The Iraqi soccer team seems to be confused about the country responsible for their involvement in the Olympics.

"Bush helps to destroy our country. We'll never believe Bush can be with us."

Let's go Australia, please beat these ingrates.

This guy really interests me, even if he is lying.

Here is your Dubya Ketchup for your freedom fries.

You don’t support Democrats. Why should your ketchup?

OK, OK, one gay governor is bad enough, but it really can get worse.

The greatest news this week was that Ted Kennedy got red-flagged at the airport.

Kennedy said he was stopped at airports in Washington, D.C., and Boston three times in March. Airline agents told him he would not be sold a ticket because his name was on a list. When he asked the agent why, he was told, "We can't tell you."

Homeland Security really does work!

BC04 wins a convert with the amusing claim that Bush is the hard worker in this race:

"I heard [Kerry] missed 75 percent of his votes on the intelligence committee," said World War II veteran Gerald Kulligan, echoing the e-mails being sent out by the Bush campaign. "Who wants a president who works 25 percent of the time?"

The John Madden (TM) Dumbass Headline of the Week (the inaugural presentation of an award that I promise to forget at least three weeks out of every four):

"How U.S. Fares in Iraq May Sway Swing Voters."

You don't say.

Newsflash: "Ask President Bush" sessions might actually be a sham:

Gomer: Mr. President, you were a fighter pilot and you were with the 147th Fighter Wing?
Bush: Yes
Gomer: And flew a very dangerous aircraft, the Delta F102?
Bush: Right, and I'm still standing.
Gomer: I want to thank you for serving our country.
Bush: Thank you.
Gomer: Thank you for serving.

Democratic lawyers in Pittsburgh team up to shut the door on Nader:

"Mr. Booker said that 8 to 10 lawyers in his firm were working pro bono on the case, 80 hours each a week for two weeks, and could end up working six more weeks. The firm also took on more than 100 volunteers."

That works out to about 1,600 billable hours, just in the past two weeks. Assuming they bill at $200, the DNC is looking at about $320,000 worth of free labor. Go lawyers!

Diligent bear sets a standard that's sure to bedevil undergraduates for years to come.

Bush tries to sell VFW on redeployment, but Wesley Clark (an actual VFW, for what it's worth) isn't buying:

"Withdrawing forces from Europe will further undermine already strained relations with long-time NATO allies, will be interpreted as the distancing of the U.S. from NATO and will set back U.S. efforts to encourage greater NATO participation in Iraq," Gen. Wesley Clark said in a statement issued by the Democratic National Committee.

Granted, it was issued by the DNC. But still, if anyone would know...

Fred Kaplan of Slate drastically misses the point of the Iraqi invasion and its aftermath.

John Kerry says that, if elected president, he'd persuade our allies—the ones Bush blew off—to come help (or bail) us out. Kerry would certainly be an abler diplomat than Bush; he would repair tattered alliances, and the benefits would likely be substantial in many aspects of international politics. But it's unclear how even Kerry would lure reluctant leaders to send significant numbers of combat troops into what they see as the quagmire of Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration seems to be muddling through with neither a military strategy for beating the insurgents nor a political strategy for securing Iraq's stability.

Shamed New Jersey governor, Jim McGreevey, does everything possible to be un-gay.

"We're going to have a pizza party," said the unshaven New Jersey governor, wearing khaki shorts and no socks and holding his 2-year-old daughter Jacqueline's hand.

Reporter notes that didn't make the story: McGreevey drank Coors Original...He smoked Camel cigarettes...Repeatedly called a man named Colin...Or Rolan...something like that.

NYT guest columnist Dahlia Lithwick makes a fine point about activist judges:

There is probably nothing I can do or say to convince you that the words "activist judge" have no more meaning than the words "hectic smurlbats."

Too true.

Wayne LaPierre misses what seems to be a golden opportunity to make a joke about Kerry's appearance:

"Senator Kerry, how can you talk out of both sides of your mouth and keep a straight face?"

(Catching up on old news, bear with me.)