Do you remember those who said we had no business going to Iraq because it has nothing to do with the war on terror, that Iraq and Sadaam had no close ties with Al Qaeda?
Former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi has revealed to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the number two of the al-Qaeda network, Ayman al-Zawahiri, […]

Owen was confirmed to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by a 56-43 vote. Owen was subjected to nine hours of hearings, answered more than 500 questions and endured 22 days of floor debate.
Just one day after the filibuster compromise, the vote Tuesday to end debate and move to confirmation was […]

A murder victim’s last blog entry solves murder.

Jin Lin, 23, was charged with first-degree murder yesterday in the bloody slayings of Sharon and Simon Ng in their Kew Gardens Hills apartment Thursday, officials said.
Cops zeroed in on Lin, who once dated the woman, because Ng typed a journal entry into his computer fingering his sister’s […]

Nominees should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances, and each signatory must use his or her own discretion and judgment in determining whether such circumstances exist.

So reads an important part of the agreement reached in the Senate. How it is implemented, as Bill Frist said in his statement on the floor Monday evening, will […]

Are we misreading China’s stand on North Korea?

BEIJING — With North Korea on the brink of a possible nuclear test that would trigger a major international crisis, China is emerging as a key obstacle to Washington’s strategy of applying pressure on the Pyongyang regime.
Beijing has voiced its increasingly stubborn opposition as the United States tries […]

Reports are that Newsweak has retracted the Quran desecration story.
“Newsweek Apologizes for Report of Koran Insult” - New York Times
“Newsweek Apologizes” - Washington Post
“Newsweek backs off Quran desecration story” - CNN
Newsweek’s latest piece on the matter, “How a Fire Broke Out” and followup editorial definitely contains an admission by the anonymous original source of no […]

It is not unusual for a news organization to get a story wrong. It is not unusual for a news organization to be sloppy or even reckless in its reporting.
However, when such reporting triggers a call by 300 Mulsim clerics for a holy war against the U.S., sparks global riots, leaves 14 dead and […]

The Observer published a “Year in Review” article by Heather VanHoegarden on May 13th. The article recounts the rejection of a work visa for Tariq Ramadan. It has been said by many that Islam needs a Martin Luther and some have pointed to Dr. Ramadan as filling that need.

The Islamic world needs […]

I have taken a short sabbatical from blogging during a flurry of business trips out of town but have returned.
I plan to start blogging again in earnest very shortly
You can thank La Shawn Barber for prodding me to get back to blogging.