Hunker Down With History  —  The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake.  It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims …

Transformation's Toll  —  "Grotesque" was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's characterization of the charge that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was responsible for the current Middle East conflagration.  She is correct, up to a point.  This point: Hezbollah and Hamas were alive and toxic long before March 2003.

G.O.P. Senator Resisting Bush Over Detainees  —  WASHINGTON, July 17 — Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina often plays the contrarian, the conservative Republican willing to poke a stick in the eye of the White House.  —  Now Mr. Graham is playing an even higher-profile variant of that role …

No-fly list to ignore terror ties  —  Belonging to group won't be enough to be deemed air threat  —  OTTAWA — Being a member of a terrorist organization won't necessarily land someone on Canada's no-fly list, The Canadian Press has learned.  —  Proposed criteria would limit inclusion …

President Bush Strikes From Behind  —  At the G-8 summit, President Bush grabs German Chancellor Angela Merkel from behind and gives her a quick massage before rushing off.  Chancellor Merkel is not amused.  —  While the Middle East burns, our fearless leader is busy with his frat boy pranks.

Where Is The "Netroots Left" On Israel?  —  Missing in action.  —  First a bit of background.  The so-called Netroots Left, led by Markos Moulitsas of the popular Daily Kos, wants to be a player in American politics.  As a test case, the Kossacks are throwing their weight behind political …

Bush Set to Use First Veto on Stem Cell Bill  —  Despite Divided GOP, President Says He Will Not Ease Restrictions on Federally Funded Research  —  Since his inauguration in 2000, President Bush has gone out of his way to avoid an overt confrontation with Congress.

NOT EQUAL:  —  At Tapped, Matt Yglesias writes that Hezbollah's rocket strikes, as compared with Israel's bombing of Lebanon, are "equally indefensible."  Equally?  Hezbollah began the crisis with an act of war that included a cross-border incursion and a kidnapping.

For CBS's Fall Lineup, Check Inside Your Refrigerator  —  IN September, CBS plans to start using a new place to advertise its fall television lineup: your breakfast.  —  The network plans to announce today that it will place laser imprints of its trademark eye insignia …

SOLDIER FULFILLING PROMISE TO DELIVER AFGHANI RUG TO PRESIDENT  —  U.S. Army Lt. Col. Grayson Gile of Marion holds up a rug that he received while serving in Afghanistan as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operation Task Force.  The men that gave it to him asked if he could get the rug …

Boehner sees difference in coffin TV ads  —  Inside Washington  —  WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, called on Democrats last week to pull a TV ad that shows images of flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers, calling the spot "outrageous."

A Proxy War against Iran  —  Putting aside the arguments over the rights and wrongs of Israel's bombardment of Lebanon in response to Hizbollah's missile attacks, I think it's worth taking a sideways step to analyse the west's overall response to the new crisis.

CALLING ALL RIGHTIES: DIGG THIS  —  Thanks to my wonderful web guy, Mark Jaquith, you'll notice a new feature at the end of every post that I started including over the weekend.  It says "Digg This."  If you click on it, it'll take you to Digg, the hot user-powered content site that now has a Politics section.

Military-Style Assault Kills Dozens in Iraqi Marketplace  —  BAGHDAD, July 17 — Masked attackers with heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks slaughtered at least 40 people in a crowded market area south of Baghdad on Monday, hurling grenades to blow up merchants at their counters …