CONG.  RANGEL CONDEMNS CHAVEZ'S ATTACK ON BUSH  —  WASHINGTON - I want to express my extreme displeasure with statements by the President of Venezuela attacking U.S. President George Bush in such a personal and disparaging way during his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly.

Allen's Mother Revealed Jewish Heritage to Him Last Month  —  Henrietta "Etty" Allen said Wednesday that she concealed her upbringing as a Jew in North Africa from her children, including Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), until a conversation across the dining room table in late August.

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 …

Bill Clinton warns against wide torture approval  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton joined a chorus of critics of Bush administration proposals for treating suspected terrorists, saying it would be unnecessary and wrong to give broad approval to torture.

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 …

Kline staffer filmed using racial term outside Rowley event  —  Just when you thought the congressional campaign between John Kline and Coleen Rowley couldn't get any weirder, a video appeared on a Minnesota political blog showing Kline's district director, former state Rep. Mike Osskopp, screaming about "another Jap car."

Justice Dept. Amends Remark on Torture Case  —  In an embarrassing turnabout, the Department of Justice backed away Wednesday from a denial by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales of responsibility for the treatment of a Canadian who was seized by American authorities in 2002.

Hamid Mir On Glenn Beck Show  —  Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir was on both the Glenn Beck radio and t.v. shows today.  —  Sandcrawler crewmembers are (hopefully) working on getting some audio.  If we can't do it, you can subscribe to Beck's Insider thingie for a month for a measly 7 bucks to hear it.

Matthews: 'I Have Been...Against This Bulls**t War From The Beginning'  —  This morning on Imus, MSNBC's Chris Matthews blasted the media for not covering the Iraq war.  Matthews said that while people are still fighting and dying the Iraq, war "has been taken off television, and Bush must love it."

Papers show Bush allies' inside access  —  WASHINGTON - Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed landed more than 100 meetings inside the Bush White House, according to documents released Wednesday that provide the first official accounting of the access and influence the two presidential allies have enjoyed.

HUD staff told to favor allies  —  Exclusive: Inquiry finds no proof aides heeded Jackson's urgings  —  WASHINGTON - Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson urged top aides to take contractors' politics into account when handing out grants and deals, an internal department review has found …

The NY Times, Keeping Hope Alive  —  The NY Times headlines great news for the Democrats! … Dead Tree readers of a liberal persuasion get even more encouragement in this version, (sub heds not on-line): … The Democrats are going to party like its 1994!  Adam Nagourney and Janet Elder return to this in the second paragraph:

The Pope Was Right  —  In his controversial speech last week, Benedict set forth a bold agenda for the civilized world.  —  IN A BRILLIANT lecture at the University of Regensburg last week, Pope Benedict XVI made three crucial points that are now in danger of being lost in the polemics …

Ga. Republican says he supports "methods necessary" for detainees  —  WASHINGTON - Georgia congressman Lynn Westmoreland backed away from comments he made suggesting that he supports torturing terrorism suspects, but said intelligence agencies should be given latitude to use "the methods necessary" to get information from detainees.

Suits Say U.S. Impeded Audits for Oil Leases  —  Four government auditors who monitor leases for oil and gas on federal property say the Interior Department suppressed their efforts to recover millions of dollars from companies they said were cheating the government.

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!

Judge Hands Libby Defense Initial Win  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge handed a victory to the defense Thursday in the Valerie Plame case, siding with Vice President Dick Cheney's indicted former chief of staff in a fight over release of classified information.

Assisted suicide bid for the depressed  —  Founder of Swiss clinic that helped 54 Britons to die wants the law widened beyond the terminally ill  —  BRITONS suffering from depression could soon be legally helped to die in Switzerland if a test case in the country's Supreme Court is successful next month.