My reply to Respectable Liberal Blogger Ezra Klein and his fellow travelers; Plus: Hillary threatens S-CHIP critics  —  Update: Hillary Clinton, She Whose Hand Rocks The Cradle, warns S-CHIP critics to "lay off."  Or else what, Mrs. Clinton? … Hillary should lay off the kiddie shields.

Another Voice in the Choir  —  Fred Thompson did not disgrace himself in his first formal debate as a Republican presidential candidate, but he also did not dominate the stage full of White House hopefuls in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday.  —  At least three others — John McCain …

Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq  —  The Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead to Afghanistan, to take over the leading role in combat there, according to senior military and Pentagon officials.  —  The idea by the Marine Corps commandant …

On CNBC's The Big Idea, Coulter said that "we" Christians "just want Jews to be perfected"  —  During the October 8 edition of CNBC's The Big Idea, host Donny Deutsch asked right-wing pundit Ann Coulter: "If you had your way ... and your dreams, which are genuine, came true ... what would this country look like?"

Empire State Building to go green for Muslim holiday  —  New York's iconic Empire State Building is to be lit up green from Friday in honor of the Muslim holiday of Eid, the biggest festival in the Muslim calendar marking the end of Ramadan, officials said.  —  "This is the first time that …

GOP lawyer ties Rove to Siegelman case  —  House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) on Wednesday released an interview with GOP lawyer Dana Jill Simpson implicating former White House adviser Karl Rove in the prosecution and conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) on corruption charges.

Giuliani 'doesn't deserve to live'  —  Terrorists threaten presidential candidate, cite Rudy's war stance, Arafat treatment  —  Saying Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani "doesn't deserve to live," Palestinian terror leaders are threatening to harm the former New York mayor …

Islamists damage giant rock Buddha  —  Islamist radicals in Pakistan have attempted to destroy an ancient carving of Buddha by drilling holes in the rock and filling them with dynamite.  —  The 23ft high image was damaged during the attack, which brought back memories of the Taliban's …

Carter says U.S. tortures prisoners  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The United States tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Carter said Wednesday.  —  "I don't think it.  I know it," Carter told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.  —  "Our country for the first time in my life …

An open letter to Steven Knapp, president of The George Washington University  —  2121 I Street, N.W.  —  Washington, D.C. 20052  —  Dear President Knapp,  —  Seven students at your institution falsely attributed the "Hate Muslims?  So Do We!!" fliers to The George Washington University chapter of Young America's Foundation.

Al Gore's inconvenient judgment  —  Al Gore's award-winning climate change documentary was littered with nine inconvenient untruths, a judge ruled yesterday.  —  An Inconvenient Truth won plaudits from the environmental lobby and an Oscar from the film industry but was found wanting when it was scrutinised in the High Court in London.

Boom Times for Dentists, but Not for Teeth  —  For American dentists, times have never been better.  —  The same cannot be said for Americans' teeth.  —  With dentists' fees rising far faster than inflation and more than 100 million people lacking dental insurance, the percentage of Americans …

Members: House is not a home  —  Rank-and-file members of Congress are grumbling about the five-day workweek instituted this year by House Democratic leaders, complaining that it leaves little time for campaigning and allows few weekdays to deal with business back home.

Hope Yet for Iraq?  —  Iraq for most Americans is now a toxic subject — best either ignored or largely evoked to blame someone for something in the past.  —  Any visitor to Iraq can see that the American military cannot be defeated there, but also is puzzled over exactly how we could win …