Facing Down Iran  —  Our lives depend on it.  —  Most Westerners read the map of the world like a Broadway marquee: north is top of the bill—America, Britain, Europe, Russia—and the rest dribbles away into a mass of supporting players punctuated by occasional Star Guests: India, China, Australia.

Believe it this time, buster  —  My friend Fred Kaplan can't bring himself to believe that the Cheney administration is, pick your adjective (sufficiently crazy, irresponsible, evil, uncaring about human life, happy to encourage terrorism against the United States, whatever) to launch a pre-emptive nuclear war against Iran.

Six in Ten Americans Critical of Bush on Leaks  —  But Bush job approval holds steady at 37%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds more than 6 in 10 Americans critical of President George W. Bush on the leak controversy.  The more closely people are following the issue …

Cheney booed loudly, throws out first pitch  —  Vice president throws out first pitch after visiting Mets, Nats locker rooms  —  WASHINGTON - Greeted with loud boos and some cheers, Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday at the Washington Nationals' home opener.

Berlusconi disputes Prodi victory  —  Italy's centre-left opposition leader Romano Prodi has been declared official winner of the parliamentary election after an extremely close race.  —  But his rival, centre-right PM Silvio Berlusconi, refused to admit defeat, saying there had been irregularities.

'We Decided Not to Be Invisible Anymore'  —  Pro-Immigration Rallies Are Held Across Country  —  Hundreds of thousands of pro-immigration demonstrators mobilized on the Mall and in scores of cities across the country yesterday in a powerful display of grass-roots muscle-flexing that organizers …

Gingrich at USD: Pull out of Iraq (video)  —  Ex-House speaker says U.S. should scale back  —  VERMILLION - Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave …

Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies  —  Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue.  —  ATLANTA — Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant.  —  Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality.

WHAT BUSH SHOULD DO  —  When I talk to people about the sad state of the Bush administration lately, we always ask ourselves, "Well, what can he do now?"  And I never have an answer, nor does anyone I talk to.  Which is a pretty good reason to give way to the kind of despair George Conway expressed today.

Which side is the national media on?  —  Uncle Jimbo- Bestriding the internets like a colossus  —  Love this blog?  Hate it?  Want more info?  Add your comment to the Military Matters forum  —  Is the US military allowed to have an information warfare strategy?

US economy's latest output: better jobs  —  Newest job numbers show that businesses are expanding opportunities in high-wage fields.  —  The US economy isn't just producing jobs these days, it's also producing good jobs.  Alongside the ads for jobs handling a cash register or a spatula are these new opportunities:

Security lapse reveals secrets of Air Force One  —  Air Force One, the presidential jet, is a near-mythical symbol of US power, shrouded in so much secrecy that even foreign leaders invited on board are forbidden from seeing every corner.  But the aircraft just became rather less mysterious …

Rubber Stamp Republican Congress Video Goes Live  —  UPDATE: I'm pulling the video links up to the top so everyone can find them more easily:  —  **You can watch the video of our stamp delivery to Sen. Arlen Specter at Crooks and Liars and at PoliticsTV.  Our first Rubber Stamp Republican Congress stamp delivery went well.

Iraq's Beauty Queen Resigns After Four Days  —  Pageant Winner Cites Threats by Religious Extremists  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 10, 2006 — Iraq's newly crowned beauty queen, Tamar Goregian, has decided to step down — just four days after her election, making this the shortest reign in the pageant's 60-year history.

Three Strikes and You're ... in Like Flint  —  American and British criminologists have long been puzzled and angered by the fact that Britain seems to have learnt nothing from the experience of New York in successfully reducing crime.  —  The big drop in virtually all types of crime …

Dean Is Mum, but Brother Backs a Lieberman Rival  —  HARTFORD, April 10 — At the Connecticut Democratic Party's annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey fund-raising dinner last month, James H. Dean was among the guests invited to sit at the table of Ned Lamont, a Greenwich cable television executive …

Back to Iraq Part II - The Anatolian Deathmarch  —  This is the second installment of a Back to Iraq series.  Read the first installment here.  —  ANATOLIA, TURKEY - Sean and I woke at first light and headed south from Canakkale toward the ancient ruins of Troy.

In Attics and Rubble, More Bodies and Questions  —  NEW ORLEANS, April 5 — When August Blanchard returned to New Orleans from Pennsylvania in late December, his mother was still missing.  Family members, scattered across the country, had been calling hospitals, the Red Cross and missing persons hot lines, hoping she had been rescued.