Hastert Vows to Overcome Scandal  —  J. Dennis Hastert, who was installed as House speaker eight years ago through backroom maneuvering in a moment of crisis for his party, has no distinct power base in Congress, not much of a national reputation and, in an age of television politics, little polish in front of the camera.

GOP's Hold on Evangelicals Weakening  —  Party's Showing in Midterm Elections May Be Hurt as Polls Indicate Support Dropping in Base  —  ANOKA, Minn. — Lynn Sunde, an evangelical Christian, is considering what for her is a radical step.  Come November, she may vote for a Democrat for Congress.

Rice, in Baghdad, Insists That Iraqis Are 'Making Progress'  —  Wearing a helmet and a flak jacket and flanked by machine-gun-toting bodyguards to defend against insurgents, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came here Thursday, insisting that there were new signs of progress in Iraq …

Pelosi says she would drain GOP 'swamp'  —  WASHINGTON - Franklin Roosevelt had his first hundred days.  —  House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule.

In Border Fence's Path, Congressional Roadblocks  —  No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border last week than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts.

From a List to a GOP Civil War?  —  Copies of The List (see below) have been sent by gay politicos to a variety of social conservative groups that look to the Republican Party to make their religious right dreams come true.  The recipients include the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family …

Investigation to Look at Facebook  —  University Says Social Networking Site 'Not Exempt'  —  Columbia will review information and images posted on students' Facebook profiles as part of its investigation into Wednesday night's Minutemen brawl, a University spokesman confirmed Thursday evening.

Kim's message: War is coming to US soil  —  Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say.  Please click here if you are interested in contributing.  —  The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced on October 3 …

Olbermann's Special Comments  —  The traditional media has been slow to come to grips with the American public's distrust and dislike of President Bush — sentiments clearly reflected in opinion polls dating back well over a year.  —  Almost alone among the network newscasters, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is channeling that sensibility.

Monologues dialogues.  —  David Brooks's column yesterday began this way (TimesSelect link): … Today, we get the letters to the editor.  Gotta defend the iconic monologues, you know.  The first letter says Brooks "misses a key point, and that is power":

Bush cites authority to bypass FEMA law  —  Signing statement is employed again  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush this week asserted that he has the executive authority to disobey a new law in which Congress has set minimum qualifications for future heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Race for Senate control tightens  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats are within striking distance of winning control of the Senate in the Nov. 7 elections, USA TODAY/Gallup Polls in six key states show as the campaigns head into their final month.  —  The number of Republican-held seats …

'Boy snatched off street, set alight and murdered for being white'  — Evidence given in Kriss Donald murder trial  — One of accused apparently sought revenge for previous assault  — Kriss Donald may have been targetted simply due to being white  —  Story in full

A Calamity For Gay Republicans  —  Less than 24 hours after Rep. Mark Foley resigned in disgrace, some 50 gay Republicans gathered at a friend's house in Virginia.  They were in a brittle mood.  Foley — one of their own, in terms of sexual orientation and party ID — had, by his misconduct …