THE TENSION: The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 14 Sep Extra Edition

So much news rolled downhill today, an extra edition of DFWC is required to scoop it all up.

AP reports a rebellious Senate committee defied President Bush on Thursday and approved terror-detainee legislation he has vowed to block, deepening Republican conflict over a key issue in the middle of congressional campaigns.

McCain says he will risk presidency over CIA jails because of possible loss of support from Republican lawmakers and voters, reports FT.com. One needs look no further than this episode to see McCain's folly. Core conservatives and Reagan Republicans have already had enough compassionate conservatism of the brand that currently inhabits the White House. I can't imagine a vote-winning liberal-Republican. McCain really has little chance to be president. Running on his record will not garner Republican support, and Democrats will just vote Democrat. Don't be surprised if McCain gets 'Liebermanned' out. As for me, I want to know when the terrorists actually signed on to the Geneva Conventions so I can complain the next time I see a head roll. In the end, the terrorists only see our dissent and confusion as weakness; there is confusion enough on the battlefield without our leaders adding to the chaos at home. (edits)

The Washington Post reports former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell came out in opposition today to White House-sponsored legislation to create special military commissions that would try terrorist suspects, saying he rejects efforts to "redefine" a key provision of the Geneva Conventions. Powell, a retired Army general who formerly headed the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated his position in a letter to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of three Republican senators who are blocking President Bush's plan for military tribunals. Text of the letter. With his former buddyformer Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in the news, and questions about what Powell knew of the Plame leak, the whole business smacks of wag the dog politics. Is Powell seeking to cover Armitage by aiding McCain, Graham and Warner in their defense of terrorist detainees?

The world may be experiencing a period of global warming, its just that the Summer of 2006 was not as warm as the Summer of 1936, according to NOAA.

In this morning's DFWC, I reported that John Kerry said of Boat Vets activism in the '08 election, "I'm prepared to kick their ass from one end of America to the other." Swift Vet John O'Neil responds, John Kerry recently volunteered that he was prepared to “kick [the Swift Boat Veterans’] ass from one end of America to the other” and that he would “demolish” us. He ought to take a Christmas cruise to Cambodia to calm down. Maybe he could take a side trip to tour “Genghis Khan” ruins, according to Human Events. O'Neil continues, it is a little difficult to imagine Kerry (“I voted for it before I voted against it”) kicking the most decorated living serviceman, Bud Day, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or our salty commander, Adm. Roy Hoffman, anywhere. Perhaps Kerry had in mind using a “Rice Fanny Grenade” as he did by mistake on himself shortly before leaving Vietnam. If so, based on the record, he is in far more danger than anyone else.

Jimmy Carter blasts British foreign policy under Tony Blair in this video from BBC. Carter says the U.K. is subservient to U.S. In a recent DFWC, I reported that British PM Tony Blair said Western leaders see the danger of Islamic extremism, but our public still does not. No telling how much of this disregard has been parlayed for the terrorists by the mainstream media. Truth be told, Jimmy Carter isn't a world leader.

AP reports three weeks after unveiling a new "Survivor" gimmick -- its rival tribes would be split along racial lines -- the CBS adventure-game show returned Thursday to let viewers see if this was a crass ploy for ratings or a welcome new twist after a dozen previous editions. I forgot to watch. I'l be downloading the episode on iTunes as soon as it becomes available. The show is just another one of my 'guilty' pleasures....

Speaking of segregation into tribes, Reuters reports the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday authorized building a fence along portions of the border with Mexico in a vote critics said had more to do with election year politics than controlling illegal immigration. More from AP. In other border news, a man driving into the United States from Canada is being held on charges that he bit a U.S. border guard's finger.