Fox News Channel bombs with comedy show  —  Jon Stewart knows how to do slashing comical commentary.  He weighs in on what's happening, such as the media's bizarre coverage of Anna Nicole Smith's death.  —  David Letterman knows how to do slashing comical commentary.

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming in on an icy day.  I have just finished a conversation with General David Petraeus.  He gave me his first briefing from Iraq.  He talked about the Baghdad security plan.  It's the plan that I described to the nation last January …

Barbara Starr spreads WH propaganda on Iran/ Bush will not confirm-White House Blues  —  What's the words in that Prince song?  "Just like 1999"..This segment by Starr is amazing.  —  Download (1776) |  Play (1443) Download (795) |  Play (899) (correction) … Then what are you doing Barbara?

TERRORISM....A recent post from Glenn Reynolds about how we ought to be responding to Iran has been batted around quite a bit in the past few days.  Here's Glenn: … I imagine a lot of people agree with Glenn, but his recommendation really demonstrates the moral knot caused by George Bush's insistence …

Protector of the free world deserves better  — Anti-Americanism has a long pedigree, but that only makes it more irrational, writes Janet Albrechtsen  —  BY all means unfurl the banners, dust off the placards and prop up the distorted effigies of George W. Bush.

A Prewar Slide Show Cast Iraq in Rosy Hues  —  When Gen. Tommy R. Franks and his top officers gathered in August 2002 to review an invasion plan for Iraq, it reflected a decidedly upbeat vision of what the country would look like four years after Saddam Hussein was ousted from power.

Conscience and Soul  —  Reading through the interview with Vanderslice, who is one of the religious left political consultants, there's plenty I agree with.  I do agree that Democrats should reach out to religious voters and it's something they've been bad at doing, though they've been pretty bad …

Mahdi army commanders withdraw to Iran to lie low during security crackdown  —  Senior commanders of the Mahdi army, the militia loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, have been spirited away to Iran to avoid being targeted in the new security push in Baghdad, a high-level Iraqi official told the Guardian yesterday.

MELLENCAMP: U.S. SHOULD NOT RESPOND TO 9/11 OR PEARL HARBOR  —  Singer John Mellencamp on the 'Charlie Rose Show' said the removal of the Taliban after 9/11 was wrong, but further Mellencamp stated if the United States knew exactly where Osama bin Laden was it would be wrong to drop a bomb on OBL's head.

LAWYER ADMITS LEAKING BALCO TESTIMONY  —  He agrees to plead guilty — prosecutors say they'll end effort to jail reporters  —  A lawyer admitted in court documents Wednesday that he provided a Chronicle reporter with transcripts of confidential grand jury testimony by Barry Bonds …

Recall drive targets McCain over Iraq  —  A new recall drive targets Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a top contender for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.  —  Organizers oppose McCain's continued support of the unpopular Iraq war and consider him complicit in what they perceive as the erosion …

For Liberal Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder  —  The perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr., former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, has drawn every major news organization in the country to the federal courthouse in Washington.  But none has fielded a bigger team …