How Lawmaker Rebuilt Hometown on Earmarks  —  Johnstown Gets Billions  —  With Power Broker's Aid;  —  FBI Questions a Contract  —  JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — If John Murtha were a businessman, he'd be the biggest employer in this town.  —  The powerful U.S. congressman has used his clout …

New Congress at war over everything  —  In a closed-door meeting before the last vote on the children's health care bill, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer appealed for the support of about 30 wavering Republican lawmakers.  What he got instead was a tongue-lashing, participants said.

Norman Podhoretz: Anyone Who Doesn't Want To 'Bomb Iran' Is Appeasing 'Hitler'  —  On the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer last night, Commentary Magazine editor-at-large Norman Podhoretz, who is also a foreign policy adviser to Rudy Giuliani, repeated his claim that there is "only one terrible choice" …

"Ron Paul Spammers" Targeted by UAB Spam Team  —  Contact: Deborah Lucas or Virginia Smith UAB Media Relations, 205-934-8946  —  UAB Spam Team Spots First Presidential Campaign Spam  —  Anti-spam researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) noted a disturbing …

Sharpton chides Cheney over Confederate flag flap  —  Nobody got shot, but Vice President Cheney still fired up controversy Monday when he went hunting at a private club that hangs the Confederate flag.  —  A Daily News photographer captured the 3-by-5 foot Dixie flag affixed to a door …

Zogby Poll: 52% Support U.S. Military Strike Against Iran  —  Most see Clinton as the presidential candidate best equipped to deal with Iran, followed by Giuliani and McCain—but many express uncertainty  —  A majority of likely voters - 52% - would support a U.S. military strike to prevent Iran …

Against Giuliani  —  "Hillary and Obama are kind of debating whether to invite [Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] to the inauguration or the inaugural ball," says Rudy Giuliani.  Andrew's right.  This guy is out of his goddamn mind.  —  You know, a few years ago …

The most influential US conservatives: 61-80  —  As the US prepares for what is arguably the most open presidential election since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or vice-president on the ballot, the Daily Telegraph's Washington correspondents compile a list of the 100 …

Official: Blackwater not offered immunity  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — No blanket immunity deal was offered to Blackwater guards for their statements regarding a shootout in Iraq last month that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, two senior State Department officials told CNN Tuesday.

Fineman: What Obama must do in the debate  —  WASHINGTON - As Sen. Barack Obama prepared for Tuesday night's crucial NBC debate in Philadelphia, his high command back in Chicago was watching a lot of old Clinton videotape — not of Hillary Clinton, but of Bill, and not of Bill as president …

Iraqi Dam Seen In Danger of Deadly Collapse  —  AT THE MOSUL DAM, Iraq — The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country …

Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Her Opposition to the Nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General of the United States  —  We need an Attorney General who has the strength to challenge this Administration when it is wrong, who is committed to reestablishing …

Three plead guilty in fake voter scheme  —  Three of seven defendants in the biggest voter-registration fraud scheme in Washington history have pleaded guilty and one has been sentenced, prosecutors said Monday.  —  The defendants were all temporary employees of ACORN …

Gay Enclaves Face Prospect of Being Passé  —  This Halloween, the Glindas, gladiators and harem boys of the Castro — along with untold numbers who plan to dress up as Senator Larry E. Craig, this year's camp celebrity — will be celebrating behind closed doors.

All Scores Settled in 'Don't Tase Me, Bro' Affair  —  (Photo: Charles Roop/Independent Florida Alligator, via Associated Press)  —  The Andrew Meyer seen in YouTube clips does not apologize.  He rants at Senator John Kerry, struggles with police officers trying to escort him out of the room …

(Now w/More Stupidity) Unprecedented Stupidity at HuffPo  —  BUMPED  —  Update: Readers are emailing more gems...click on the extended entry at the bottom of the piece to read them.  —  The Huffington Post routinely allows its authors to write about subjects with which they are completely unfamiliar …

ARI FLEISCHER: A NEW BREED OF JEWISH LEADER  —  Jane Whitson - AKA Nashville-based blogger Webutante - barely knew Jewish Republicans existed until last week, when she met former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, whom she now views as "a modern day Moses leading his people out of slavery, into freedom.