Foley Resigns Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors  —  Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:  —  Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former congressional pages under the age of 18.

Book Says Bush Ignored Urgent Warning on Iraq  —  The White House ignored an urgent warning in September 2003 from a top Iraq adviser who said that thousands of additional American troops were desperately needed to quell the insurgency there, according to a new book by Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter and author.

Ugly Words  —  Past and present in the Virginia Senate race  —  DID REPUBLICAN Sen. George Allen use racial slurs years ago?  Did his Democratic challenger, James Webb?  Does it matter, in a race between two candidates with long public records and substantial differences on Iraq, health care, the economy and other critical issues?

Senator Joseph Lieberman, Independent Democrat: The PajamasMedia Video  —  "The fastest growing political party in America is no party, which is to say, that the fastest growing group of voters are unaffiliated with either party.  That's a market statement on the two major parties."

Beltway Democrats are seriously flawed, but the election is still critically important  —  (updated below)  —  Now that the torture and detention bill will become law, it is necessary to focus on the political implications of what happened yesterday and, more broadly, what has been done …

Malkin Derangement Syndrome  —  I have blogged before about the obsessed UNC professor Eric Muller.  —  He and his friends at Wonkette have sunk to a new low (Guess insulting me with ping-pong ball jokes wasn't enough).  As a response to my column this week on Charlotte Church …

Oberstar Fails The Pork Test  —  The House has considered a new Coast Guard appropriation (HR 5681), but they did so under a suspension of the rules.  This parliamentary manuever allows Representatives to undermine the new rule just created that forces them to identify their earmarks in the Congressional Record.

Senate Approves Broad New Rules to Try Detainees  —  The Senate approved a measure on Thursday on the interrogations and trials of terrorism suspects, establishing far-reaching rules to deal with what President Bush has called the most dangerous combatants in a different type of war.

Why Bill Clinton Pushed Back  —  Bill Clinton's eruption on "Fox News Sunday" last weekend over questions about his administration's handling of terrorism was a long time coming and has political implications that go beyond this fall's elections.  —  By choosing to intervene in the terror debate …

House Approves Warrantless Wiretap Law  —  WASHINGTON — The House approved a bill Thursday that would grant legal status to President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program with new restrictions.  Republicans called it a test before the election of whether Democrats want to fight or coddle terrorists.

Ex-Prez Carter: Bush has brought U.S. "international disgrace"  —  RENO, Nev. Former President Carter is urging northern Nevadans to elect his son, Jack, to the Senate to help combat a Bush administration he says has brought "international disgrace" to the country.

The Case for Waterboarding  —  Discussing his recent compromise with the White House on detention and interrogation of captured terrorists, John McCain said on the Today show that 'there will be no such thing as waterboarding...You will never see that again.  We stood up and said that cannot be done.'