Sex and the Conservative

The culture wars just aren't what they used to be.

Hours before Sen. David Vitter (R-D.C. Madam) emerged from hiding yesterday, the conservative Independent Women's Forum held a "Campus Sex and Dating Conference" in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The promotion for the event, hosted by House Minority Leader John Boehner, showed a woman with her eyes closed in a state of ecstasy.

Out of her mouth came the words "Attention Interns!" The flier promised an appearance by Dr. Drew Pinsky of MTV fame, followed by a "Fabulous Door Prize."   more »

The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month.

Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: "Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo."

The White House claims that Iran, whose influence in the Middle East has increased significantly over the last six years, is intent on building a nuclear weapon and is arming insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.   more »

And, finally, we have a president who has, once again, assured Americans that things are going really well in Iraq.

That’s the name of the Axis of Evil country we invaded - the one that doesn’t have weapons of mass destruction. The one where 3,611 Americans and 655,000 Iraqi civilians have died, and millions of others have been wounded or displaced.

Yes, things are going really, really well. We should all be so proud of ourselves.

There are 554 days ’til Jan. 20, 2009.   more »

She stood head and shoulders above all her rivals, notably scoring points off Mr Obama, who seemed lightweight and unsure in comparison, during the Democratic presidential debates.

Mrs Clinton also enjoys a strong lead among one of her party's most important constituencies, white blue-collar workers. Polls consistently show her leading Mr Obama by at least two to one among whites without college degrees.

Mr Obama is a hero to those comfortably-off liberals who tune in to National Public Radio, a preacher-politician who seems to represent hope and racial reconciliation.

But Mrs Clinton has the edge when it comes to the meat-and-potatoes issues that matter more to blue-collar Americans.   more »

Alexander Litvinenko was murdered by radioactive poisoning in London last November. In May, British prosecutors announced their intention to prosecute Andrei Lugovoi, another ex-KGB agent, for Litvinenko’s murder.

Lugovoi continues to protest his innocence, as he has done since he was first incriminated. He has accused Britain’s security services for the crime, along with Russian exiles in London such as Boris Berezovsky. He then added:

• British intelligence had sought to recruit him to provide "compromising information" on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Litvinenko worked for British intelligence and may have done something to anger the service.   more »