Matier & Ross: Political jockeying heats up as wildfires rage  —  Nothing like a disaster to bring politicians together - or turn them into punching bags.  —  Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, never one to shy away from the cameras, was told by his advisers to keep his eyes open when he arrived …

IAEA chief lashes out over Israeli raid in Syria  —  Mohamed ElBaradei accuses Jewish state of 'taking the law into its own hands', says 'if countries have information that another country is working on a nuclear-related program, they should come to us'  —  Chief UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed …

Chalabi back in action in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD-Ahmad Chalabi, the controversial, ubiquitous Iraqi politician and one-time Bush administration favorite, has re-emerged as a central figure in the latest U.S. strategy for Iraq.  —  His latest job: To press Iraq's central government to use early security gains …

Quack Michael Moore has mad view of the NHS  —  The fourth estate has always had a bad name, but it seems to be getting worse.  Journalism should be an honest and useful trade, and often still is.  But now that journalism has more power than ever before, it seems to have become ever more disreputable.

Fearing Fear Itself  —  In America's darkest hour, Franklin Delano Roosevelt urged the nation not to succumb to "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror."  But that was then.  —  Today, many of the men who hope to be the next president — including all of the candidates with a significant chance …

Nader voters crippled Gore in 2000; now they love him  —  Right or wrong, people who voted for Ralph Nader get blamed for costing Al Gore the 2000 election.  —  Now, some of those very same voters are throwing themselves into a new - and nonexistent - campaign: Gore 2008.  —  And they say there's no irony at all.

As Democrats Criticize, Health Care Industry Donates  —  In a reversal from past election cycles, Democratic candidates for president are outpacing Republicans in donations from the health care industry, even as the leading Democrats in the field offer proposals that have caused deep anxiety …

Why Is Gay Hating James Dobson Still Licensed As a Therapist in Colorado?  —  The Reverend James Dobson, full to overflowing with the ego-tripping insouciance of a man of the cloth who is doing God's bidding, is used to getting his way.  And being downright un-Christian when it comes to gays.

A Point of Honor  —  Scott Beauchamp doesn't matter.  —  He's a twice-AWOL serial liar with a pending mental health evaluation who can't write believable military fiction EVEN WHILE IN THE MILITARY.  He's powerless, has been tried, found guilty and punished, and at this point, a distraction.

William Safire's Spooky Political Predictions  —  Play (1060) (thanks to Heather for videos)  —  Just in time for Halloween, semi-retired New York Times columnist, William Safire, made some frightful political predictions on this morning's Meet The Press — some of which sounded more like tricks than treats.

Halloween costume ban?  Blame Captain Underpants  —  Captain Underpants, a popular costume at Long Beach High School last year.  —  Blame Captain Underpants.  At least a little.  —  This year — partly because three Long Beach High School seniors last year just had to emulate Mr. Underpants …

War, like life, is not a movie  —  As far as I know, the movie "Deliverance" has been featured in political discourse just the once.  Back in 1996, Pat Buchanan, hot from his triumph over Bob Dole in the New Hampshire primary, warned the country-club Republicans that he was coming to get them "like a character out of Deliverance."

Obama supporter: 'God delivered me from homosexuality.'  —  COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — The controversial Gospel singer at the center of a gay and lesbian backlash against Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign struck back at his critics Sunday night, saying that he has been "vilified" …

Iranians study nuclear physics in Britain  —  THE Foreign Office has cleared dozens of Iranians to enter British universities to study advanced nuclear physics and other subjects with the potential to be applied to weapons of mass destruction.  —  In the past nine months about 60 Iranians …

The Two-Man Race  —  Only Rudy and Mitt have credible scenarios.  —  Ron Paul has been a striking presence in the Republican presidential debates.  One result is he's raised an unimaginable amount of money—$5.1 million in the third quarter—for an obscure congressman from Texas.