My reply to Respectable Liberal Blogger Ezra Klein and his fellow travelers; Plus: Hillary threatens S-CHIP critics  —  Update 9:25am Eastern.  Your S-CHIP editorial cartoon of the morning comes from Nate Beeler of the Examiner...  Meanwhile, Time magazine recycles Democrat talking points and passes it off as reporting.

Army Offers Big Cash To Keep Key Officers  —  The Army is offering cash bonuses of up to $35,000 to retain young officers serving in key specialties — including military intelligence, infantry and aviation — in an unprecedented bid to forestall a critical shortage of officer ranks …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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?"

Alberto Gonzales hires defense attorney  —  WASHINGTON - Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hired a high-powered Washington lawyer to represent him in investigations of mismanagement of the Justice Department.  George Terwilliger, a white-collar crime defense attorney …

Cheney, House Republicans on Different Money Paths  —  Once popular enough to charge donors $4,200 for a handshake and a photo, Vice President Dick Cheney has become a much less sought-after fundraiser among House Republicans.  —  Almost 10 months into the year, Cheney has headlined …

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 …

Think-Tank Confidential  —  What I learned during two decades as head of America's most influential policy shop.  —  I have been presiding at the American Enterprise Institute for 21 years.  Today I am announcing that I will step down before the end of 2008.

Turkey Angry Over House Armenian Genocide Vote  —  Turkey reacted angrily today to a House committee vote in Washington on Wednesday to condemn the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey in World War I as an act of genocide, calling the decision "unacceptable."

PRESIDENTIAL CHEATING SCANDAL!  ALLEGED AFFAIR COULD WRECK JOHN EDWARDS' CAMPAIGN BID  —  Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught in a shocking mistress scandal that could wreck his campaign, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.  —  Sources have come forward to charge that the …

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 …