National:
Was That The US Congress?
Republicans voted to force a debate on the Cheney impeachment measure last week. Then Democrats voted to refer to the House Judiciary Committee, where Chairman John Conyers has expressed his reluctance to take the matter up. Republicans wanted an immediate vote with hopes to spark a HOUSE floor fight. The vote took about an hour.

Republican lawmakers credited Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) for coming up with the idea to try and make the Dems look bad by debating the issue of a Cheney impeachment. Like any spotlight under Cheney’s rock would be bad.The House Judiciary Committee released this statement on the Kucinich resolution to impeach Cheney.

Here is the Impeachment process broken down (like the brokeback dems would actually use this)

Wiretapping
Wiretapping whistle-blower, former AT&T technician Mark Klein is in Washington to tell his story and persuade lawmakers not to grant legal immunity to telecoms that helped the government spy. Klein has been trying to tell his story since 2004. Here is the whole report Mark Klein wrote WITH THE SCHEMATICS of the room AT&T used and the diagrams he used to route the splitters.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will be delaying the vote on telecom immunity until next week. To make the legislation easier to manage, the Committee only marked up Title I last week. Immunity is in Title II.

U.S. Military In Iraq Braces For An al-Qaida Comeback
Like many in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, the U.S. commander for Baghdad, senses that insurgents are down but not out, despite a drop in violence across the country. Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the umbrella insurgent group of Sunni militants, no longer has a foothold in Baghdad, Fil said. But he believes the organization's fighters remain poised to reassert themselves. "Al-Qaeda, though on the ropes, is not finished by any means," said Fil, speaking to reporters in Baghdad. "They could come back swinging if they're allowed to. In fact, we've seen it." Fil said areas of Baghdad that have previously been havens for Sunni militants can and have quickly become insurgent territory again if U.S. and Iraqi security forces are not watchful.

$5 GAS IN CA...
Gasoline prices continue to rise day by day on the Central Coast and elsewhere in the state. Premium is being offered at $5 a gallon in Gorda.Crude oil prices hit an all-time high Wednesday, topping $98 a barrel. Analysts said with worldwide oil demand rising, it is still not clear just how high prices will go.

Dow Drops 360 Points This Week On Continued Pressures
“We’re getting hammered from all sides today," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.

“We’ve had all of these same pressures for a while: higher oil, inflation and slowing corporate earnings. All of a sudden it seemed to matter more to us," said Steve Sachs, director of trading at Rydex Investments.The U.S. dollar, which has fallen significantly since the Federal Open Market Committee cut the nation's key interest rate in September, once again fell against the major currencies.

The euro hit a new all-time high against the dollar at $1.4729 earlier on Wednesday.Concerns that China may seek to diversify its investments in foreign currencies added to the dollar's troubles.
The falling dollar will be another factor the Fed will have to examine when deciding on interest rates in December.“The real issue has become the dollar. It puts the Fed between a rock and a hard place now," said Pado. Read the full story here...

World:
Sarkozy Says Dollar Drop Risks Triggering Trade War
French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a joint session of the U.S. Congress the Bush administration must stem the dollar's plunge or risk triggering a trade war.

``The dollar cannot remain `someone else's problem,''' Sarkozy said today on Capitol Hill. ``If we are not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims.''

Sarkozy's complaints that the U.S. currency's drop against the euro is undermining European competitiveness struck a discordant note in a summit intended to demonstrate an improving U.S.-French relationship. His comments came as the euro surged to a record high against the dollar. The currency touched $1.4731 today, a 65 percent gain since the end of 2001.

Concern that the euro is too strong has been a Sarkozy theme since his presidential campaign earlier this year. Since his May 6 election, he has urged European Central Bank officials to lower interest rates to weaken the currency. Read on

Washington Fears Israeli Strike Against Iran Over Latest Nuclear Claim...
A claim by President Ahmadinejad that Iran has 3,000 working uranium-enriching centrifuges sent a tremor across the world yesterday amid fears that Israel would respond by bombing the country’s nuclear facilities. Military sources in Washington said that the existence of such a large number could be a “tipping point”, triggering an Israeli air strike. The Pentagon is reluctant to take military action against Iran, but officials say that Israel is a “different matter”. Amid the international uproar, British MPs who were to have toured the nuclear facility were backing out of their Iran trip.

Cloning: A Giant Step
A technical breakthrough has enabled scientists to create for the first time dozens of cloned embryos from adult monkeys, raising the prospect of the same procedure being used to make cloned human embryos.

In Other News...
DC Tax Embezzlement: Workers Steal $20M+ Over 6 Years

Rudy Giuliani refused to say if he’d consider pardoning his old friend Bernie Kerik - who was indicted Thursday on federal corruption charges - if elected President.” “It wouldn’t be fair to ask that question at this point,” Giuliani said.

In a 53-40 vote last Thursday, the Senate confirmed Judge Michael Mukasey as attorney general, despite criticism of his refusal to explicitly call waterboarding torture. Six Democrats voted for Mukasey.

Michael Hirsh writes in Newsweek, Condoleezza Rice is, by her own admission, not ‘that self-reflective.’ But in an interview in her office on Thursday the secretary of state took a moment to contemplate the improved security situation in Iraq. “I’m sure there are lots of things we might have done better ,” she said.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the “economy was going to get worse before it got better, a message that received a chilly reception from both Wall Street and politicians.” He said the economy was about to “slow noticeably,” adding inflation was likely to “increase overall.”

“House leaders are pressing the Senate Democrats to force Republicans to stage more filibusters” when they use procedural maneuvers to block passage of bills. “That is the only way you can give Americans a a clear view of who is obstructing change,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said.

'24' producer: Hillary as president is 'nuts'
Hollywood producer Joel Surnow dismissed as “nuts” the notion that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton can be elected president and said he and other conservatives in the entertainment industry are leaning toward supporting Republican Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign.

Musharraf declines to give date for end of emergency rule...

From The Right: Doug Giles: Hillary Will Kill Your Cat Listen, my persnickety friends on the Right: You can bust a nut over the various serious and not so serious foibles and philosophies of Rudy, Romney, Fred and John, but for moi the Republican gentleman who gets our party’s nod, whoever he is, will get my vote come November ‘08.

From The Left: Joby Warrick : Pakistan Nuclear Security Questioned When the United States learned in 2001 that Pakistani scientists had shared nuclear secrets with members of al-Qaeda, an alarmed Bush administration responded with tens of millions of dollars worth of equipment... to safeguard Pakistan's nuclear weapons. But Pakistan remained suspicious of US aims and declined to give US experts direct access to the half-dozen or so bunkers where the components of its arsenal of about 50 nuclear weapons are stored. For the officials in Washington now monitoring Pakistan's deepening political crisis, the experience offered both reassurance and grounds for concern.

Quote Of The Day: "I don’t — you know quagmire is an interesting word. If you lived in Iraq and had lived under a tyranny, you’d be saying: God, I love freedom, because that’s what’s happened. And there are killers and radicals and murderers who kill the innocent to stop the advance of freedom. But freedom’s happening in Iraq. And we’re making progress." G. W Bush

(Sources: Bloomberg, TimesOnline, BaltimoreSun, LATimes, TheHill, FOXBusiness, Independent, NYDailyNews, WashingtonTimes, USHouseOfRepresentatives, WashingtonPost, Wired, NYT, USSenate, Newsweek, TheHill, TownHall, TruthOut)

World:
Musharraf declares emergency in Pakistan
Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital. [think it can't happen here? Do you remember this?]

His leadership threatened by an increasingly defiant court and an Islamic movement that has spread to Islamabad, Musharraf's emergency order accused some judges of "working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.

Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the deposed chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.

U.S. disrupts al-Qaida operations by freezing financial assets
For years the three Saudi men had worked as a loosely organized team, according to US intelligence. They'd funneled thousands of dollars in cash – and non-monetary help such as Al Qaeda training manuals – to Islamist militants in the Philippines.

At one point they'd even paid $18,000 for an operation to blow up the US or Australian embassies in Manila, allege US officials. But Philippine authorities disrupted the plot before it could be realized. Get more info here.

Petraeus Personally Introduces Disgraced Ahmed Chalabi To U.S. Troops
On Sunday, McClatchy reported that disgraced Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi had “re-emerged as a central figure” in the U.S. strategy for Iraq. His latest job: to press Iraq’s government to “deliver better electricity, health, education and local security services to Baghdad,” as “the next phase” of the escalation.

Today, Blackanthem.com reports that Petraeus has been trumpeting his new alliance with Chalabi, introducing him to U.S. troops serving in Iraq:

Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general, Multi-National Force-Iraq, Dr. Ahmad Chalabi, director of services in Iraq, and Dr. Safi Al-Sheik, director of the Iraqi National Reconciliation Committee, met with Soldiers and leaders of the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., who are operating in the Arab Jabour area.

OPEC says pumping more won't bring oil price down
Representatives from top oil producing countries Tuesday blamed the steady advance of oil toward $100 a barrel on a combination of financial speculation, geopolitical instability and a shortfall in refining capacity.

The president of OPEC, Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli, who is also the oil minister of the United Arab Emirates, pledged to keep markets amply supplied. But at an oil industry conference in London, he said there was only so much OPEC could do in the current circumstances to keep a lid on prices.

"Increasingly oil markets are being driven by forces beyond OPEC's control, such as geopolitical events and the growing influence of financial investors," Hamli said. "We are of course concerned about the high level of oil prices." Read the whole story here.

National:
Immunity deals 'routine' for contractors Limited immunity has been routinely offered to private security contractors involved in shootings in Iraq, State Department officials said Tuesday, denying such actions jeopardized criminal prosecution of Blackwater USA guards accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack declined to discuss specifics of the agency's role in the investigation, but said any immunity deals should not stop the Justice Department from prosecuting.

"It's up to the investigators and prosecutors to determine what kind of case they have ... and ultimately whether to bring prosecution," McCormack told reporters. Details...

Kucinich Doubts Bush's Stability
Dem hopeful says 'something wrong' with President's mental state following Bush comments about Iran and World War III. All this while Kucinich confirmed seeing an unidentified flying object at the Washington state home of actress Shirley MacLaine. He said, with a smile, he would open a campaign office in Roswell, New Mexico, home to many alleged UFO sightings.

Dollar Dives After Fed Rate Cut
The dollar skidded to a new low against the euro Wednesday while the British pound broke through $2.08 after the Federal Reserve lowered a key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.5 percent.

The Canadian dollar bought more than $1.06 for the first time since 1957. The 13-nation euro soared to $1.4503, its fourth new high in as many trading days, while the British pound bought $2.0813, after having hit a high of $2.0822 Wednesday. More Info

Donald Rumsfeld’s “snowflake” memos
Rummy's memos to his staff instructed his staff to link IRAQ to IRAN, use "bumper sticker statements" retaliated against reporters who wrote unfavorably about the occupation of Iraq and commented that Muslims are lazy. "Too often Muslims are against physical labor, so they bring in Koreans and Pakistanis while their young people remain unemployed.” The White House said that Rummy’s views are not in line with the president’s views.

In Other News..
'Private Note to Bush from Hagel Calls For Direct, Unconditional, Comprehensive Talks with Iran'

Ralph Nader Sues Democratic Party...

Pentagon providing Turkey with intelligence on Kurdish rebels

Pakistani police detain 500 activists

U.S. urges Islamabad to restore democracy [you know...the kind that uses a military coup to jump-start it I imagine]

GAO: Reduction In Violence Due To ‘Ethnically Cleansed Neighborhoods’ In Iraq

Lawyers And Police Clash In Pakistan, Hundreds Detained

North Korea to begin disabling nuclear facilities Shutdown

Report: Hezbollah guerrillas stage secret military maneuvers

From The Right: Robert Bluey: Bush's Bold Veto Congressional Republicans have tried hard this year to reclaim the GOP's traditional "brand" as the party of fiscal responsibility. They're about to face a test that will show whether their rhetoric matches reality.

From The Left: Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Helene Cooper: In Pakistan, Officials See Few Options for US For more than five months the United States has been trying to orchestrate a political transition in Pakistan that would manage to somehow keep General Pervez Musharraf in power without making a mockery of President Bush's promotion of democracy in the Muslim world. On Saturday, those carefully laid plans fell apart spectacularly.

Quote Of The Day: “I’ve got a grandson that would make a wonderfully able public servant if he ran, George P.,” ... “And Pierce, Neil’s son. They have an interest in politics.” George H. W. Bush watch it here

(Sources: ChristianScienceMonitor, AP, FoxNews, Int'lHeraldTribune, Breitbart, ThinkProgress, TownHall, YouTube, McClatchy, BlackAnthem, WashingtonTimes, TruthOut, CapitalHillBlue, WashingtonNote)

World:
Chalabi back in action in Iraq
Ahmad Chalabi, the controversial, ubiquitous Iraqi politician and one-time Bush administration favorite, has re-emerged as a central figure in the latest U.S. strategy for Iraq. His latest job: To press Iraq's central government to use early security gains from the surge to deliver better electricity, health, education and local security services to Baghdad neighborhoods.

Anti-Iran rhetoric raises concerns at U.N.
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday he had no evidence Iran was working actively to build nuclear weapons and expressed concern that escalating rhetoric from the U.S. could bring disaster.

"We have information that there has been maybe some studies about possible weaponization," said Mohamed ElBaradei, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency. "That's why we have said that we cannot give Iran a pass right now, because there is still a lot of question marks."

Al-Qaida angry at Al-Jazeera on bin Laden tape
Al-Qaida sympathizers have unleashed a torrent of anger against Al-Jazeera television, accusing it of misrepresenting Osama bin Laden's latest audiotape by airing excerpts in which he criticizes mistakes by insurgents in Iraq.

Users of a leading Islamic militant Web forum posted thousands of insults against the pan-Arab station for focusing on excerpts in which bin Laden criticizes insurgents, including his followers. Analysts said the reaction highlighted militants' surprise at bin Laden's words, and their dismay at the deep divisions among al-Qaida and other Iraqi militants that he appeared to be trying to heal.

"It's not about Al-Jazeera, it's about their shock from bin Laden," said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on Islamic militant groups. "For the first time, bin Laden, who used to be the spiritual leader who gives guidance, became a critic of al-Qaida and is confessing mistakes. This is unusual." Read the details here...

Dollar Hits New Low on Fed Speculation
The dollar skidded to fresh record lows on speculation that U.S. will cut interest rates again as the post G-7 dollar sell-off came into full swing.

The greenback fell to a record low against the euro Friday at $1.4393, according to Interbank foreign-exchange rates from Dow Jones almost half a cent below its last record low of $1.4348, set Monday.

Oil Rises to Record Above $91 on Supply Drop, Iran Sanctions
Crude oil rose to a record above $91 a barrel in New York on an unexpected drop in U.S. stockpiles and concern that supply from the Middle East may be disrupted.

Inventories last week fell 5.29 million barrels to 316.6 million, the lowest since January, the U.S. Energy Department said. New U.S. sanctions against Iran, warnings of a Turkish assault on Kurdish militants in Iraq and a falling dollar helped push prices higher. Brent futures in London reached a record. Get depressed by clicking here...

US, Russia at impasse on missile defense
The United States and Russia hit an impasse on missile defense in Europe Thursday with the US defense secretary saying Washington has gone as far as it can to placate Moscow.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates' comments came after Moscow rejected US concessions on its plans for missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, which included a delay in making them operational until an Iranian missile threat is proven.

"I guess my view is I think we've leaned about as far forward as we can. We've offered a lot. And my view is, now I want to see some movement on their part," Gates told reporters as he flew back from Europe.

He said the US proposals "represent a very forward-leaning posture in terms of partnering with the Russians."

"And I think the question is whether the Russians are serious about partnering with us, or whether this is merely a pose to try and stop us from going forward with the Czech Republic and Poland," he said. Read on...

National:
FBI Warns Again Of Shoe Bomb Danger (again)
The joint FBI-Homeland Security bulletin, obtained by CBS News today, bluntly warns that terrorists are still working to use "modified footwear as a concealment method for explosive devices,"

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports. The alert follows the discovery of bomb detonators - expertly hidden in the hollowed-out soles of this pair of shoes - found aboard a European bus last month. Intelligence officials say the shoes were not being worn at the time, but instead were being used, as the document says, "to smuggle electric blasting caps across international borders for use in a terrorist attack." Details

Obama fundraiser defects to Clinton
A longtime Democratic fundraiser has abandoned Barack Obama's campaign to help rival Hillary Rodham Clinton win the party's presidential nomination.

Bob Farmer, who was a top fundraiser for several past Democratic presidential candidates, had served on Obama's national finance committee. Get more info here...

Thousands call for swift end to Iraq war
Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying signs that read: "Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die" or "Drop Tuition Not Bombs."

In Other News...
CAUTION — Cheney going hunting this weekend. The Poughkeepsie Journal in New York reports that “Vice President Dick Cheney is coming to Dutchess County again to go hunting.” On Monday, Cheney is “expected to leave Poughkeepsie and head to the Clove Valley Rod & Gun Club.” [No word on whether the Vice President will be drinking beforehand this time.]

The White House has agreed to let Senate Judiciary Committee leaders Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) "view the legal memos underpinning the administration's warrantless surveillance program" so they can consider legislation that would give telecommunications companies immunity from privacy lawsuits.

French president walks out of 60 MINUTES interview...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) said he doesn't share Dick Cheney's views of executive power. "No, I think the constitution in times of war, especially, is very definitive about that," he said. "[I]t's divided power in the constitution. Our founding fathers divided that up. ... So no one branch of the government can misuse power."

"House Democratic leaders" are "privately surveying their members" to determine "support for a criminal contempt resolution against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers for shunning congressional subpoenas in the U.S. attorney investigation," which could happen "as ealy as next week."

International human rights groups have filed a lawsuit in France against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for allowing torture at detention centers in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. The groups say that Rumsfeld should be detained when he visits France on Friday for authorizing human rights abuses.

During a tour of the California disaster area Thursday, President Bush couldn't resist taking a shot at Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, blaming her for Katrina. "It makes a significant difference when you have somebody in the statehouse willing to take the lead," Bush said of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The House last week voted 265 to 142 to pass a revised SCHIP bill that sought to address concerns of conservative lawmakers. But two fewer Republicans voted for the new version. The vote tally "fell seven votes shy of the 272 needed for a veto-proof two-thirds majority."

From The Right: William F. Buckley: Impeach Bush If ours were a form of government patterned after that of the Europeans, Bush would probably have been replaced as leader of his party. But the majority of the American people still think of him as a man of good will and very stout heart who is pursuing his duties as he sees them...

From The Left: Matthew Lee: US Ordering Reluctant Diplomats to Iraq Matthew Lee, reporting for the Associated Press, writes that "The State Department will begin ordering diplomats to serve in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers to work at the US Embassy in Baghdad, the first such large-scale call-up since the Vietnam War."

Quote Of The Day: "A poll released yesterday by the Associated Press made it official: Americans are more likely to believe in ghosts (34 percent) than to believe that President Bush is doing a good job with the war in Iraq (29 percent)." -USA Today

(Sources: AP, Bloomberg, CBSNews, Breitbart, PoughkeepsieJournal, CNBC, BostonHerald, WashingtonPost, ABCNews, Politico, Reuters, Times-Picayune, McClatchy, USAToday, TownHall, TruthOut)

World:
12 Turkish troops killed near Iraq border
Kurdish rebels ambushed a Turkish military convoy on today less than three miles from the Iraqi border, killing 12 soldiers in the face of growing threats by Turkey to cross the rugged frontier and root out the guerrillas.

Turkey shelled the border region in response to the attack, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani – himself a Kurd – ordered the rebels to lay down their arms or leave Iraq. Turkey dismissed his call, saying the time had come for action.

Israel: Militants Plotted To Kill Olmert
Israeli officials on Sunday said they foiled a recent attempt by Palestinian militants to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a trip to the West Bank and warned the plot could hurt prospects for an upcoming U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference.

Palestinian officials said Olmert was never in imminent danger and accused Israel of trying to exploit the plot to hinder progress before the summit.

Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been trying to hammer out a joint document outlining their common vision for a future peace agreement. They hope to present the document at the peace conference, which is expected to take place in Annapolis, Md., in November or December. Get the details here...

Kristol: Iran Is ‘The Only Real Threat’ To Success In Iraq
We’re winning in Iraq. That is the absolute crucial precondition to having success in the broader fight against Islamic jihadism. … And I think we are going to have to be serious about dealing with both their intervention in Iraq — which is now the only real threat, I think, incidentally, to relative success in Iraq — and their nuclear program. Watch here

Iraq critic wins Polish parliamentary elections
Challenger Donald Tusk of the Civic Platform party ousted current prime minister and strong Bush ally Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Poland’s parliamentary elections today. During the election, Tusk promised that “if elected, he would try to bring home the 900 Polish troops in Iraq.”

National:
Cheney: 'We Will NotAllow Iran to Have Nukes'
The United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.

"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.

He said Iran's efforts to pursue technology that would allow it to build a nuclear weapon are obvious and that "the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time."

If Iran continues on its current course, Cheney said the U.S. and other nations are prepared to take action. The vice president made no specific reference to military action.

"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Rumsfeld’s Revenge
A story in tomorrow’s Washington Post reports that early in 2004, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld became angry that the Pentagon was losing control over reconstruction efforts in Iraq. In return, he refused to provide military security for diplomats, forcing the State Department to rush to Blackwater.

Huckabee: Next terror attack may come from Pakistan
Huckabee said the next terror attack on the U.S. could originate in Pakistan.

Pelosi Stumbling as House Leader
Nancy Pelosi took office amid much fanfare 10 months ago, proposing "a new direction" for America. But her recent stumbles have given her critics more ammunition. FULL STORY

Thompson Gives 5 Minute Speech To FL GOP; Dozens Ask 'Is That It?'...
Rudy fired up the crowd. John had them chuckling. Mitt spun family yarns. And Fred left them wanting more. The leading Republican presidential candidates brought their own style, swagger and substance to an Orlando convention hall Saturday for a state party gala that solidifies Florida's spot on the political map.

Plame’s CIA job was to stop Iran from obtaining nukes
In her first interview since Bush administration officials outed her as a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame Wilson reveals to CBS 60 Minutes that she was involved in preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. In the interview to be aired this Sunday, CBS reports that she was “involved in one highly classified mission to deliver fake nuclear weapons blueprints to Tehran.” Watch it

Cat Fight Hisses in GOP Presidential Debate
Candidates go for each other's jugulars trying to prove to GOP base voters that each is the most conservative candidate.

In Other News...
The Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday voted 13-2 to approve a bill tightening rules on government wiretapping. The legislation would also contains a "highly controversial" grant of legal immunity for telecoms, a provision demanded by the White House.

136: Number of people who were killed by a suicide bomber in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday. Thousands turned out for the return of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Oil prices have soared to "another record high," hitting $90.07.

From The Right: Michael Reagan: Promises, Promises In 2006 Nancy Pelosi promised the American people that if they would vote to give Democrats control of Congress, making her Speaker of the House, they would come to Washington and "drain the swamp."

From The Left: NYT Editorial: With Democrats Like These ... Every now and then, we are tempted to double-check that the Democrats actually won control of Congress last year. It was particularly hard to tell this week. Democratic leaders were cowed, once again, by propaganda from the White House and failed, once again, to modernize the law on electronic spying in a way that permits robust intelligence gathering on terrorists without undermining the Constitution.

Quote Of The Week: “Unfortunately, ‘I told you so,’ is an incredibly unsuccessful campaign slogan.”
-- DNC Chairman Howard Dean, quoted by the New York Times.

(Sources: AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, WashingtonPost, CBSNews, YouTube, Reuters, AFP, WashingtonTimes, CNN, NBC, PoliticalWire, TownHall, TruthOut)