(picture of the top of the Reichstag in Berlin) I’ve just returned from Berlin and am scribbling a brief note from JFK Airport in New York.

I heard Sen. Dick Lugar deliver some insightful remarks this morning on energy, Iraq, and U.S. foreign policy at the 20/20 Vision National Summit on Energy Security. The talk was an acceptance speech for the first ever Energy Security Leadership Award.

I attended a John McCain Mixer at “The Core Club” in New York last year (on an evening I had helped organize a George Soros book party in the same club) and was impressed with McCain’s unambiguous support for stem cell research, his smart views on immigration reform, as well as his candor that he…

Scott Paul has been doing a great job offering some stimulating posts while I have had a heavy conference and meeting schedule in Berlin. I will be back in full commentary mode when I get back to Washington tonight.

Most of the political news today is focused on the McCain staff shakeup. The departures of Terry Nelson and John Weaver are noteworthy, but the biggest news is the end of Mark Salter’s official employment with McCain.

I mentioned in a post last week that I’ve been pushing an exciting proposal to make the U.N.’s peacekeeping and disaster relief capacity far more responsive and effective than it is now. It’s time to tip my hand.

(Natanz nuclear enrichment facility) Just released in the Washington Post is an interesting story on the existence of a new — heretofore unreported — hardened underground facility and set of tunnels conneted to Natanz. Some analysts believe that it this facility is probably meant to disperse and protect nuclear assets in case of attack.

I don’t really want to ridicule Senator Chuck Schumer, who has a thoughtful fundraising appeal letter out today which does a very good job spelling out the problems Senate Republicans face in 2008. I will post his letter below.

How times have changed — sort of. I realize that the above picture is not as clear as it might be. I snapped it on my cell phone camera when visiting Senator Hagel‘s office recently. The picture shows George W. Bush hugging Senators McCain and Hagel.

This is going to be a bit of a disorganized, stream-of-consciousness roster of items on which I feel I owe some comment. Short and brief. First of all, I have been pestered by quite a number of people and posters about Cheney/Bush and impeachment. Go back and read the blog.