GOP Candidates Spar Over Conservatisim  —  Florida Debate Centers on Direction of GOP and Hillary Clinton  —  After two weeks of sparring at a distance out on the campaign trail, the Republican presidential hopefuls gathered in Florida for their most heated and intense debate of the year.

Resistance is Futile  —  October 22, 2007  —  Resistance is futile: You will be (mis)informed.  —  A gulf.  —  A gap.  —  A chasm.  —  A parallel universe.  —  All describe the bizarro-world contrast between what most Americans seem to think is happening in Iraq versus what is really happening in Iraq.

Finally Telling My Story  —  I'm Valerie Plame Wilson and I'm excited to be here and blog about my book Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, which goes on sale Monday, Oct 22.  When my publisher sent me the finished copy earlier this week, it was thrilling.

Iraq and Turkey See Tensions Rise After Ambush  —  A brazen ambush by Kurdish militants that left at least 12 Turkish soldiers dead touched off a major escalation in Turkey-Iraq tensions on Sunday, bringing fears that Turkey would retaliate immediately by sending troops across the border into Iraq.

Low Road to Splitsville  —  Right-Wing Publisher's Breakup Is Super-Rich In Tawdry Details  —  Looking for a perfect little weekend vacation this fall?  Here's a travel tip you don't hear very often: Head to Pittsburgh.  Right away.  —  Seriously, get in the car and read this story later …

Key Clinton Backer Rips Giuliani's Personal Life  —  Rep. Charles Rangel Apparently Refers to Giuliani as a 'Cheating Goddamn Husband'  —  Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., the dean of the New York congressional delegation, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, longtime political booster …

At the Poles, Melting Occurring at Alarming Rate  —  For scientists, global warming is a disaster movie, its opening scenes set at the poles of Earth.  The epic already has started.  And it's not fiction.  —  The scenes are playing, at the start, in slow motion: The relentless grip …

Mortgage Security Bondholders Facing a Cutoff of Interest Payments  —  For all the pain in the mortgage market, investors who hold bonds backed by risky home loans have continued to receive their monthly interest payments — until now.  —  Collateralized debt obligations …

GIULIANI BERN SHIELD  —  PAL KEEPS EYE ON EX-NYPD BOSS' PROBE  —  Rudy Giuliani's law partner has been told to monitor the criminal probe of disgraced ex-NYPD boss Bernard Kerik, which threatens to muddy up the former mayor's bid to become president.  —  As part of his sensitive assignment …

Ain't That America  —  Think of America's greatest historical shames.  Most have involved the singling out of groups of people for abuse.  Name a distinguishing feature — skin color, religion, nationality, language — and it's likely that people here have suffered unjustly for it …

A Dearth of Taxes  —  President Bush considers himself a champion tax cutter, but all the leading Republican presidential candidates are eager to outdo him.  Their zeal is misguided.  This country's meager tax take puts its economic prospects at risk and leaves the government ill equipped to face the challenges from globalization.