Mutually Assured Disruption  —  THE North Korean nuclear test — if that indeed is what it was — signals the catastrophic collapse of a dozen years of American policy.  Over that period, two of the world's most dangerous regimes, Pakistan and North Korea, have developed nuclear weapons and the missiles to launch them.

Republicans Want to Turn Over a New Page  —  The Foley scandal is no "October surprise"  —  Leading Republicans, with the support of conservative media outlets, are charging that the Mark Foley scandal was a plot orchestrated by Democrats to damage the G.O.P.'s electoral prospects this November.

Hastert Tries To Shift Blame To Staff, Raises Prospect of 'Cover Up'  —  At a press conference this morning, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) set up his staff to take the blame for the Mark Foley scandal.  Asked if he was satisfied with how his staff handled the matter, Hasert said, "I understand what my staff told me.

'SCARY MOVIE' PRODUCER MAKES CAMPAIGN AD; MOCKS DEMOCRATS  —  The DRUDGE REPORT has obtained an exclusive copy of a "scary" campaign advertisement created by Hollywood producer and director David Zucker that was intended to be used by GOP organizations in the closing weeks of the 2006 campaign.

NO MORE TROOPS  —  WITH 26 American troops dead in Iraq in the first nine days of October, the combination of bad news and pre-election politics has those on one bench arguing for bailing out immediately and those on the other bench frantic to pile on.  —  Neither position is realistic.

Jones reports page will be questioned today about Foley  —  FBI special agents will question a former congressional page today in Oklahoma City at an undisclosed location about the recent sex scandal, said Enid attorney Stephen Jones, who is representing the man.

Another 60 Bodies Found in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's government forged ahead with a plan aimed at ending sectarian attacks, even as a bombing in the capital killed 10 people Tuesday and officials discovered scores of new death-squad victims.  —  The bomb, planted under a car …

Allen's Undisclosed Stock Options Were Worth Up to $1.1 Million  —  Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) — Stock options that Senator George Allen described as worthless were worth as much as $1.1 million at one point, according to a review of Senate disclosure forms and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Gibson: Run golden-oldie ads, get golden-oldie viewers  —  Want younger viewers for the evening news?  Ditch the geezer ads, says ABC World News anchor Charlie Gibson.  —  If networks are serious about luring pre-Social Security eyeballs, they should replace commercials for adult diapers …

Harvard study paints bleak picture of ethnic diversity  —  A bleak picture of the corrosive effects of ethnic diversity has been revealed in research by Harvard University's Robert Putnam, one of the world's most influential political scientists.  —  His research shows that the more diverse a community is …

Dynamic Capitalism  —  Entrepreneurship is lucrative—and just.  —  There are two economic systems in the West.  Several nations—including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.—have a private-ownership system marked by great openness to the implementation of new commercial ideas coming from entrepreneurs …

Help You, Help Me: The First Blegburst  —  I guess I wasn't paying very close attention, but at some point yesterday I cracked a million visits on ye olde Sitemeter, a good chunk of which came from this post that took me longer to upload than create.  —  I think this a milestone of some sort …

Woman: Saddam Guards Buried People Alive  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Prison guards under Saddam Hussein used to bury detainees alive and watch women as they bathed, occasionally shooting over their heads, a former female prisoner testified Monday in the genocide trial of the ex-president.

Dot-Com Boom Echoed in Deal to Buy YouTube  —  A profitless Web site started by three 20-somethings after a late-night dinner party is sold for more than a billion dollars, instantly turning dozens of its employees into paper millionaires.  It sounds like a tale from the late 1990's dot-com bubble, but it happened yesterday.

Streisand Has Outburst at NYC Concert  —  It was an evening that elicited tears, standing ovations, raucous laughter and shouts of joy from the audience _ and was just in the first few minutes.  —  Yes, Barbra Streisand's return to touring after a 12-year absence was the extravaganza that it promised to be.

Lamont Uses Joe's Old Ads  —  Ned Lamont is trying to coax the ghost of campaigns past to haunt the present campaign of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman.  —  In a new Lamont ad scheduled to air today, challenger Joe Lieberman of 1988 seems to be making a case to reject the 18-year incumbent Lieberman of 2006.

Suspicion Surrounds Retreat In Gas Prices, Poll Finds  —  Gasoline prices are down about 75 cents in two months, but whether motorists will see further declines at the pump depends in part on whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries can agree to cut production.

'Values' Choice for The GOP  —  It's possible that the Mark Foley scandal could finally end the phony, trumped-up "culture war" that the Republican Party has so expertly exploited all these years — possible, but not likely.  I'm afraid the Foley episode will be remembered as just another bloody battle …