Odds and Ends

Lot going on; here's some of the stuff falling through the cracks...

Here's the latest good news from Iraq: "Gunmen wearing military uniforms assassinated the brother of Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president in his home Monday — the third sibling the official has lost this year to the country's violence."

Andrew Sullivan seeks reframing the war debate as an ultimatum to the President: Fire Rumsfeld... or leave Iraq now. Refusal proves how unseriously he takes his self-made crisis. Me thinks this the Democrats could get traction with such an approach.

NATO's top commander in Afghanistan warns that the country is at a tipping point.

The NY Post, meanwhile, takes on America's greatest threat... Democrats. Be afraid, folks!

Condoleeza Rice's Mideast trip- surprise!- made no progress on our diplomatic fronts.

Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, the high-ranking Navy lawyer who took the "Guantanamo case of Osama bin Laden's driver to the U.S. Supreme Court - and won - has been passed over for promotion by the Pentagon and must soon leave the military." Well, the White House and Congress already raped that Supreme Court victory with their new detainee bill, so why not also fire the lawyer who won it?

Vice President cursed out Bob Woodward over his new book, 'State of Denial'.

The United Nations human rights chief speaks of larger than expected civilian deaths in Darfur.

More details on the resignation of Susan Ralston, aide to Karl Rove, shows that the quiet Friday resignation was due to "disclosures that she accepted gifts from and passed information to now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, becoming the first official in the West Wing to lose a job in the influence-peddling scandal."

Sen. Allen, already facing tons of 'macaca'-related troubles, now has a new scandal to face: reports that he "failed to tell Congress about stock options he got for his work as a director of a high-tech company". Jim Webb = stoked.

Finally, in the continuing saga of Pervertgate, we learn that a GOP member of Congress confronted Foley as early as 2000. This news comes as the House leadership continues attempts to downplay the scandal. Their meltdown continues.