Ex-Aide Details a Loss of Faith in the President  —  In 1999, Matthew Dowd became a symbol of George W. Bush's early success at positioning himself as a Republican with Democratic appeal.  —  A top strategist for the Texas Democrats who was disappointed by the Bill Clinton years …

Iranian Official: Sailors May Be Tried  —  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's ambassador to Russia renewed a threat Iranian officials made earlier this week, saying 15 British sailors held by Iran could be tried for violating international law, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported Saturday.

Piss Donohue  —  I'm sorry to have to say this because I am generally pretty tolerant of religion and try to be respectful of others' beliefs.  But until the Catholic Church steps up and says that this screaming nutcase Bill Donohue and his band of freaks don't speak for them …

Feed A Foe, Starve A Friend  —  Let me see if I get this straight.  The Democrats want to condemn Turkey for a genocide that the Ottoman Empire committed before the Turks overthrew them, in order to invest Congress with a certain level of moral authority, if not historical illiteracy.

Terror suspect gets 9 months in plea deal  —  AUSTRALIAN WILL SERVE HIS SENTENCE IN HOMELAND, CAN'T ALLEGE ABUSE  —  Australian David Hicks pleaded guilty at the Guant‡namo Bay Navy Base yesterday to supporting terrorism in exchange for a nine-month prison sentence under a plea deal …

The Rovian Era  —  Turn over a scandal in Washington these days and the chances are you'll find Karl Rove.  His tracks are everywhere: whether it's helping to purge United States attorneys, coaching bureaucrats on how to spend taxpayers' money to promote Republican candidates …

2001: A Timeline of What Could Have Been  —  (This is an updated version of an old post of mine over at the old version of my blog; it lost all its formatting and links when Blogger switched formats.  I decided that with all the talk of President Gore lately, it was time to revive and revisit it.)

In Big Shift, U.S. Imposes Tariffs on Chinese Paper  —  The Bush administration, in a major escalation of trade pressure on China, said Friday that it would reverse more than 20 years of American policy and impose potentially steep tariffs on Chinese manufactured goods on the ground that China …

Shiite Cleric Condemns U.S. as His Militia Takes to Streets  —  Religious leaders commanded by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr delivered a searing speech at Friday Prayer condemning the American presence in Iraq, while militiamen loyal to Mr. Sadr engaged in street battles against Iraqi Army soldiers …

'A Very Spartan Operation'  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who's running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, established a low bar for rivals to clear in disclosing his initial campaign contribution totals.  At a breakfast with reporters in Washington …

Olmert Rejects Right of Return for Palestinians  —  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in interviews published Friday that Israel would not allow a single Palestinian refugee to return to what is now Israel, and that the country bore no responsibility for the refugees because their plight resulted …

An American Conscience  —  More and more military prosecutors are refusing to prosecute "enemy combatants" in the terror war.  Why?  Not because some of these combatants are innocent.  Many are not.  But because many have been subjected to torture by the U.S.. From the WSJ today (subscription only, alas):

EU refuses to back Britain over call to threaten exports freeze  —  Blair is left to make a statement of disgust after the airing of another video from captured British troops  —  European foreign ministers failed last night to back Britain in a threat to freeze the €14 billion trade …