What Limbaugh Said  —  The folks on the Left are beside themselves today—thinking that by dint of a truncated quote, they will succeed in shutting down Rush Limbaugh and taking him off the air.  Before lining up next to the folks from Crooks and Liars, FireDogLake, Media Matters, ThinkProgress …

Leading GOP Candidates Skip Debate on Black Issues  —  4 Contenders Attend Fundraisers Instead  —  Fred D. Thompson was at a fundraiser in Franklin, Tenn. Mitt Romney was gathering checks in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Rudolph W. Giuliani was in California raking in some last-minute cash just north of Napa.

Six inconvenient truths about the U.S. and slavery  —  Those who want to discredit the United States and to deny our role as history's most powerful and pre-eminent force for freedom, goodness and human dignity invariably focus on America's bloody past as a slave-holding nation.

Hear, Hear  —  Americans should not fear talking—and listening—to those whose views we loathe.  —  You don't want to judge Christ by Christians, someone once said.  He is perfect, they are not.  —  In a similar way you don't want to judge capitalism by capitalists …

With Legacy in Mind, Bush Reassesses His Agenda  —  As he addresses a conference on climate change this morning, President Bush will face not only a crowd of skeptics but the press of time.  For nearly seven years, he invested little personal energy in the challenge of global warming.

Hired Gun Fetish  —  Sometimes it seems that the only way to make sense of the Bush administration is to imagine that it's a vast experiment concocted by mad political scientists who want to see what happens if a nation systematically ignores everything we've learned over the past few centuries …

US Congressman owned home with another man, took DC tax deduction while voting in NC  —  Congressman Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC), right, purchased a residence in Washington, DC's Capital Hill neighborhood with another man, PageOneQ has learned.  While he owned the home, McHenry …

Turkey-Iraq agree security pact  —  Iraq and Turkey have signed a security agreement aimed at curbing the activities of the Turkish Kurdish separatist group, the PKK.  —  However, the final agreement does not include a key Turkish proposal that its troops be allowed to pursue PKK fighters over the border into Iraq.

BREAKING NEWS: Electoral initiative backers give up  —  Plagued by a lack of money, supporters of a statewide initiative drive to change the way California's 55 electoral votes are apportioned, first revealed here by Top of the Ticket in July, are pulling the plug on that effort.

NTU Staff & Friends Mourn the Death of NTU President John Berthoud  —  We are sorry to announce the passing of John Berthoud.  As you may know, he has led both the National Taxpayers Union and National Taxpayers Union Foundation over the last 11 years.  We have looked to him as a strong leader …

Wanted: Democratic Straight Talk on Iraq  —  Yes, you heard it right: At the Dartmouth College debate Wednesday evening, not one of the three leading Democratic candidates could pledge that all U.S. combat troops would be out of Iraq by the end of his or her first term as president.

Ensign vows to keep e-filing bill in limbo  —  One Senate GOP leader, with the apparent support of fellow senior Republicans, said Thursday that his party would continue to insist on a vote on forcing groups that file ethics complaints to disclose their donors before the Senate approves electronic campaign-finance filing.

Reports: Military junta cuts Internet access in Burma; Sniper reportedly killed Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai; Update: Videos added; Update: Worldwide condemnation  —  Update 11:30am Eastern.  Worldwide condemnation: … Update 10:45am Eastern.  The Lede points to more Burmese bloggers continuing to report despite the clampdown.

The war president "at peace" with himself  —  Bush's 2003 conversation with the Spanish prime minister shows his smug determination to invade Iraq at all costs.  —  George W. Bush answers a question during a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar …