Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations  —  When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

27% of Republicans Would Vote for Pro-Life Third Party Instead of Giuliani  —  If Rudy Giuliani wins the Republican nomination and a third party campaign is backed by Christian conservative leaders, 27% of Republican voters say they'd vote for the third party option rather than Giuliani.

Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade  —  WASHINGTON — By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.

The New L-Word: Neocon  —  A few years back, at the height of the jingoistic post-9/11 wave, the dirtiest word in the American political lexicon was "liberal."  Everyone from President Bush to Ann Coulter was using it to denote wimplike, Volvo-driving softies too spineless for dangerous times and too given to speaking French.

A liberal's lament: The NRA might be right after all  —  This term, the Supreme Court may finally take up the Voldemort Amendment, the part of the Bill of Rights that shall not be named by liberals.  For more than 200 years, progressives and polite people have avoided acknowledging that following …

Romney spends heavily, loans himself $8.5 million  —  Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney at an "Ask Mitt Anything" session at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., today.  No word on whether anyone asked Romney for $8.5 million.  AP Photo by Jim Cole  —  by Mark Silva

COULTER COMES OUT AGAINST WOMEN VOTING.  —  Most of the time I ignore aging would-be pin-up Ann Coulter, but this week she came out with a whopper that could be as much of a gift to the Democratic Party as MoveOn.org's advertisement on Gen. Petraeus was for the G.O.P. More of a gift, even.

Modern Heroes  —  Our soldiers like what they do.  They want our respect, not pity.  —  I'm weary of seeing news stories about wounded soldiers and assertions of "support" for the troops mixed with suggestions of the futility of our military efforts in Iraq.  Why aren't there more accounts of what the troops actually do?

Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda financier, one other  —  Multi-National Corps - Iraq  —  Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory  —  APO AE 09342  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  RELEASE No. 20071004-02  —  Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda financier, one other

Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police  —  Experts Fear More Will Go to Insurgents  —  Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to provide the materiel and is too slow …

The Democratic Economist  —  CHICAGO — In his curriculum vitae, Austan Goolsbee lists as his "other interests" — other than teaching at the University of Chicago — two activities: triathlons and improv comedy.  Evidently he is a masochist with a sense of humor, so he is suited to participate …