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.

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 …

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:

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.

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 …

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.

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!

MIKE GETS HALFWAY RADICAL  —  PROBLEMATIC ANTI-POVERTY PLAN  —  MAYOR Bloomberg has broken the most fiercely guarded taboo in the poverty industry.  Unfortunately, his own solution to long-term poverty is worse than the ones he proposes to supplant.  —  The mayor wants to start paying …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

G.O.P. Gains Big Fund-Raising Advantage  —  The Republican National Committee has amassed a significant fund-raising advantage, according to campaign finance records filed Wednesday, feeding Democrats' fears about remaining competitive in the intense final weeks before the midterm elections.