It's the weekend, so I will keep the commentary to a minimum and direct you to two items of interest. On the Environment (Campaigns): Iowa is pretty important, says Politico. Er, rather, still pretty important. On the Environment (Global Warming): The Northwest Passage exists! Because we a melted a hole big enough in the arctic ice for shipping!

We got some nice letters this week; we appreciate those. Keep the questions coming, though!

On Fridays we usually like to make with a few jokes and keep things light. Today that might not be possible.

For this episode of On The Record, we speak with Art Brender, the Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair.

I got an email this morning from the Edwards campaign that really surprised me: apparently, they've purchased the airtime on MSNBC immediately following President Bush's address to the nation on Iraq tonight, and Edwards will be responding directly to Bush's speech.

Today President Bush will announce a plan to withdraw some 30,000 troops from Iraq by next summer. If this seems like a sort of ham-fisted compromise in a situation where a compromise should look like something else entirely, it is.

Hey, have I mentioned that General Petraeus is reporting to Congress on the Iraq conflict? I can't recall.

John Edwards' populist message won out over other challengers in the Texas Democratic Party's ePrimary Poll.

It is no surprise that yesterday's news cycle was filled to the brim with information on General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker's congressional report. What may be surprising is the lack of media consistency in presenting the story.

General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are currently testifying before Congress. Reactions have already been offered, as most everyone knew what they were going to say in the first place.