Foley Resigns Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors  —  Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:  —  Rhonda Schwartz contributed to this report.  —  Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned …

Card Urged Bush to Replace Rumsfeld, Woodward Says  —  Former White House chief of staff Andrew Card on two occasions tried and failed to persuade President Bush to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, according to a new book by Bob Woodward that depicts senior officials of the Bush administration …

VA-Sen: Say Hello to Spitgate  —  First it was Macacagate.  Then it was Deerheadgate, and, uh, Rugbygate.  The slow drip of questions surrounding George Allen's racist past have turned into an all-out deluge this week with witness after witness stepping out of the woodwork and revealing more incidents of Allen's legacy of racism.

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."

Use Brinkmanship on Iran  —  Any diplomatic effort by the U.S. won't work unless backed up by a credible threat of force.  —  FOR IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to snare an invitation to speak before the Council on Foreign Relations last week, after threatening several times to destroy Israel …

Wildlife Waste Is Major Water Polluter, Studies Say  —  Does a bear leave its waste in the woods?  —  Of course.  So do geese, deer, muskrats, raccoons and other wild animals.  And now, such states as Virginia and Maryland have determined that this plays a significant role in water pollution.

Bush's Conception Conflict  —  It was, I believe, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) who first made the excellent, bitter and terribly unfair joke about conservatives who believe in a right to life that begins at conception and ends at birth.  —  This joke has been adapted for use against various Republican politicians ever since.

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.

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 …

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.