Israeli-US plot behind pope's remarks: Iran hardline press  —  Iranian hardline newspapers said there were signs of an Israeli-US plot behind remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that linked Islam to violence and created a wave of anger across the Muslim world.  —  The daily Jomhuri Islami said Israel …

Bush Untethered  —  Watching the president on Friday in the Rose Garden as he threatened to quit interrogating terrorists if Congress did not approve his detainee bill, we were struck by how often he acts as though there were not two sides to a debate.  We have lost count of the number …

As Senator Falters, a Democrat Rises in Virginia  —  From the start, the Virginia Senate race was an emblematic campaign for 2006: combat boots vs. cowboy boots, in the inevitable shorthand.  —  A highly decorated Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy who opposed the war in Iraq …

The Path to Hysteria  —  My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism.  —  I am neither an activist, politician or partisan, nor an ideologue of any stripe.  What I am is a writer who takes his job very seriously, as do most of my colleagues …

In Politics, Aim for the Heart, Not the Head  —  In 1935, researchers from Columbia University fanned out around the city of Allentown, Pa., and handed out leaflets ahead of local and state elections.  What residents did not know was that they were part of an experiment in political persuasion …

A very rushed post  —  Just outside Westminster Cathedral today...  I thought I'd refrain from posting anything substantial about this uproar about the Pope's speech, since I'm sure other bloggers can put things more eloquently than me.  ( here and here and here : "If the Pope does not appear …

Support for Electronic Filing of Senate Candidates' Campaign-Finance Records Gains Momentum  —  In the next few weeks leading up to Election Day, money will pour into candidates' coffers and voters will be able to see which lobby groups are trying hardest to buy their lawmakers' favor.

Time for a Time-Out?  —  Will the GOP learn its lesson on pork?  —  If Republicans lose big in November, one reason will be their tardy response to public outrage over profligate spending.  The guilty pleas of former GOP Rep. Duke Cunningham and lobbyist Jack Abramoff prompted demands …

Major Problems At Polls Feared  —  Some Officials Say Voting Law Changes And New Technology Will Cause Trouble  —  An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat …

NATO Faces Growing Hurdle As Call for Troops Falls Short  —  Alliance Casualties Hit 5-Year High in Volatile Afghanistan  —  BRUSSELS — More than a week after NATO's top leaders publicly demanded reinforcements for their embattled mission in southern Afghanistan, only one member …

Spending database bill marks new era  —  The Washington DC Examiner Newspaper, The Examiner  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush will soon sign the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL to establish a google-like Internet database of most federal spending.

BUSH BASHING PIG HITS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN  —  ROGER WATERS [PINK FLOYD] CONCERT TOUR HITS NORTH AMERICA AND NYC WITH FLYING PIGS, URGING DEM VOTES IN ELECTION, 'IMPEACH BUSH' WRITTEN ON REAR OF PIG FLOATING OVER AUDIENCE... One concertgoer writes: 'Seeing Bush's name written across the pig's arse made me howl'... The pig had graffiti.

Bid to Stockpile Bioterror Drugs Stymied by Setbacks  —  The last of the anthrax-laced letters was still making its way through the mail in late 2001 when top Bush administration officials reached an obvious conclusion: the nation desperately needed to expand its medical stockpile to prepare for another biological attack.

Klobuchar keeps big lead over Kennedy  —  A charged-up DFL base and disapproval of Bush play a role in the margin, similar to a July poll's.  —  DFL U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar continues to hold a dominant lead over GOP rival Mark Kennedy, 56 to 32 percent, in the latest Minnesota Poll …

Narrow win for Swedish opposition  —  Sweden's centre-right opposition bloc has defeated the ruling Social Democrat party in the country's closest-fought general election for decades.  —  Moderate party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt declared victory as near-complete results gave him a 1% lead.

NEWSWEEK "Isikoffed" the Gonzales Memo  —  Since Christopher Hitchens is correcting old Dowdified quotes, I thought I'd correct one myself.  This one, from a 2004 NEWSWEEK article, is a major Dowdification — in my view, every bit as egregious as Dowd's original.  What's more, it's still influencing lefties even today.

Coverage of 9/11 anniversary was too wimpy  —  A lot of the 9/11 anniversary coverage struck me as distastefully tasteful.  On the morning of Sept. 12, I was pumping gas just off I-91 in Vermont and picked up the Valley News.  Its lead headline covered the annual roll call of the dead …