Columbia's disgrace  —  There is a suicidal mania that grips elite opinion in the United States.  It is exemplified nowhere better than in our elite educational institutions.  Today, for example, Columbia University has issued the following statement to its alumni:

Rather Strikes Back  —  I was extremely surprised by Dan Rather's lawsuit yesterday, but not as stunned as the CBS people I called, who just simply could not believe it.  —  No one was shocked that Rather is still mad at CBS — he made that clear when he left the network last year …

Donors Stir 'Bundling' Questions  —  Clinton Campaign Vows  —  To Check Contributions  —  Solicited by Supporter  —  BRISTOW, Va. — When Hillary Rodham Clinton held an intimate fund-raising event at her Washington home in late March, Pamela Layton donated $4,600, the maximum allowed by law …

Reso Condemning MoveOn Passes Overwhelmingly, With Lots Of Dems  —  The GOP-introduced resolution condemning MoveOn just passed by a huge margin, 72-25.  Roughly half the Democrats in the Senate supported it.  —  A couple of the more interesting votes: Jim Webb, who just yesterday was a Netroots hero …

James Dobson to Fred Thompson: No Thanks  —  James Dobson, head of the influential Focus on the Family Ministry will be taking a pass on supporting Fred Thompson.  You can read why below from The Associated Press and then get my take afterwards: … Read the whole article here.

Terror Watch: A secret lobbying campaign  —  The secret lobbying campaign your phone company doesn't want you to know about  —  The nation's biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve …

New al-Qaida video released  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the United States was being defeated in Afghanistan, Iraq and other fronts in a new video released Thursday, the latest in a series put out by the terror network.  —  The video came days …

Fox's goddamn hypocrisy.  —  During the Fox network broadcast of the Emmy Awards this week, Actress Sally Field's acceptance speech was censored because she used the word "goddamn."  "If mothers ruled the world," Field said, "there would be no god-damned wars in the first place."

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  In just 10 days the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as S-CHIP, is set to expire.  This important program helps children whose families cannot afford private health insurance, but do not qualify for Medicaid to get coverage they need.

Okay, this is a fun postcript to the whole battle over John Bohner's "small price" remark, which this blog first reported on a couple of weeks ago.  —  Boehner has finally responded personally on television for the first time to all the criticism of his remark, a sign that the beating he's taking …