Leading Bush critic at home calls Chavez a "thug"  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of President George W. Bush's fiercest political opponents at home took his side on Thursday, calling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a "thug" for his remark that Bush is like the devil.

Bush, McCain reach agreement on tribunal laws  —  Deal comes as House, Senate wrangle over how to treat enemy combatants  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush and Republican negotiators led by Sen. John McCain have reached an agreement on legislation covering tribunals for enemy combatant suspects, NBC News has learned.

Fauxtography at the United Nations  —  Salam Daher, also known as "Green Helmet Guy," the corpse-posing ghoul from Qana photographed by discredited Reuters propagandist Adnan Hajj, makes it to the podium of the UN General Assembly via Hizballah's poodle, Emile Lahoud: … UPDATE at 9/21/06 11:05:53 am:

Keep Away the Vote  —  One of the cornerstones of the Republican Party's strategy for winning elections these days is voter suppression, intentionally putting up barriers between eligible voters and the ballot box.  The House of Representatives took a shameful step in this direction yesterday …

Wal-Mart to Sell Generic Drugs for $4  —  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Wal-Mart announced today that it will start a test program in Florida, where it will sell generic prescription drugs for $4 for a 30-day supply.  The test will start tomorrow in 65 Tampa Bay-area stores and is to expand to the whole state by January.

Pakistani clerics demand pope's removal  —  LAHORE, Pakistan - About 1,000 Muslim clerics and religious scholars meeting Thursday in eastern Pakistan demanded the removal of Pope Benedict XVI for making what they called "insulting remarks" against Islam.  —  Benedict "should be removed …

Bush and GOP Making Gains Among Voters  —  The turnaround is a sign that the election battle in November could be fierce.  But history shows Democrats remain poised to claim seats.  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush's approval rating has reached its highest level since January …

Ahmadinejad Prays for End of World in UN Speech  —  RUSH: Let me go back to Ahmadinejad, his speech last night.  First thing I saw was a couple of wire reports.  One from the Associated Press: Iran Tells UN Nuclear Program Peaceful.  I read the piece, and compared to what Ahmadinejad actually said, they leave it out!

U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan after 9/1: Musharraf  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said that after the September 11 attacks the United States threatened to bomb his country if it did not cooperate with America's campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Can Mark Warner Find Some Money Hillary Dropped?  —  Presidential Candidate Attempts to Squeeze Sen. Clinton's Donors; And He's Not Bashful; Trawls at Rattner-Whites With Effron, Holbrooke  —  Like some aspiring small-town actor called back for an audition, Mark Warner returned to New York …

BILL O'REILLY'S DEATH WISH  —  Bill O'Reilly may be the most fervent flag waver on cable—a patriot who believes in torturing terrorists and profiling all Muslims.  But is that enough to get him targeted by Al Qaeda?  —  The loofah-loving Fox News host is raising plenty of eyebrows around …

Mahmoun's Style  —  I keep talking about this with people in real life, but it deserves a blog mention as well — Mahmoun Ahmadinejad has a pretty sweet hipster style.  It all starts with a beard not unlike the one I and many of my twentysomething male friends sport.  But it goes deeper.

Libya's travesty  —  Six medical workers in Libya face execution.  It is not too late for scientists to speak up on their behalf.  —  Imagine that five American nurses and a British doctor have been detained and tortured in a Libyan prison since 1999, and that a Libyan prosecutor called …

Poor-Mouthing Prosperity  —  Does today's free market create too much insecurity?  —  BY BRINK LINDSEY  —  Out of the stagflation and malaise of the 1970s emerged a new and improved American economic system—less regulated and unionized, more globalized and entrepreneurial than the old triumvirate …