Conservatives Refuse To Appear On Fox News To Publicly Defend Gonzales  —  On Fox News Sunday this morning, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) refused to defend Attorney General Alberto Gonzales against accusations that he may have perjured himself before Congress.

It's How We Pull Back  —  Try to imagine what was running through the mind of Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's ambassador to Baghdad, as he sat across the negotiating table from his American counterpart, Ryan Crocker, last week.  While the U.S. diplomat delivered his stern warning against Iranian meddling in Iraq …

Iraq defy odds to win Asian Cup  —  JAKARTA (Reuters) - Iraq completed one of sport's great fairytales by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday to provide a rare moment for celebration in their war-torn homeland.  —  The Saudis had been bidding to become the first four-times winners …

Swat somebody's butt, and yours belongs to the the D.A.  —  Do you know Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison?  —  If you do, don't approach them.  Call 911 and order up a SWAT team.  They're believed to be in the vicinity of McMinnville, Ore., where they're a clear and present danger to the community.

Critics say Rudy didn't make as many cuts as he claims  —  It is Rudy Giuliani's favorite boast on the presidential campaign trail: "I cut taxes 23 times" as mayor of New York, he says, a claim inevitably met by applause.  —  The impressive-sounding stat stars in radio ads this week …

Freed Guantanamo inmates take up arms  —  AT LEAST 30 former Guantanamo Bay detainees have been killed or recaptured after taking up arms against allied forces following their release.  —  They have been discovered mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but not in Iraq, a US Defence Department spokesman told The Age yesterday.

Nerd Patrol  —  The NY Times magazine asks the age-old question: … Hmm - if you have been wondering who's a nerd for twelve years, your research might well be conducted with a bathroom mirror (works for me!). … There are no Asian nerds?  If anyone in this household would ever wake …

Official: $20 billion arms sale to Saudis in the works  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The United States is developing a proposed $20 billion, 10-year arms sales package for Saudi Arabia, a senior administration official confirmed on Saturday.  —  The proposed sale, first reported in The New York Times …

Pace University Koran Case - Unbelievably Outrageous  —  I've received an email from Stanislav Shmulevich, who has been arrested in New York for putting a Koran in a toilet at Pace University.  And his case is even more outrageous than we first reported.  —  First, Shmulevich was arrested and jailed for 24 hours.

Three in 10 Call SCOTUS 'Too Conservative'  —  Poll Finds Figure Is Considerably Higher Than Two Years Ago  —  Three in 10 Americans say the Supreme Court is "too conservative," up sharply from two years ago and now substantially more than call it "too liberal."

The Under-Taxed Kings of Private Equity  —  AN arcane debate is raging in Congress over the appropriate taxation of the bountiful incomes of people who manage private-equity and hedge funds — incomes that can range into the hundreds of millions a year.  I don't recommend trying to master …

A Column Prompts a Dressing-Down  —  How did it come to this?  Hillary Clinton's cleavage leading off the ombudsman's column?  —  The Post got thousands of angry letters and calls last week — the vast majority from women — in response to a July 20 Style column by Fashion Editor Robin Givhan …

Worry about bread, not oil  —  The great demographer and economist Thomas Malthus was 23-years-old the last time a British summer was this rain-soaked, which was back in 1789.  The consequences of excessive rainfall in the late 18th century were predictable.

Bush Aide Blocked Report  —  A surgeon general's report in 2006 that called on Americans to help tackle global health problems has been kept from the public by a Bush political appointee without any background or expertise in medicine or public health, chiefly because the report did not promote …

MTP: Harwood Likens Hillary's Cleavage To Barry Bond's Doping  —  Play (214) (Thanks to David for the video)  —  Ah, the quality of political discourse these days.  Never mind that we're involved in an unwinnable quagmire costing the country thousands of lives and billions of dollars.

Answering to No One  —  The Post's recent series on Dick Cheney's vice presidency certainly got my attention.  Having held that office myself over a quarter-century ago, I have more than a passing interest in its evolution from the backwater of American politics to the second most powerful position in our government.

Abandoned homes concern city officials  —  Increasing numbers of newer Chandler homes are being abandoned by cash-strapped owners, leaving weeds, green pools and headaches for neighbors and city officials.  —  "It's scaring me," neighborhood services Sgt. Greg Carr said of the trend.