Frost family draws ire of conservatives  —  Halsey and Bonnie Frost, in front of their Butchers Hill house.  Critics question whether the Frosts should be eligible for a federal insurance program.  (Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor / October 9, 2007)  —  When Halsey and Bonnie Frost agreed …

What Did Hillary Really Say To The Washington Post About Torture?  —  Hillary is taking a pounding in the blogosphere over this passage from today's Washington Post front-page interview with her, in which she appears not to take a firm stand against torture:

My Clinton Problem - And Ours  —  A reader writes: … Yes, I remember.  I was an unillusioned Clinton supporter in 1991 and 1992.  As editor of The New Republic, I helped guide the magazine toward an endorsement of the guy.  Heck, I edited Sid Blumenthal's coverage of the campaign and wrote the editorial that endorsed him.

Smile, Though Your Head Is Aching  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in a determinedly good mood when she sat down to lunch with reporters yesterday.  She entered the room beaming and, over the course of an hour, smiled no fewer than 31 times and got off at least 23 laughs.

Judge Bars Bush Crackdown on Illegal Workers  —  Plan Would Have Pressured Firms to Fire Up to 8.7M  —  A federal judge barred the Bush administration today from launching a planned crackdown on U.S. firms that hire illegal immigrants, warning of the plan's potentially "staggering" impact on law-abiding workers and companies.

The World According to Paul Krugman  —  Human knowledge is produced by intellectual combat that exposes weak premises and faulty conclusions to withering challenge.  We are often improved more by our ideological enemies than by our friends, because our enemies push us hardest.

Capitalist Heroes  —  Fifty years ago today Ayn Rand published her magnum opus, "Atlas Shrugged."  It's an enduringly popular novel — all 1,168 pages of it — with some 150,000 new copies still sold each year in bookstores alone.  And it's always had a special appeal for people in business.

Social conservative leaders back off third-party threat but still fear Giuliani  —  Evangelical leaders Gary Bauer and Tony Perkins said Wednesday it is still possible for social conservative Republican voters to find a candidate to rally behind, and painted another Clinton administration as the worst outcome of the 2008 election.

Hate Mail from Dittoheads  —  On Friday night I went on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and read off some hate mail from Rush Limbaugh's listeners.  Based on the response, I thought I'd share with you all some of the emails we've received at VoteVets.org—in complete, uncut, and unaltered form.

A FAUX "GOTCHA" MOMENT  —  There's little doubt that Rudy Giuliani had an excellent debate yesterday.  Moreover, although Mitt Romney did well too, it's pretty clear that he had a bad moment when, in his answer to the question of whether he would need authorization from Congress …

Thank You, Jerry Nadler.  —  I am sitting here in my living room watching the FISA bill mark-up in the House Judiciary Committee.  Jerry Nadler is rocking, and I had to take a moment to say thank you.  From the hearing moments ago (this is me transcribing it, so it's a rough transcript):

Treasury Designates Three Key Terrorist Financiers  —  The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) three individuals based in Saudi Arabia who have served as significant sources of financial and other support to individuals and entities …

President Spock  —  What if Barack Obama told his wife he wouldn't say "I love you" anymore?  —  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he doesn't tell his wife he loves her any more, because "I love you" has become a substitute for "true love."

Jimmy Carter calls Cheney a "disaster"  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter on Wednesday denounced Vice President Dick Cheney as a "disaster" for the country and a "militant" who has had an excessive influence in setting foreign policy.  —  Cheney has been on the wrong side …