FOOT TAPPING AND BATHROOM CRUISING....Yesterday one of my readers emailed to say he was annoyed by all the ignorant blog commentary emanating from straight young whippersnappers on the subject of Larry Craig's restroom shenanigans in Minnesota: … Today, non-whippersnapper blogger …

Chemical Weapons Scare at U.N. Headquarters  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous chemical warfare agent, phosgene, as they were cleaning out offices at a U.N. building in New York, federal authorities tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Texas governor spares getaway driver  —  HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry accepted a parole board recommendation Thursday to spare condemned inmate Kenneth Foster, the getaway driver in a 1996 murder who had been scheduled for execution within hours.  —  The sentence had drawn protests …

Porter ties U.S. withdrawal from Iraq to $9 gasoline  —  Lawmaker reports on his trip to country  —  WASHINGTON — Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the United States withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week.

Sources: Thompson announcement on Sept. 6  —  Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting will hold a 4 p.m. conference call today with supporters to brief them on plans for the former Tennessee senator's presidential announcement next week, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.com.

Report Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals  —  Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report.  The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment …

Locked, Loaded and Looney  —  As the Army's suicide rate hits record levels in the Iraq war, there's small wonder practically everyone in Congress wants to deal with the parallel emerging crisis of depressed veterans tempted to take their own lives.  Everyone, that is, except Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.

Christ-like bin Laden image stirs debate in Australia  —  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Artworks depicting Osama bin Laden in a Christ-like pose and a statue of the Virgin Mary covered in a burqa have caused a stir in Australia after they were showcased in a prestigious religious art competition.

A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting?  —  After the 2000 Florida election debacle, Congress established a body called the Election Assistance Commission to improve voting and democracy in this country.  Two years ago, the commission approached me about doing a project that would take a preliminary look …

When Fox News Republicans Lie, Democrats Should Tell The Truth  —  Regarding Karen Hanretty's comments in which she invoked the name of Barry Goldwater while she lied about me:  —  I knew Barry Goldwater.  Barry Goldwater was an authentic conservative who believed in political discourse of honesty and civility.

GOP no-shows prompt cancellation of debate  —  Univisión's Republican presidential debate has been called off after only one contender agreed to participate.  The debate for Democrats is still on for Sept. 9.  —  AIM reprint  —  breinhard@MiamiHerald.com

Survey: Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory  —  Comprehensive survey of published climate research reveals changing viewpoints  —  In 2004, history professor Naomi Oreskes performed a survey of research papers on climate change.