Poll Finds Most Americans Displeased With Congress  —  With the midterm elections less than seven weeks away, Americans have an overwhelmingly negative view of the Republican-controlled Congress, with substantial majorities saying that they disapprove of the job it is doing and that its members …

PRESIDENT CHAVEZ DELIVERS REMARKS AT THE U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY  —  "Representatives of the governments of the world, good morning to all of you.  First of all, I would like to invite you, very respectfully, to those who have not read this book, to read it.  Noam Chomsky, one of the most …

Bombshell: ABC independently confirms success of CIA "torture" tactics  —  Ace e-mailed me the instant this finished airing on O'Reilly with the subject header "must record".  He was right, as you'll see.  —  Anti-"torture" absolutists like Sullivan adamantly deny that harsh tactics produce reliable information.

FEAR: Why The Press Won't Tell You What Ahmadinejad Said  —  A striking bit of journalistic malpractice seems to have affected the mainstream media web sites this morning, as news site after news site failed to provide their readers with the transcript of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speech last night to the United Nations.

Leader of Coup in Thailand Sets Timetable  —  Thailand will probably not restore democracy for at least a year, Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, the commander who seized power in a bloodless coup, announced today.  —  Speaking to reporters for the first time since tanks and troops under …

Allen tells of his Jewish heritage  —  He acknowledges he knew of his lineage when faulting a reporter for her question  —  U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., yesterday acknowledged his Jewish ancestry, a day after angrily ducking a question about possible Jewish forebears in a debate with his Democratic challenger.

U.S. Policy on Iran Evolves Toward Diplomacy  —  Before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, U.S. officials confidently predicted that the toppling of Saddam Hussein would lead to renewed momentum on the Israeli-Palestinian peace track.  "The road to Jerusalem leads through Baghdad" was a common refrain.

Everybody Has One: Bloggers and the Death of Opinion Journalism  —  Not that long ago, many people thought the Internet would break down partisan boundaries and improve the quality of political debate in this country — a prediction that sounds as silly today as previous hype about the educational potential of television and radio.

Keith Olbermann and Jane Hamsher Discuss Politics and Blogs  —  Keith had Jane from Firedoglake on tonight to talk about the meeting last week with Bill Clinton and progressive bloggers, as well as Hillary's possible 2008 run.  —  Video -WMV Video - QT  —  It is good to see Bill Clinton …

AP vs. the "so-called blogosphere"  —  It's spin time.  The Associated (With Terrorists) Press is now waging a p.r. campaign against what it calls the "so-called blogosphere" over detained photographer Bilal Hussein.  After five months of stonewalling, the "so-called reporters" …

More on that USA Today/Gallup Poll  —  Our update to the Slate Election Scorecard yesterday tries to put the results for the generic congressional vote from the USA Today/Gallup survey into some perspective.  It also reintroduces the controversy over likely voter models in general …

This man's sign says it all.  —  Tens of thousands of freedom loving people showed up from all over the country.  —  It was gorgeous.  They came in droves to protest holocaust denier, nuked up Ahmadinejad's outrageous appearance at the UN.  —  Here in this video I ask the Headmaster …

Panel Leans Toward Phased Iraq Withdrawal or International Talks  —  WASHINGTON — A panel mandated by Congress to develop new Iraq policy is leaning toward recommending either a phased withdrawal of soldiers or a new engagement initiative with Iran and Syria to end the violence in Iraq.

Independence Days  —  American politics reached a critical turn last week.  The revolt of several Republican senators against President Bush's insistence on a free hand in treating terrorist detainees signaled the emergence of an independent force in elections and government.