Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots' pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right  —  I received an e-mail from a NYTimes reporter this afternoon: … I gave him these comments: … I also told him this: … Here's the NYTimes story, which actually turned out much fairer and more balanced than I expected.

Fred Wins, Chris Loses (Update: My Prediction Comes True)  —  The first debate with Fred Thompson was expected to reveal whether the lanky actor had what it takes to make a national run for the office.  Instead, it revealed Chris Matthews as a hack of the first order, one who tried his best to torpedo Thompson — and failed utterly.

Dead Reverend's Rubber Fetish  —  Autopsy: Pastor found in wet suits after autoerotic mishap  —  An Alabama minister who died in June of "accidental mechanical asphyxia" was found hogtied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear …

Seven GW students admit to hanging controversial posters  —  A group of seven GW students sent an e-mail to The Hatchet late Tuesday night admitting to hanging hundreds of controversial posters around campus early Monday morning.  —  The students - Adam Kokesh, freshman Yong Kwon …

LGF Poll: Who Won the GOP Debate?  —  Which Republican candidate turned in the best performance in the October 9 debate?  —  Sam Brownback  —  Rudy Giuliani  —  Mike Huckabee  —  Duncan Hunter  —  John McCain  —  Mitt Romney  —  Tom Tancredo  —  Fred Thompson

An Israeli Strike on Syria Kindles Debate in the U.S.  —  A sharp debate is under way in the Bush administration about the significance of the Israeli intelligence that led to last month's Israeli strike inside Syria, according to current and former American government officials.

Iraq: Iran's hand in the Shiite truce  —  Key Iraqi Shiite leaders Muqtada Al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz Al-Hakim announced a truce between their rival movements Oct 6.  Al-Hakim heads the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), Iraq's largest and most cohesive Shiite political faction, which has close ties to Iran.

Iranian-Born German Soccer Player Refuses to Play Israel  —  An Iranian-German soccer player who plays for the German national under-21 side has asked not to play against Israel in a friendly on Oct. 12.  The team has accepted his request, angering Germany's Jewish lobby.

Foreclosures Spurring Blight In Central Valley  —  (CBS) MANTECA In the Central Valley community of Manteca, police have a new job: patrolling hundreds of foreclosed houses left empty and abandoned.  They are half million dollar houses, often bought with nothing down, turned into suburban blight.

From Former Bush Aide, A Candid Assessment Of the GOP Candidates  —  A former adviser to President Bush has a brutally candid analysis of the Republican presidential nomination contest: Fred D. Thompson is the campaign's "biggest dud," Mitt Romney has "a real problem in the South" …

Residents of a famously liberal city appear to be changing views  —  San Francisco - the liberal, left-coast city conservatives love to mock - could be undergoing a transformation when it comes to homeless people.  Although the city would still be a poor choice for a pep rally for the war in Iraq …

Killer law  —  Last November it became a crime for a woman to have an abortion in Nicaragua, even if her life was in mortal danger.  So far it has resulted in the death of at least 82 women.  Rory Carroll reports on the fight to have the law changed  —  María de Jesús González was a practical woman.

4 Democrats Pull Out of Michigan Primary  —  Four of the Democratic presidential candidates announced today that they would not take part in the Democratic primary in Michigan, all but ceding the contest in that major battleground state to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is ahead in the polls there and is staying in.