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.

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.

Black Enthusiasm for Clinton and Obama Leaves Little Room for Edwards  —  Clinton's Image Up among Liberals, Down among Conservatives; Obama Scores Best among College Educated  —  The exceptionally strong support for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama among black voters (and, for Clinton …

Justice Dept. Investigating Gonzales's Testimony  —  The Justice Department is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress on a broad range of issues, including the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program …

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.

'Post' Homophobia Still Mysteriously Unfunny  —  You know what?  We're getting pretty bored by the New York Post's homophobia.  For a while, we giggled at "Page Six"'s use of archaic adjectives like "swishy" and "limp-wristed" to describe gay subjects.  We tried to find the humor …

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.

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 …