FATHER OF HACKER Is Tennessee Dem State Rep!!!!! ...  Update: Name- David Kernell ...Update: He's Been Contacted by Feds!  —  FOLKS— MEET DAVID KERNELL—  WOAH!!!!!!  —  Do you remember this from Michelle Malkin's post last night: … Now there's this...  Wired.com has the latest on the Palin scandal:

McCain Flub?  Republican Says He'd Fire SEC Chair as President  —  ABC News' David Wright reports: At a joint rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thursday, Republican John McCain slammed the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being “asleep,” saying that if he were president, he would fire Chris Cox …

Palin's transparency proposal already exists in D.C.  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) - Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska.  On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

Fed and Treasury Offer to Work With Congress on Bailout Plan  —  WASHINGTON — The head of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve began discussions on Thursday with Congressional leaders on what could become the biggest bailout in United States history.  —  While details remain to be worked out …

What's on the desk  —  In a picture supplied by Sarah Palin's family to the Associated Press, Palin appears with some rather odd reading matter: The magazine of the ultraconservative John Birch Society.  —  The picture, dating to 1995, when Palin was a member of the Wasilla City Council …

Palin disinvited from Iran rally  —  The organizers of an anti-Iran rally Monday rescinded their invitation to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin after Democrats protested that her presence would turn the event into a political rally, McCain campaign and Jewish community sources said.

Dodgy Journalism: Time's Michael Scherer debates strawman, loses  —  Under the header “Dodgy Politics: Using Old Votes to Obscure Current Policies,” Time's Michael Scherer unsuccessfully debunks a claim Barack Obama didn't make in order to accuse the Democratic candidate of offering misleading criticisms of John McCain.

Shocker: Palin Cancels Big California Swing  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was to star at two major California fundraisers and an Orange County rally for 15,000 next week, has canceled her two-day swing through the Golden State, campaign sources said.  —  The change is a shocker …

Energy Expertise  —  Today, the person who “knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America” let slip some pearls of wisdom: … I'm not sure I fully grasp that, though I am relieved to know that they, whoever they are, don't have to sit around flagging individual molecules all day long.

Palin's husband won't testify, campaign says  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband won't comply with a subpoena issued by state lawmakers investigating her firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner, the McCain-Palin campaign said Thursday.

Michelle Obama: Don't vote because 'she's cute' … CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Michelle Obama asked voters Thursday to make their choice on the issues, not because, “I like that guy” or, “she's cute.”  —  Might she be talking about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin?

SEC Is Set to Issue Temporary Ban Against Short Selling  —  The Securities and Exchange Commission prepared an aggressive assault against short-sellers, saying it would temporarily prevent investors from making bets on stock declines in an attempt to stem some of the worst stock-market slides in years …

Obama outraged at being accused of not supporting something he doesn't support  —  Obama, on the trail in New Mexico, had this to say of McCain:  —  “And today he accused me of not supporting what the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank did with AIG despite no evidence whatsoever that that's what I had said.”

Obama denies Raines ties, accuses McCain of throwing stones from his “seven glass houses”  —  The campaign puts out a statement from former Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines, disowning ties to Obama, after a McCain ad attacked him for the ties.  —  The Washington Post reported …

Palin asked daughters on veep vote after they were already in OH for announcement  —  Appearing on Fox last night, Sarah Palin told Sean Hannity a heartwarming story of how she asked her teenage daughters for their opinion before accepting the vp offer.  —  “So ask the girls what they thought …

How Wall Street Lied to Its Computers  —  CORRECTED 5 p.m.: Spelling of Leslie Rahl.  —  So where were the quants?  —  That's what has been running through my head as I watch some of the oldest and seemingly best-run firms on Wall Street implode because of what turned out to be really bad bets on mortgage securities.