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Betty Bowers has an interesting take on what President Bush plans to do concerning the events in the Middle East.

Slate's John Dickerson chimes in on MD Senate hopeful Michael Steele: "When in a hole, stop digging. This is good advice in life and crucial advice in politics. Unfortunately, no one seems to have shared it with Michael Steele , a Republican candidate for the Senate from Maryland. Steele's slogan appears to be: 'More shovels !'" I smell a recap coming: 1. Steele, the Republican candidate, puts up a Republican-free campaign site full of Dem-friendly pictures . 2. He's supports the President's view on stem cells, than blasts him on everything else . 3. After being caught , he tries to play the whole thing off as a misunderstanding , than a joke. So he's a Republican who's afraid to admit he's one to the public, and he thinks just about every Republican venture has fallen flat. What a guy.

These orders were given to U.S. Sgt. Lemuel Lemus' unit serving in Iraq. And that's not all: Lemus was also ordered to "kill all military-aged men."

The financial fallout from the (high) number of retiring nuns from the Catholic Church " dwarfs costs from the clergy abuse crisis ."

Two bits of news that hurts Israel in the "Hearts and Minds" front: a report that U.N. officials tried to warn Israel about the shelling that lead to the deaths of observers, and al-Qaida decides to weigh in on the issue (maybe they were waiting til after Condi came back?). This kinda magnifies Israel's conundrum: they are trynig to stop an enemy that wants to see them destroyed, but every accidental death/injury makes it hard for the non-Mulsim population to completely accept what's going on. Make no mistake about it: as long as Israel occupies land coveted by just about every major religion, they will be hated and attacked. In that regard, they have a right to defend themselves. However, the further they push into Lebanon, or any other country for that matter, the more they risk losing the international support that's kept their more hostile enemies at bay. Sooner or later, Israel's military forces will have to leave southern Lebanon . It won't take lon

Howard Dean has been on the offensive lately: He's called President Bush divisive on on various policies, labeled the Iraqi PM an anti-Semite , and pretty much buried Katherine Harris . In his defense: Bush has promoted divisive agenda such as constitutional amendments on flag burning and gay marriage, the Iraqi PM has seemed more sympathetic to Lebanon than Israel, and Katherine Harris has lost her campaign staff at least twice and gotten into a squabble with Florida Gov Bush (and that's the good news for her).

For PG County, it's whites who have to adjust to a predominately black environment . In light of everything that's been going on in the world, I think it's important to see that there are instances where people of different races, cultures and backgrounds do live together.

Michael Steele flip flops now that he's been caught .

The divorce was filed back in May, according to the story . I guess this means that Prince's longest partnership has been with Warner Bros., who he didn't really want to stay with.

Fresh off of leaving the Republican Party , Charles Barkley renews his interest in runnning for Governor of Alabama. Some don't think he's taking the run seriously. Funny, I don't remember that kind of talk when Republicans were courting Darrell Green .

'Nuff Said--" Marshals: Innocent People Placed On 'Watch List' To Meet Quota ."

Barack Obama is, in fact, a political rock star . Lieberman seems OK despite being in danger of losing his primary bid. In other words, he's a popular loser. This reality's John Kerry looks to be in limbo for a guy considering another bid for president; no wonder he's dreaming about alternate universes . Senate Majority Leader Frist is doing worse than Kerry; Trent Lott may get his old spot back yet. Strangely enough, out of every Senator who wants to run for president, the most popular is Joe Biden , the guy I said might have to be a sacrificial lamb a while ago. I guess there is something to be said for constantly appearing on the Sunday talk shows. Congrats, Joe.

A study says that most Americans are to fat to either fit or be scanned for X-rays . Becuase this was basically discovered while some obese people were considering gastric bypass surgery, I'll file this under "Ironic Stories."

If you are the US President during wartime, apparently you just can't lose. Every military incident is a boon for you, a blessing in disguise if you will. You don't even have to worry about getting controversal people appointed and confirmed to your Administration because things are too crazy to have a rationale debate. This also means that Iraq, which was once considered a place of sectarian violence, is now officially a place of civil war...but that's progress " because it means it’s no longer a war against us ." This is actually two birds with one stone: another blessing in disguise and another reason we went to Iraq: to start a civil war there that would distract the vicious terrorists! But wait, there's more: the bad is so good another reason for being in Iraq was revealed: to prevent WWIII . So you got that? Bad news means Bush is doing great on the GWOT, just like good news. And the bad news is making the world kooky, so the best thing to do is to make

The following has been/is happening in MD politics: 1. Michael Steele admits he was the source for the WashPost story, where an "anonymous candidate" criticized his own party and President Bush . Well, this partially explains his politically-nondenominational looking website. 2. Josh Rales has drug center patients bused in to boost support for his campiagn. Yikes. At least he didn't pay them. 3. Gov. Erhlich and Mayor O'Malley claim to really want to debate each other , like now. And O'Malley claims that he'll raise stem cell research by $10 million is he's elected governor. 4. MD Senate candidate David Brian Dickerson has been accused of rape by his wife . But since he's not a frontrunner, I can't see this story going too far. On the other hand, if O'Malley and Mfume drop out, the spotlight will fall on Dickerson and Rales (all four are Democrats). 5. And this from William Braxton (what a cool last name), president of the NAACP's Char

Finally, some recognition: Arenas and Jamison make the first cut for Team USA . Being a Terp, I'm still skeptical on coach K, but if any college coach can handle NBA-level talent and egos for a summer term, it's him.

" White House press secretary Tony Snow said yesterday that he 'overstated the president's position' during a briefing last week but said Bush rejected the bill because 'he does have objections with spending federal money on something that is morally objectionable to many Americans .'" Normally when spokesperson "overstates" like that, they get fired. You can't go from "It's Murrrrdaa!" to "What I meant to say was..." like this. I mean, does he think he can appease the pro-life crowd one day, and then the pro-choice crowd the next? So to recap; Tony then: " The simple answer is he [President Bush] thinks murder’s wrong ." And Tony now: " I overstepped my brief there, and so I created a little trouble for Josh Bolten in the interview. And I feel bad about it ." Like I said: anyone else would be fired.

Fred Kaplan from Slate tries to digest and translate Condi's perception of the Middle East and it's potential to be a peaceful region.

The 23 sailors of the Cougar Ace were rescued by the Coast Guard yesterday. No one's sure what caused their boat to tip over , or how they're going to retrieve their cargo.

Over in Burmuda: A fisherman was recovering from surgery after he was speared in the chest and knocked into the Atlantic Ocean by a blue marlin during a fishing competition off Bermuda's coast. Just when you thought it was safe to swim.

Some are worried that President Bush may be legally preoccupied should the Democrats retake the house.

The President is taking time out of his busy schedule to meet... an American Idol . From People: Hicks has an "in" at the White House: Susan Whitson, his 9th grade English teacher at Hoover High School in Birmingham, Ala., is now First Lady Laura Bush's press secretary. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Somebody get Lebanon an agent!

If at first you don't succeed, try to distort again. Fox News isn't exactly saying that Saddam sold his never-been-found WMDs to Hezbollah... they're just asking the question...and showing interchanging photos of Saddam and then Hezbollah soldiers...back and forth, back and forth ...until you begin to think, "Yeah, he might have done that?" Why don't we just ask Saddam before he dies of hunger ? Or any Hezbollah officials that may want to actually go back home? Sooner or later we're going to have to talk to someone .

1. Call me stupid, but I didn't realize that Amy Yesbeck played two different characters (both love interests) in the first two Problem Child movies. See, once I thought that the nervous bride in The Wedding Planner and Penny was the same actress , and I didn't want to make that mistake again. And since I've already revealed that I watch way too many movies... 2. ...On that note, check out Rachel McAdams' list sometime: Mean Girls, Red Eye, Hot Chick and Wedding Crashers? You couldn't pick any four different movies to be in, and she looks/acts different in everyone. 3. Arnold's really trying to put some distance between himself and Bush with his stem cell move . But seriously, if you lived in California, wouldn't you rather have Harrison Ford as your Governor? He's the only actor I'd trust to pretend to be running anything major on a state or federal level. 4. I just don't think Yao Ming ever wanted to be "The Man" (despite McGrady

The President finally visited the NAACP today for the first time in his presidency, and he gave a very interesting speech . Highlights include: THE PRESIDENT: And I want to thank the NAACP for recognizing that it's important to help our seniors sign up for this benefit. (Applause.) We put politics aside. We said, the day is over of arguing about the bill; let's make sure people receive the benefits of this bill. Bruce Gordon has shown leadership on this important issue, and I want to thank you for that. (Applause.) We'll work together, and as we do so, you must understand I understand that racism still lingers in America. (Applause.) It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party. AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.) Blacks have a reason to distrust the Republican Party. First, Bush's Civil Right's record isn't that hot . Second, the events of the last two presidential elections

Mary Bono ( remember her ?) doesn't agree with President Bush's veto.

President Bush prepares to veto a bill that 2/3rds of Americans support . Why? Is rising back to 40% making him peppy? Does he (or his braintrust) really know what stem cells are all about ? More proof that people fear what they don't understand. We're not talking about making clones or "animal-human hybrids" here. We're talking about taking medicine and biological research into the 21st century. But considering the lies that are spread concerning human biology , it comes as no real surprise.

Washington snags PF Songalia from the Bulls, giving them (hopefully) some more rebounding and scoring upfront. Also, Eddie Jordan gets a 3-year extension . The next order of business is to re-sign Jared Jeffries (before someone else does ), than deal with Oleksiy Pecherov .

Meet Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., part of the growing force that is the religious left.

Newt Gingrich calls the Israel/Lebanon conflict the start of World War 3 . Then again he also thinks this is a political opportunity for Republicans (what isn't a political opportunity for guys like him?) From the SeattleTimes : "The line I think every Republican should use is, 'X knows their record, they just hope you don't,' which is actually the line I used in my winning race in '78. I'm a historian. I don't do anything new. I just imitate. I guarantee you there are 60 or 70 Democrats, if their districts thoroughly understood their record, they'd lose this year even though people aren't happy with Bush. " So (more) people are dying, and Newt's solution is to turn it into a campaign platform . Which might sound a little like this: "Did your Republican representative constantly vote for Bush-friendly policies during his/her term? Well, ignore it! Bush is soooo 2003! This election year is about sounding tough and declaring World

Confused about all of the global conflicts? So are alot of bobblehead political commentators .

John McCain on Joe Lieberman: “ I hesitate to say anything nice about him, for fear that it would be used against him, and that’s a terrible commentary on the state of politics and the political climate today .” McCain would know: he's gone from condemning religious extremists to embracing them .

According to the latest AP poll, more Americans want Republicans out in Democrats in . I guess it would take some kind of reunion , right?

Nancy Pelosi on changing the Voting Rights Act: " Any diminishment of the Voting Rights Act is a diminishment of our democracy ."

That comes from Jioe Biden after a 50-50 vote prevented the Senate from passing a bill to increase funding for rail security.

Just in case people are still curious as to why Joe's fighting for his life in a Democratice primary: it's quotes like this that set the stage.

A Fox News reporter gets shot at in Gaza .

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson has decided to go for another round .

After being 0-for-forever, the WNBA's East Coast Conference win their first All-Star Game .

President Bush may spend more time this summer pretending to be concerned than clearing brush .

Lindsay Lohan celebrates her 20th birthday at Disneyland. 'Nuff said . (Guess she was just kidding about not wanting to be known as a party girl ).

Fred Kaplan from Slate breaks down President Bush's "new" strategy on dealing foriegn threats : To laud Bush now for "talking up multilateralism" is to ignore the real point—that he still refuses to engage North Korea in direct, one-on-one negotiations, though everyone involved has urged him to do so because, they all realize, that's the only way progress can be made. He refuses because he doesn't want progress to be made, or at least not that way. He still believes that it's better to defeat evil than to negotiate with it—and so it is, but he hasn't yet accepted that he has no alternative to negotiating with this particular evil. Again, there's been no seismic shift.... This is what's really going on. Bush and his team have slowly discovered that their prescriptions for changing the world—regime change, preventive war, and spreading democracy by force if necessary—aren't working and aren't going over with the world. But they don&

To interesting opinion pieces from the WashPost: E.J. Dionne Jr. talks about how entertaining it will be for the Republicans to find a successor to Bush (I think they should worry more about November), and Eugene Robinson explains why Ken Lay now joins the ranks of Elvis and Tupac .

Meanwhile... Back in Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele continues his bid for US Senate . His plan: convince the good people of Maryland that because he's a black Republican who's been in pitcures with Democrats he's some sort of bridge-builder. Of course, he omitted some pictures . I thought, since Mikey is trying to be balanced and all, I should show some pictures with people in his own party. In case anybody forgot that he's actually running as a Republican. And with a blue-hued homepage that has not one utterance of the word "Republican" on it, people might get confused. Bonus: some poll info on Steele's buddy , Gov. Bob Ehrlich.

Just another reminder that President Bush was a history major, not a math major: He's trying to convince the American public that turning a $284 billion surplus he inherited into a $296 billion deficit is a success. Never mind he promised to turn that inherited surplus into $516 billion when he was campaigning in 2000.

Ok, here's a new gimmick I'm trying: No Main Topic. When I do these, it's just a paragraph (or less) on random stuff. Few links, if any. To keep track, I'll just number them, Mmmkay? 1. I am so on the fence about the Transformers movie coming out next year. On the one hand, I wish it was going to be like Transformers: The Movie ; on the other, I understand that movies are not necessarily about the die-hard fans that made the product popular in the first place: it's about getting new fans to spend their money. Fine, but can't we get a compromise for once? 2. I wanna go on record here: I think Bush is paying for a mess he started. By flying off the handle with Iraq, he's screwed himself, and unfortunately every American who like foreign nations. Seriously, what country even likes us now? Not "who's a good business partner" or "who's politically dependent on the US" but who likes us? 3. I could care less if the Tom/Katie baby hasn&

An aptly named blog piece: How not to sound stupid about North Korea .

A good story about why my fellow Terps should celebrate responsibly . I do want to (belatedly) thank the Good Samaritans who came to Ms. Peña's aid. Hopefully the next time we win some championships, people won't get hit by cars.

Japan is thinking about taking a play from the Bush/Cheney foriegn policy playbook in regards to North Korea . Some pundits may think that's a good idea , but I'm not so sure. Especially since Japan's constitution prevents them from doing such things .

Despite the feet-shuffling of a few scared Southern politicians, people/writers/papers support keeping the Voting Rights Act. From the Amherst Times : No one disputes that our nation has come a long way since the Voting Rights Act was first signed into law. But while it would be nice to think we don't need this legislation anymore, we do. We still struggle with the legacy of institutionalized racism. If either of the act's two sections under attack is weakened or allowed to expire, the door will be opened to a new round of discriminatory practices . From the San Jose Mercury News : Opponents of the pre-clearance provision have argued that it is unfair to single out only some states and counties, which include several Southern states and four counties in California, for extra burdens. Overt discrimination, opponents claim, is largely a legacy of Jim Crow segregation, and the South should not have to bear the stigma of past practices. But, as litigation and recent hearings in the

The Wizards need to remove this, post haste. Please. Story here . Just the thought of this guy running crooked deals during a Wiz game is making me sick. In other Wizards news: looks like they're interested in DeShawn Stevenson from Orlando , and talks with Jeffries about his contract have stalled . Now why you would want to risk losing your best defender, the guy you trusted to stop LABRON FRIGGIN' JAMES FOR PETE'S SAKE, is beyond me.

Neo-Nazis are infiltrating the military ; "replenishing" their ranks. Ranks that need replenishing because some troops are refusing to fight . We need to encourage the honest and true to fufill their obligation, if for anything to keep those who spread hate from becoming the face of the US military.

A former prison chief in Florida pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks . Now wouldn't a guy who worked with prisons be less motivated to break the law? I mean, he does see what happens to criminals, right?

You would think that one good example of a free and democratic country would be their schools: a place were young minds can come and share their ideas, debate the issues and maybe find some common ground. Yeah, you would think that would happen in a democratic country, and maybe it usually does. But it's not happening in Iraq, at least not anymore . The gem comes from Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who says that "students must focus on education and leave politics to the politicians."

Admist the North Korea confusion, Iran decides to skip the EU nuclear meeting .

President Bush juggles his foriegn concerns and immigration (by going to Dunkin' Donuts ). Jesus. When Iraq was a threat, it was all "don't let the smoking gun be a mushroom cloud" and "yellow cake." Now it's "I'm gonna ignore the guy launching missles to show that he's not important." Everyone in this camp is saying things like "unilateral" and "careful" when in 2002/2003 the words were "smoke em out" and "bring it on." Hell, about a month ago we were bullying Iran? So, how is Bush gonna really handle this? I can't wait until one of his people start talking tough about Iran again, that's when everyone with a long-term memory should be asking, "Hey wait a sec-what about North Korea? Why is the tone softer with them?" Well, most of us know the truth: North Korea is a real, immediate threat. And the Bush Administration has no idea on what to do about them.

Jim Paxson joins John Paxson in the Chicago Bulls front office . Yawn.

John Bolton says that in a "calm and deliberate fashion" we need to send a "strong and unanimous signal" to North Korea that launching missles in Japan's direction is not a good thing to do. Other than hurting the economy , it's staring to make alot of people very neverous and testy. Remember, this is the only "Axis of Evil" the US has not invaded or talked about invading; we've pretty much left it up to Japan to handle North Korea.

Sen. Clinton takes time away from her not-so-subtle bid for president to say she'll back the Democratic nominee of Connecticut . That may spell trouble for Joe "I Sure Luvs me Some George W. Bush" Lieberman. But then again, the guy did try and take Hillary's hubby to the toolshed back in the late 90's. Maybe she still holds a grudge. Also, how the hell do you go from almost being Vice President of the US to barely being able to hold your Senate seat? Jeebus. Remember when he looked like a genius back in 2000 for running for two spots at once? Now the only people who support him are hawkish conservative Democrats and Republicans who want to split the vote. Sad.

Center Ben Wallace will leave the Detriot Pistons and sign with the Chicago Bulls . To recover, Detriot signs Nazr Mohammed (formerly of the San Antonio Spurs).

Former Enron founder and convicted criminal Kenneth Lay died yesterday at 64 .

The headline says it all: " C.I.A. Closes Unit Focused on Capture of bin Laden ." What a birthday gift, huh?

Because fallen soldier Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart is not a follower of one of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 38 approved faiths, he will not get his brass plaque . In other words: Sgt. Stewart fought and died for his country, but will not be fully honored for it.

Via BlackAmericaWeb: " If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1979, it would now be just over $7.80 an hour - enough to keep a family of three out of poverty ."

No, really . Go get one before the 2008 election; something tells me they'll come in handy.

From KWCH-TV (Wichita): What Issue Is Most Important? The answer : Education Funding: 23% Health Care: 20% Illegal Immigration: 19% Abortion Regulations: 14% Taxes: 9% Other: 6% Gambling: 5% Rural Development: 3% Not Sure: 1% Obviously, Kansas are at odds with the rest of America (at least, according to politicians). Utah Senator Orrin Hatch thinks banning flag burning trumps first five (we'll assume for Wichita it's an "other"). More important than taxes? Orrin, you naughty, naughty Senator, you! Meanwhile, Gallup polls show All-Things-Iraq the ranks 4th among Republicans and 10th among Democrats .

Jimmy Carter argues that less secrets, not more , is truly the "American Way."

Meet Ann Coulter: the "Puff Daddy" of cracked conservative thought . UPDATE: It turns out that Coulter's problem is that she's just lazy .

The pre-planned attack by US soldiers in Iraq left four dead...apparently involved the rape of a 15-yr-old girl .