Giuliani's Mistress Used N.Y. Police as Taxi Service  —  Richard Esposito Reports:  —  Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

WORST PRETENSE TO AN IMPARTIAL NEWS ORGANIZATION: CNN, PART 2  —  Jim Vicevich alerts us to a few more Democratic plants at the CNN YouTube Republican candidates forum last night.  Adam Florzak asked a question on Social Security.  It turns out that Florzak quit his job with Caterpillar …

Hell freezes over: "I think the surge is working," says Murtha  —  Via Bill Amos.  I'm not giving you the direct link yet; I want you to watch this clip from July first so you can appreciate his ignorance, hypocrisy, and defeatism.  CNN had him on for reaction after lefty war supporters Michael O'Hanlon …

Bin Laden: Europeans should end US help  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on the Europeans to stop helping the United States in the war in Afghanistan, according to excerpts of a new audiotape broadcast Thursday on Al-Jazeera television.

The Chicago Tribune vs. Time magazine  —  (updated below: Klein's GOP source outs himself  —  As I noted yesterday, The Chicago Tribune reprinted factually false excerpts from Joe Klein's Time column.  But unlike Time — which disgracefully continues to stand behind Klein's falsehoods …

Study: Canadian Beer Drinkers Threaten Planet  —  Scientists have found a new threat to the planet: Canadian beer drinkers.  —  The government-commissioned study says the old, inefficient "beer fridges" that one in three Canadian households use to store their Molson and Labatt's contribute significantly …

BREAKING: RUDY'S NEW SHAG FUND EXPLANATION!  —  Seems he was doing it for the men in blue.  From the AP ...  We're a little unclear on this, though.  The first hints of this story came when the city comptroller found that Rudy's administration had hidden money for "non-local travel" in the budget's of various obscure city agencies.

2008: The Year of the Upset?  —  I see my good friend, the distinguished neo-Jacobin Monsieur Kristol, has broken into his ample wine supply again and insulted the monarchy.  A weekend chained to the cheap seats at an Alabama tractor pull would seem fitting punishment for my rabble loving friend's imprudence …

Ark. Lawmaker Apologizes for E-Mail  —  An Arkansas legislator apologized Thursday for an e-mail in which he wrote that "we are being outpopulated by the blacks" and "we are being overrun" by illegal immigrants.  —  But state Sen. Denny Altes insisted the comments in the e-mail he sent earlier …