The U.S. entered Iraq to decisively tilt the contest in favor of liberal democrats. Now, with the Iraqis increasingly encouraged to go it alone, can we honestly say the liberals will come out on top? America’s grand endeavor, at first a promise of salvation, has been cut down to an exercise in hoping.

Reason: How Did Iraq Go Wrong?: Liberal hawks blame incompetence but sidestep American narcissism.

This information may well shed light on whether Saddam planned the insurgency that we and the Iraqis are now fighting, or whether he canoodled with Islamist terrorists, as some of the documents already translated suggest. We are learning from the new book on Iraq by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor that many of Saddam's own generals believed he had weapons of mass destruction and was prepared to use them. So much for the allegation that "Bush lied" about WMD; Saddam lied to everyone.

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"Civil war" has replaced "the insurgency" as the proof that the war is "unwinnable." But in plain truth, the "civil war" is and always was the chief tactic of the "insurgency."

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In Mississippi, people can buy guns at a gun show with no background check and certain weapons can be carried almost anywhere. Sure, guns and toys can bring joy and a sense of comfort to the user, but apparently the legislators concluded that a genital replica is a far greater threat to society.

Sidebar: Mississippi outlaws sex toys - The Abrams Report - MSNBC.com

"This is a moment the Iraqis had a chance to fall apart and they didn't," Bush said

Los Angeles Times: Bush: Troops to Stay in Iraq for Years

What if a desperate identity thief digging through your trash found a credit card application ripped into little pieces, taped it back together, filled it out and mailed it in? Would he get the credit card?

The answer, according to one man's experiment, is clearly yes.

Even torn-up credit card applications aren't safe - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com

Yesterday, Microsoft said Vista would be ready for large business customers, who typically buy the company's software in multiyear licenses, in November. But the consumer rollout will be pushed back to January 2007.

Microsoft to Delay New System - New York Times

The question for the Pentagon is its proper role in shaping perceptions abroad. Particularly in a modern world connected by satellite television and the Internet, misleading information and lies could easily migrate into American news outlets, as could the perception that false information is being spread by the Pentagon.

No Breach Seen in Work in Iraq on Propaganda - New York Times

In a quick remark at a White House news conference about the reserves of political strength he earned in his 2004 re-election victory — "I'd say I'm spending that capital on the war" — Mr. Bush in effect acknowledged that until he could convince increasingly skeptical Americans that the United States was winning the war, Iraq would overshadow everything he did.

Bush Concedes Iraq War Erodes Political Status - New York Times

John Battelle, UC Berkeley alum and Wired magazine co-founder, talks about leading the peer-driven, group-driven, project-driven, passion-driven life in the real world.

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