Idaho Sen. Larry Craig Denies Allegations of Same-Sex Affairs  —  Mike Rogers, who calls himself "the nation's leading gay activist blogger" has just finished a nationally-broadcast interview on the Ed Schultz Radio Show in which he alleges that Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig has engaged in same-sex sexual activity.

9 U.S. troops killed in Iraq bombings  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military reported Wednesday that nine American troops had been killed in bombings and combat, raising to 67 the number of U.S. troops killed in October.  —  A roadside bomb killed a provincial police intelligence chief in southern Iraq early Wednesday, police said.

Rove foresees GOP victory  —  White House political strategist Karl Rove yesterday confidently predicted that the Republican Party would hold the House and the Senate in next month's elections, dismissing fallout from the sex scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley.

DNC Takes Out Loan For DSCC  —  The DSCC's optimism about winning the Senate is apparently contagious as the DNC is going to pony up an extra $5-10M for the Senate committee, according to sources familiar with the previously reported arrangement between the two campaign orgs.

Funding Constrains Democrats  —  Party Chiefs See Chance to Take 40-Plus Seats With TV Push  —  Top Democrats said yesterday that they are planning to significantly expand the number of GOP House seats they will target during the final 20 days of the campaign but that financial disputes …

Polling Results  —  October 17, 2006 - Democrat Opens 12-Point Lead In Ohio Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Independent Voters Shift To Democrat  —  Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown has opened up a 53 - 41 percent lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine among likely voters …

655,000 War Dead?  —  A bogus study on Iraq casualties.  —  After doing survey research in Iraq for nearly two years, I was surprised to read that a study by a group from Johns Hopkins University claims that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war.

And the Winner Is ... Me  —  Voters in Ohio can be forgiven if they feel they have been beamed out of the Midwest and dropped into a third-world autocracy.  The latest news from the state's governor's race is that the Republican nominee, Kenneth Blackwell, who is also the Ohio secretary of state …

Lieberman Unleashed, Slaps Dodd  —  Ahh, back in New Haven.  Though the leaves are changing color, their hues are obscured by dark and drizzly weather.  Remind me never to write fiction, btw.  I'm sitting in Starbucks and making calls to piece together the Bolton decision.

Mehlman Caught with Hand in Abramoff Cookie Jar  —  Media Fail to Challenge Mehlman on Inconsistent Tales of his Relationship with Convicted GOP Lobbyist Jack Abramoff  —  Does Mehlman Really Not Remember Sabbath Dinner with Convicted Lobbyist?  —  Washington, DC - For months the media …

Taking Out The Trash  —  DemFromCT has an interesting post up this morning over at Daily Kos discussing the rise of hyper-partisanship.  He quotes an interview with the authors of The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track,Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann:

Bush Sets Defense As Space Priority  —  U.S. Says Shift Is Not A Step Toward Arms; Experts Say It Could Be  —  President Bush has signed a new National Space Policy that rejects future arms-control agreements that might limit U.S. flexibility in space and asserts a right to deny access to space to anyone "hostile to U.S. interests."

Cheney: 'General Overall Situation' In Iraq Is Going 'Remarkably Well'  —  Rush Limbaugh interviewed Vice President Cheney on his show today.  At one point, Limbaugh asked Cheney to respond to growing frustration over U.S. efforts in Iraq.  —  Cheney acknowledged there is a …

Weldon's Ties to Serbian Businessman Part of Probe  —  Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade were surprised three years ago to be invited to a luncheon in honor of visiting Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), hosted by Bogoljub Karic, a wealthy Serbian businessman who had been barred from visiting …

US full of Internet addicts: study  —  The United States could be rife with Internet addicts as clinically ill as alcoholics, an unprecedented study released suggested.  —  Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in Silicon Valley said their telephone survey indicated …

The end of cod  —  A COMPLETE ban on cod fishing is the only way to prevent the species from dying out in the North Sea, scientists said last night.  —  The much-trumpeted European rescue plan for cod is failing, the official committee of European fisheries experts will tell governments on Friday.