S. Dakota's Sen. Johnson has possible stroke  —  Takes ill in Capitol Hill office, hospitalized for evaluation  —  NEW YORK - Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S. D., has been hospitalized with symptoms described as stroke-like.  The seriousness of his illness has not been disclosed.

Military Meets, Exceeds Recruiting Goals  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops.  The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army …

U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case  —  In simultaneous dawn raids, federal immigration agents swept into six Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, rounding up hundreds of immigrant workers in what the agents described as a vast criminal investigation of identity theft.

Beyond Baker-Hamilton  —  One Approach to a Last Try at Stability in Iraq  —  A collapse of the Iraqi state would be catastrophic — for the people of Iraq, for the Middle East and for America's strategic interests.  We need a new political and military approach to head off this impending disaster …

Point of personal privilege  —  (CNN) — "Humor is the nitroglycerin of politics," a political analyst wrote long ago.  "Very powerful, but if it's not handled carefully, it can explode in your face."  —  Actually, I wrote those words in a widely un-read book.

Move to bring genocide case against Ahmadinejad as Iran president repeats call to wipe out Israel  —  Robert Tait in Tehran, Ed Pilkington in New York  —  The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, is backing a call for the president of Iran to be charged with inciting genocide …

How Academe Shortchanges Conservative Thinking  —  Notwithstanding the outcome of the recent election, in one respect, the last few decades mark a breakthrough era for conservative intellectuals.  Their visibility has soared.  Thirty years ago, the only place to find conservatives on television …

Former CNN News Chief To Launch 'IraqSlogger' Site  —  NEW YORK For the past four years there has been no shortage of news and views on Iraq and the long-running war there.  What's been missing: a one-stop-shopping clearinghouse for nonpartisan information, including material coming …

Democrat Bill Nelson Meets with Syrian Dictator  —  Hamas has been claiming that they've held meetings with top US Democrat leaders; I've been skeptical.  —  But this outrage makes their claims easier to believe.  (Hat tip: Snapped Shot.) … UPDATE at 12/13/06 9:39:35 am:  —  It isn't just Bill Nelson.

The Power of the Press  —  The media is in need of some mending.  —  Thomas Jefferson, a better president than we've had in a very long time, penned a line back in 1787: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government …

'Convert or die' game divides Christians  —  Some ask Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind  —  Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart …

More Journalists Join Political News Venture  —  Mike Allen, a reporter who covers the White House for Time magazine, and Roger Simon, the chief political correspondent for Bloomberg News, are joining the new multimedia political news venture being overseen by two former Washington Post journalists.

Lobbying the Jury  —  We are disappointed that the Supreme Court has upheld a defendant's conviction even though spectators at his trial put prejudicial material in sight of the jury.  Fortunately, the court made clear that its ruling this week was based only on the unusual way the issue was raised …

The Foley Fallout  —  Soon-to-be-speaker Nancy Pelosi is fond of mentioning that she's the mother of five, grandmother of six.  The California Democrat should keep that in mind as she reviews the House ethics committee's report on former representative Mark Foley and considers proposals for tougher ethics enforcement.

Calif. officials tried to secure earmark to buy Miller's land  —  Members of a California city council tried to secure federal funds to purchase a large swath of Rep. Gary Miller's (R-Calif.) land as part of a wilderness preserve project.  —  The Monrovia City Council immediately faced resistance …

Web Site Hunts Pedophiles, and TV Goes Along  —  Last month, the Web site Perverted-Justice.com posted news of the conviction of Sean Young, a Wisconsin man sentenced to 10 years in state prison for soliciting sex online from a 14-year-old girl.  According to a transcript of an online chat posted …