Domenici Lawyers Up  —  What a small world.  Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) has nabbed Lee Blalack, best known as Duke Cunningham's lawyer, to represent him in the Senate ethics investigation, The Washington Post reports.  —  And they note the obvious irony:

A PARDON IS CERTAIN  —  IN HIS last days as president, George W. Bush will pardon Scooter Libby - that is, if the convictions secured yesterday don't get overturned on appeal.  —  For political reasons, Bush can't pardon Libby earlier than that.  His responsibilities as head of the Republican Party …

Iranian general 'seeking asylum in US'  —  A RETIRED Iranian general who went missing in Turkey last month has defected and sought asylum in the US, according to a well-connected Arabic newspaper published in London.  —  The newspaper, al-Shark al-Awsat, cited "high-profile" …

Harsh Words Die Hard on the Web  —  Law Students Feel Lasting Effects of Anonymous Attacks  —  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, has published in top legal journals and completed internships at leading institutions in her field.  So when the Yale law student interviewed with 16 firms for a job this summer …

Giuliani reminds GOP of the glory days - of 2002 … Given conservatives' wariness toward Mr. Giuliani - who is twice divorced and supports both reproductive and gay rights - it's surprising to find "America's mayor" as the GOP front-runner.  —  Here's my theory for why Mr. Giuliani is ascendant …

Contextualizing the Fox News Fight  —  It looks like the Nevada Democratic Party's house of cards, and particularly Harry Reid's stonewalling, is collapsing.  Local Democrats are frustrated.  John Edwards stepped up big time, and made a choice of refusing to validate a right-wing institution …

Soviet-era compound in northern Poland was site of secret CIA interrogation, detentions  —  US, Britain asked Poland to join clandestine program  —  POLAND — The CIA operated an interrogation and short-term detention facility for suspected terrorists within a Polish intelligence training school …

LET'S TONE IT DOWN, PEOPLE  —  Iowahawk Online Community Issues Forum Special  —  by Ann Coulter and Bill Maher  —  ANN: Hello, I'm syndicated columnist and best-selling author Ann Coulter.  —  BILL: And I'm Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time."  —  ANN: Today we want to talk …

How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam  —  Is it racist to condemn fanaticism?  —  Once I was held captive in Kabul.  I was the bride of a charming, seductive and Westernised Afghan Muslim whom I met at an American college.  The purdah I experienced was relatively posh …

Report: Assad flips out at Ahmadinejad on phone  —  Syrian President Bashar Assad exchanged harsh words with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a phone conversation, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassah reported on Wednesday.  —  Sources close to the Syrian leader told the newspaper …

Under VA Chief, Effort to Aid Wounded Vets Stalled, Ex-Employee Charges  —  Brian Ross and Justin Rood Report:  —  A proposal to keep seriously wounded vets from falling through the cracks of the bureaucracy was shelved in 2005 when Jim Nicholson took over as the secretary …

Surprise!  Pork-Barrel Spending Drops  —  Citizens Against Government Waste Says Spending on Legislators' Pet Projects Dropped in 2006  —  Tax money spent on small projects that only benefit one congressional district or region are often slipped into legislation at the 11th hour …

Conservative Democrats Assert Power  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced scorn from fellow Democrats during a recent closed-door meeting for not moving more aggressively on Iraq, it was conservative Blue Dogs _ her ideological opposites _ who rose to defend her.

Muslim Websites Target Georgia Motorist for Death (sticky)  —  **sticky** scroll down for more recent posts  —  Two Islamic militant websties have called on Muslims to kill the driver of a Georgia registered vehicle displaying an offensive bumper sticker.  On February 28 the "Black Lion" …