House Dems push new tax to fund war  —  Three senior House Democrats are proposing a new tax to pay for the Iraq war, as well as vowing to oppose any funding bill for Iraq that does not include a policy for ending the conflict.  —  House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) …

Anti-war veterans target Limbaugh  —  An anti-war group consisting of veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is launching an ad Tuesday that attacks popular conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.  —  The group, VoteVets.org, is spending $60,000 on the ad, which will air on Fox News and CNN.

GOP Is Losing Grip On Core Business Vote  —  Deficit Hawks Defect  —  As Social Issues Prevail;  —  'The Party Left Me'  —  \*country-region\*country-regionWASHING TON\*\* — The Republican Party, known since the late 19th century as the party of business, is losing its lock on that title.

Giuliani directs fire at GOP rivals  —  Mitt Romney had his end-of-the-quarter expectation-setting memo, and now, before he releases his fundraising numbers, Rudy Giuliani is launching the final quarter of the year with some framing of his own.  —  Brent Seaborn, Giuliani's strategy director …

The Smear This Time  —  ON Oct. 11, 1991, I testified about my experience as an employee of Clarence Thomas's at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  —  I stand by my testimony.  —  Justice Thomas has every right to present himself as he wishes in his new memoir, "My Grandfather's Son."

Perino: Bush Will Veto SCHIP 'Quietly' Without 'Ceremony'  —  Both the Senate and the House have passed an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with strong bipartisan majorities.  In today's White House press briefing, a reporter said that Democratic leaders …

Newsflash: Press Biased  —  Today, on the front page of The Washington Post, we see the third in a three-part series on roadside bombs in Iraq.  The stories in this series have been centered on the top half of the page and highlighted in red (a device I don't recall seeing before).

A lot of people are talking about the big speech Barack Obama gave today calling for multilateral nuclear disarmament.  But I wanted to focus in on what I think is a significant aspect of the speech that has little to do with the actual policy questions addressed here.

ISSA: WATCH OUT, WAXMAN  —  Rep. Darrell Issa went on CSPAN's Washington Journal this morning and had this to say about the House oversight committee's investigation of Blackwater (via Atrios): … Here's the video:

Marine Hero: The 5 Things I Saw that Make Me Support the War  —  Liberals often like to say that "violence is senseless."  —  That's wrong.  —  Violence isn't senseless.  Senseless violence is senseless.  And I should know.  Before being awarded the Navy Cross and having the privilege of becoming a Marine, I was a gang member.

Angry, hateful liberal bloggers  —  On Protein Wisdom — the right-wing blog of Pajamas Media's Jeff Goldstein — there is a "response" to a post I wrote a couple of weeks ago concerning the exaggerations of the Muslim threat from Marty Peretz's assistant, Jamie Kirchick of The New Republic and Commentary.

Oak Lawn Schools Cancel Holiday Traditions  —  School District To Discuss Cancellation Or Renaming Of Holiday Celebrations At Emergency Meeting  —  (CBS) OAK LAWN, Ill. A southwest suburban school district has taken action, responding to the concerns of a Muslim parent.