Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime Change  —  This morning on Fox, Bill Kristol continued to escalate his calls for war against Iran, stating, "We can try diplomacy.  I'm not very hopeful about that.  We have to be ready to use force."

In First Veto, Bush Blocks Stem Cell Bill  —  President Bush today used the first veto of his presidency to stop legislation that would have lifted restrictions on federally funded human embryonic stem cell research.  —  "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope …

Four in 10 Republicans Would Not Find McCain an "Acceptable" Nominee  —  Clinton, Edwards, Gore most acceptable possible Democratic nominees  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A recent Gallup Panel poll asked Republicans and Democrats whether they would find each of several possible contenders …

Reed's Rise And Fall Writ Small  —  As state party chair, Ralph Reed led GA Republicans to historic victories in '02.  They elected a governor for the first time since Reconstruction, knocked off an incumbent U.S. Senator, gained a majority in the state Senate and made gains in the state House.

NEW PEW BLOGGER STUDY  —  The Pew Internet and American Life project today released a fascinating study on Americans who consider themselves bloggers — that is who say they maintain "a web log or 'blog' that others can read on the web."  A summary is available here, the full report and questionnaire here.

An Exclusive Mini-Interview With Mimi Miyagi  —  Yesterday, I got together with Mimi Miyagi, a former porn star running for Governor of Nevada as a Republican.  Her campaign is quite a ways back in the polls at the moment, but I thought she'd still be a fun interview — and she was!

The Guns of July  —  I wonder if this is how the summer of 1914 felt.  —  Then, you will recall, the assassination of the Austrian archduke by a Serbian nationalist terrorist provided the senescent Austro-Hungarian Empire the excuse it had been looking for to wipe out the Serbian nationalists …

CT-SEN: It's Official — Lieberman Rules Out Any Run On GOP Line  —  As I wrote below, Election Central posed a question this morning to the Lieberman campaign: Would he or would he not rule out a run on the GOP line if he lost the Dem primary and the line were offered to him?

O'Reilly smeared Media Matters, Democracy Alliance as "left-wing Mafia" that "intimidates good people" … Over the course of two segments during the July 18 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly falsely attacked the Democracy Alliance, an organization of donors formed …

Jordanian who killed 2 U.S. soldiers dies  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Jordanian who killed two U.S. soldiers last month was fatally wounded in a clash with security forces, a senior Iraqi official said Tuesday.  Diyar Ismail Mahmoud, known as Abu al-Afghani, was identified as the killer of the two soldiers …

Thune Says He'd Distance Himself From Bush  —  Freshman Sen. John Thune, the Republican hero two years ago for ousting the Senate Democratic leader, said Wednesday that if he were running this year, he'd distance himself from President Bush and his agenda.  —  In 2004, the White House …

India Blocks Several Web Sites, Many of Which Are Blog Homes  —  By ERIC BELLMAN in Mumbai and PETER WONACOTT in New Delhi  —  India's Internet regulators have started blocking several Web sites in a move that borrows a page from China, where government censors heavily restrict the flow of online information.