From my Inbox today

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe plans to leave office Congressman
Jim Kolbe, of Tucson, Ariz., will not campaign for re-election next year. Kolbe, who came out in 1996, is the only openly gay Republican in Congress. Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are the only other openly gay members of Congress.

Editorial: NCLB needs a rewrite
A Los Angeles Times editorial says by allowing some states to use a student improvement model to measure schools' success, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has injected some "sanity" into NCLB's unwieldy provisions. The newspaper applauds the law for revealing how poor and minority students were doing, but argues that instead of administrative tweaks, NCLB needs an overhaul.

Gays decry Vatican ban; priest quits
After many weeks of leaks and speculation, the Vatican has published its instruction on gays in the clergy.

Vote topples Canadian government
After months of political instability, the government of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin fell Monday evening when three opposition parties united to topple him with a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons.

Bush to Outline Broad Iraq Plan; Push on Training
American military officials in Iraq said they have requested $3.9 billion for next year to help train and equip Iraqi troops.

The concluding paragraph of a letter from Hillary
I know when America leads with its values and fearlessly faces the facts, we make the best decisions. That is what is missing at the highest levels of our government, and what we desperately need now – answers to the questions about Iraq that only the President can provide. I hope he will level with the American people and provide us those answers in his Annapolis speech and give us the plan that has been sorely lacking.
Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton



"People who enjoy what they are doing invariably do it well."
--Joe Gibbs,football coach, NASCAR team owner