'A Different Understanding With the President' … Just past the Oval Office, in the private dining room overlooking the South Lawn, Vice President Cheney joined President Bush at a round parquet table they shared once a week.  Cheney brought a four-page text, written in strict secrecy by his lawyer.

The Only Way  —  A little Instapundit post like this one can cause such a reaction from my little blog bitch Olliver Willis and Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly......is......there must be some truth to it.  Stuff just doesn't get that kind of reaction unless you feel guilty about err something …

My Time as a Hostage, and I'm a Business Reporter  —  AS an American journalist based in China, I knew there was a good chance that at some point I'd be detained for pursuing a story.  I just never thought I'd be held hostage by a toy factory.  —  That's what happened last Monday …

Microsoft pays star writers to recite slogan  —  The stodgy old media industry has a rule that newspaper reporters, and TV news hosts, shouldn't trade on their public trust to endorse products.  It's become redundant: the reading public typically wants journalists to drop the pretense of objectivity …

Lawmaker urges condoms for border control  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressman is pushing a not-so-quick fix in the debate over illegal immigrants from Mexico: free contraceptives.  —  "A slower rate of growth of Mexico's population would improve the economy of Mexico.

Where is the West's outcry?  —  FOR a writer, Salman Rushdie has had a rather turbulent career.  —  Even by his standards, however, this has been quite a week for the Indian-born, British-educated Booker Prize-winning novelist, now a resident of New York:  —  Queen Elizabeth II knighted …

Iran Cracks Down on Dissent, Parading Examples in Streets  —  Iran is in the throes of one of its most ferocious crackdowns on dissent in years, with the government focusing on labor leaders, universities, the press, women's rights advocates, a former nuclear negotiator and Iranian-Americans …

Old girlfriends cast their vote for Thompson  —  IN the battle for the women's vote, Fred Thompson has a secret weapon against Hillary Clinton - the legions of former girlfriends who still adore him and who want him to be president.  —  The Hollywood actor and former Tennessee senator racked …

Judge criticizes warrantless wiretaps  —  WASHINGTON - A federal judge who used to authorize wiretaps in terrorist and espionage cases criticized President Bush's decision to order warrantless surveillance after the Sept. 11 attacks.  —  Royce Lamberth, a district court judge in Washington …

HuffPost Exclusive: More Lobbyists On McCain Staff Than Any Other 08 Candidate  —  John McCain, who made his name attacking special interests, has more lobbyists working on his staff or as advisers than any of his competitors, Republican or Democrat.  —  A Huffington Post examination …