Bush is the biggest spender since LBJ  —  WASHINGTON — George W. Bush, despite all his recent bravado about being an apostle of small government and budget-slashing, is the biggest spending president since Lyndon B. Johnson.  In fact, he's arguably an even bigger spender than LBJ.

Chris Dodd's leadership vs. Clinton and Obama's game playing  —  (updated below)  —  Chris Dodd appeared yesterday for a speech and Q&A session sponsored by FireDogLake regarding his commitment to doing everything possible to prevent telecom amnesty.  It can be viewed in its entirety here.

MEDIA MYTHS ABOUT THE JENA 6  —  A local journalist tells the story you haven't heard.  —  Republish  —  JENA, LA. - By now, almost everyone in America has heard of Jena, La., because they've all heard the story of the "Jena 6."  White students hanging nooses barely punished …

Clinton's White House years become a boon  —  Democratic voters are looking favorably on her experience as first lady, even on her failed healthcare effort, a poll finds.  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has neutralized the political fallout from some of the most difficult moments …

O'Reilly: J.K. Rowling Is A 'Provocateur' For 'The Gay Agenda' Of 'Indoctrination'  —  Last Friday, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealed that one of the central characters in the series, Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, was gay.  Though Rowling says her books are a …

Double-Reverse Chickendove  —  To paraphrase some Marine wag in Ramadi ... Tom Friedman isn't at war, the Marine Corps is at war.  The Army is at war.  Tom Friedman's at Neiman Marcus: … Actually, Iraq is more like a tortured, politically traumatized nation of 25 million people desperate …

Is this the Syrian nuke reactor bombed by Israel?  —  Some clever soul used the info from this morning's WaPo story about photographs of the reactor circulating among intel types to try to find it on Google Earth.  With possible success: follow the link in Dan Riehl's post and see for yourself.

Comedian Colbert Reaches Double Digits As Third-Party Candidate  —  Comedian Stephen Colbert is not a threat to win the presidency, but the odds are that that his satire will win plenty of laughs and maybe even some votes.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that Colbert …

Democrats' DREAM Act is a Nightmare  —  Coyotes are the men who prey on illegal aliens, helping illegal immigrants return to the U.S. over our southern border, sometimes after these immigrants have been deported, two, even three or more times.  Apparently our Democratic friends in Congress …

RUDY AWAKENING....What would Rudy Giuliani be like as president?  In our November issue, Rachel Morris looks for the answer by digging around in the nooks and crannies of his two terms as mayor of New York City.  Here's an excerpt: … Choosing the best presidential candidate among the 2008 contenders is a tough job.

Blue Dogs refuse to pony up for DCCC  —  A large group of "Blue Dog" Democrats has refused to give money to the party's campaign committee so far this cycle, underscoring simmering tension inside the Caucus and concerns about the caustic language of at least one anti-war Democrat.

As Campaigns Chafe at Limits, Donors Might Be in Diapers  —  Elrick Williams's toddler niece Carlyn may be one of the youngest contributors to this year's presidential campaign.  The 2-year-old gave $2,300 to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).  —  So did her sister and brother, Imara, 13 …

Harry Reid Blames California Wildfires On Global Warming...Before He Denies He Said It.  —  After a closed door policy meeting with other Senate Democrats, Majority Leader and utter buffoon Hary Reid of Nevada took to the microphones just outside the floor of the United States Senate, and fielded questions.

CA Guard Warned Of 'Less Effective Response' To Fires Due To Equipment Shortages Caused By Iraq  —  The San Francisco Chronicle reported last May that the California National Guard had been depleted and warned that severe "equipment shortages could hinder the guard's response to a large-scale disaster," such as a "major fire":

Romney's Slip of Tongue Blurs Osama and Obama  —  Senator Barack Obama rallying a global terror movement?  Mitt Romney might have still been a bit bleary-eyed on Tuesday morning when he twice confused Mr. Obama with Osama bin Laden when referring to the latter's new recorded message for jihadists to fight in Iraq.

Palestinian 'torture widespread'  —  Amnesty International has accused Hamas and Fatah of widespread human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary detention and other ill treatment against each other.  —  The rights watchdog on Wednesday released a report criticising the Palestinian governments …

Sept 11 'not that terrible' says Doris Lessing  —  Doris Lessing, the Nobel Prize-winning British author, has called the attacks on New York on Sept 11, 2001, "not that terrible", compared to the campaign of terror waged by the IRA in the UK.  —  Lessing, 88, who won the Nobel Prize …

Limits don't slow trip perks for U.S. lawmakers  —  WASHINGTON — Despite new House travel restrictions, lawmakers accepted free trips worth nearly $1.9 million during the first eight months of this year — more than in all of 2006, records show.  —  HOUSE RULE: Ethics committee to pre-approve trips