious falsehood about the 1992 Democratic convention.  According to countless news reports — in The New York Times …

The Clintons Are Here to Stay  —  Get used to it.  They are not going away.  Anyone who thought that Barack Obama had sent Hillary Clinton back to the Senate to atone for her campaign's sins or banished her husband, baying at the moon, into the wilderness was deluded.