Possibly the least personal Spike Lee joint in the entire history of cinema, the bank-heist-hostage-policier-cryptoterrorist thriller Inside Man nevertheless manages to be a most enjoyable sampling of the director's treasured "my way" eccentricities.

Inside Man by J. Hoberman

As America approached the third anniversary of its involvement in Iraq, I had gone to Baghdad to observe not the war itself, but how it is being covered by the press. But of course, the war is inescapable. It has no battle lines, no fronts, not even the rural– urban divide that has usually characterized guerrilla wars. Instead, the conflict is everywhere and nowhere.

The New York Review of Books: Baghdad: The Besieged Press

Five years ago, Al Gore was the much-mocked pol who blew a gimme with his stiff demeanor and know-it-all style. Today? C’mon, admit it: You like him again.

American Prospect Online - The New New Gore

• The Earth revolves around the Sun.

• The speed of light is a constant.

• Apples fall to earth because of gravity.

• Elevated blood sugar is linked to diabetes.

• Elevated uric acid is linked to gout.

• Elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease.

• Elevated homocysteine is linked to B-12 deficiency, so doctors should test homocysteine levels to see whether the patient needs vitamins.

ACTUALLY, I can't make that last statement. A corporation has patented that fact, and demands a royalty for its use.

This Essay Breaks the Law - New York Times

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.

OpinionJournal - Featured Article

"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."

OpinionJournal - Featured Article

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