The discovery of the deadly poison ricin in a Senate office building is a reminder of how little lawmakers have done to ensure continuity of government in the event of an attack.

The risks of debilitating cuts to our national-security budget will be a critical issue for Congress when it reconvenes after the August recess. While the media focus as Congress adjourned earlier this month was on the big-picture implications of the legislation lifting the federal debt-ceiling, we cannot lose sight of the difficult--and imminent--struggles just ahead in September.

Rather than hide chemical agents where they can be uncovered, the Iraqis more likely dispersechemical agentsto their embassies, safe houses and agents abroad, as well as to sympathetic or affluent terrorists.

Obama's presidency is gravely wounding America and its friends. His response to virtually every significant threat or crisis has either complicated or worsened the problem, or, at best, left it essentially no closer to resolution.

Public opinion results on Democratic leaders in Congress, the do-not-call registry, Massachusetts liberals, President Bush's National Guard service, and John Ashcroft's standing.

The French just arrested 20 people, apparently pretty close to doing some mean terrorist thing.

At last, the Speaker and other Congressional leaders have seen how vulnerable their institutions are to terrorist attacks.