From CNN: An intercepted letter from Osama bin Laden’s deputy to the al Qaeda leader in Iraq complains that the terrorist network is short of cash and faces defeat in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman says. The United States obtained a recent letter that appears to be from Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 figure, to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, outlining both the strategy and concerns of the terrorist network, said Pentagon

From “Brickbats” (Reason, November 2005): Pennsylvania state Rep. Tom Stevenson (R-Mount Lebanon) has introduced a bill that would require dogs in cars to be restrained or placed in a carrier box.  The bill would also ban dogs from hanging their heads out of vehicles.  Stevenson got the idea from an 11-year-old who took part in his annual “there ought to be a law” contest. More here (thanks to M Hannon);

…According to AP (via FOXNews).  Preliminary reports say the threat, which involves 19 briefcase bombs and information about which comes from Iraq insurgents, is specific enough to lend it a degree of credibility sufficient to demand a law enforcement reaction. Meanwhile, Michelle has a great roundup of the latest on the Oklahoma bench bombing. **** update:  NYC Mayor Bloomberg, during his press conference, notes that some press outlets had the

Though, for what it’s worth, I sent Richard Linklater the severed head of that Pap smear chick from Slacker when I heard he was talking about remaking The Bad News Bears.  But the punk went ahead and remade it anyway. Incidentally, you do know Coppola recut The Outsiders, right?

One you’ve likely heard about, from ABC News: The discovery that a former White House staff member allegedly used his top secret clearance to steal classified intelligence documents indicates there are serious gaps in high-level White House security, a former White House counterterrorism expert says. “What it means is that there is a hole in White House security,” Richard Clarke, a former White House adviser who is now an ABC

From the Washington Post: The conservative uprising against President Bush escalated yesterday as Republican activists angry over his nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court confronted the president’s envoys during a pair of tense closed-door meetings. A day after Bush publicly beseeched skeptical supporters to trust his judgment on Miers, a succession of prominent conservative leaders told his representatives that they did not. Over the course

Why fight it?  If you can’t concentrate, you can’t concentrate.  Go.  Eat a Pop-tart or something.  The internet isn’t going anywhere.

From Reuters: The federal prosecutor investigating who leaked the identity of a CIA operative is expected to signal within days whether he intends to bring indictments in the case, legal sources close to the investigation said on Wednesday. As a first step, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was expected to notify officials by letter if they have become targets, said the lawyers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity