Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs  —  In his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) to address inaccuracies in his 2006 testimony in relation …

Clinton takes Obama to task over statements  —  TODAY: (Updated 12:25 p.m.) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton today called rival Barack Obama's statement that he would meet with the leaders of several countries antagonistic to the United States "irresponsible" and "naive."

Further politicization of the U.S. military's public statements  —  In light of the decision last week by Gen. David Petraeus to choose Hugh Hewitt, of all people, to interview him, and in light of the post I wrote concerning Gen. Petraeus' three-year history of dubious and seemingly partisan claims …

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: A Reality-Based Economy  —  The neopopulist story line about skyrocketing inequality and the tides of globalization is incredibly simple-minded.

Comment by Gabriel Sutherland on Should the DailyKos be Subject to the Federal Election Commission?  —  Adam B.: OK.  Thanks for the response.  But is Daily Kos "owned or controlled" by a candidate, party or PAC?  The evidence suggests it's pretty darn close to ownership.

Spitzer Aides Cited for Use of Police to Tarnish Bruno  —  Gov. Eliot Spitzer's aides, including one of his closest advisers, improperly used the State Police to gather information about the governor's chief rival, Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, in an effort to plant …

Diplomats Received Political Briefings  —  White House aides have conducted at least half a dozen political briefings for the Bush administration's top diplomats, including a PowerPoint presentation for ambassadors with senior adviser Karl Rove that named Democratic incumbents targeted …

Outsourcing the Picket Line  —  Carpenters Union Hires Homeless to Stage Protests  —  The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message.  —  Many have arrived with large suitcases …

SNAPS AT GUN-TOTING YOUTUBER.  —  Historic Historic CNN YouTube Historic Debate II: Ryan Sager has some afterthoughts.  I agree that the Biden response to the gun-toting You-Tuber was revealing—it showed Biden lacks even moderately calibrated snap judgment—and it was revealing in a way that a) …

Another Cheney-Linked Hawk Down  —  Vice President Cheney is losing a trusted aide: David Wurmser, Cheney's chief adviser on Middle East affairs and perhaps the Bush administration's most radical hawk.  According to multiple sources, Wurmser will leave the office of the vice president (OVP) …

Cheese Headcases  —  Wisconsin reveals the cost of "universal" health care.  —  When Louis Brandeis praised the 50 states as "laboratories of democracy," he didn't claim that every policy experiment would work.  So we hope the eyes of America will turn to Wisconsin, and the effort …

Dems crush GOP in money game  —  From almost any angle, Republicans are facing a Democratic financial tsunami in 2008.  —  In the first six months of this year, Democratic federal candidates and the party's three national committees raised $381 million compared with the $291 million their counterparts collected.