Plame lawsuit dismissed in CIA leak case  —  WASHINGTON - Former CIA operative Valerie Plame lost a lawsuit Thursday that demanded money from Bush administration officials whom she blamed for leaking her agency identity.  —  Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson …

Pentagon rebukes Sen. Clinton on Iraq  —  WASHINGTON - The Pentagon told Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton that her questions about how the U.S. plans to eventually withdraw from Iraq boosts enemy propaganda.  —  In a stinging rebuke to a member …

Democrats cut 'John Doe' provision  —  Congressional Democrats today failed to include a provision in homeland security legislation that would protect the public from being sued for reporting suspicious behavior that may lead to a terrorist attack, according to House Republican leaders.

Romney also once backed "age-appropriate" sex ed  —  Former Gov. Mitt Romney attacked Sen. Barack Obama yesterday for purportedly wanting sex education in kindergarten.  —  It turns out, Romney himself once indicated support for the same sort of sex-ed approach — "age-appropriate" — that Obama backs.

FEMA Suppressed Health Warnings for Workers, Katrina Victims  —  Agency Rejected Environmental Testing on Formaldehyde Gas Levels  —  The Federal Emergency Management Agency has suppressed warnings from its own Gulf coast field workers since the middle of 2006 about suspected health problems …

Iraq hasn't even begun  —  Consequences from the disaster we could have avoided will plague the world long into the future.  —  IRAQ IS OVER.  Iraq has not yet begun.  These are two conclusions from the American debate about Iraq.  —  Iraq is over insofar as the American public has decided that most U.S. troops should leave.

Forced to Get Along  —  WHEN considering President Bush's new plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, it would be wise to bear in mind that because political initiatives in the Middle East are cursed with such a high failure rate analysts sometimes use the odds as a substitute for craft.

Sunni insurgency: Out of the shadows  —  I just want to draw attention to a really important story about Iraq, which could easily get lost in the questions about the Mashhadani capture - the report in the Guardian about the moves to cement the public political profile of the major Sunni insurgency groups …

Sawyer apologizes for false assertion that Reid "vows to filibuster"  —  On the July 19 edition of ABC's Good Morning America, co-host Diane Sawyer apologized for her false assertion — documented by Media Matters for America — regarding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) …

Dave Chappelle: Next White House press secretary?  —  From CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — One of the best parts of the White House beat is that you just never know who's going to show up at those black iron gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Has anyone seen our 'war czar'?  —  An AP report this morning notes that the White House is continuing to lobby lawmakers on Iraq policy, in part by offering access to top officials responsible for implementing war policy. … That's a rather passive way of describing the war czar's role, isn't it?

Raw Story uncovers even more pricey primping by Romney  —  The perception that Mitt Romney is some sort of pretty-boy was burnished earlier this week when reports emerged that he spent $300 in campaign funds for makeup "consulting" this year.  It turns out Romney has maintained an expensive beauty regimen for years.

Iraq and the Defense Bill: A Post-Mortem Guide for the Perplexed  —  So Harry Reid (D-NV) withdrew the defense authorization bill this morning after the Democrats weren't able to break the GOP filibuster.  —  The indignation spilled out across the aisle, with Republicans bemoaning Reid's …