Sometimes it takes an outsider to show the press corps the way.  —  Among the many glorious things about American journalism is that no credentialing organization or regulatory body stands between an individual who wants to break a story and his public reporting of it.

Effort to replace Kennedy hits snag  —  The Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday granted Gov. Deval Patrick the power to appoint a temporary replacement for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, but with one catch: when the appointment can be made.  —  Lawmakers declined to allow the law …

Sick.  School Children Taught to Sing Praises to Obama  —  The radical left is now teaching American youth to sing praises to Obama:  —  Hat Tip Steve Tum  —  From the video: This was filmed around June 19, 2009 at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ.  —  Barack Hussein Obama

Top General Denies Rift With Obama on Afghan War  —  WASHINGTON — The senior American commander in Afghanistan on Wednesday rejected any suggestion that his grim assessment of the war had driven a wedge between the military and the Obama administration, but warned against taking too long to settle on a final strategy.

Eye Opener: Census Worker Found Hanged  —  A part-time Census Bureau field worker was found hanged in Kentucky Sept. 12 with the word “fed” scrawled across his chest, according to a law enforcement source.  Bill Sparkman, 51 was found in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest …

Barack Obama rebuffs Gordon Brown as ‘special relationship’ sinks to new low  —  Gordon Brown has been snubbed repeatedly by Barack Obama during his trip to the United States, as the fall-out from the release of the Lockerbie bomber appeared to have left “the special relationship” at its lowest ebb for nearly 20 years.

Palin breaks with McCain on F-22 cuts  —  Sarah Palin, outlying her “common sense conservative” foreign policy views in Hong Kong yesterday, denounced her former running mate's push to cut new F-22 Raptor fighter jets, an efficiency move in which Senator John McCain allied himself …

Ahmadinejad's Nuclear Offer  —  The Iranian president discusses his proposal to buy enriched uranium from the United States, his continued denial of the Holocaust, and Tehran's detention of journalist Maziar Bahari.  —  Charles Dharapak / AP  —  Ahmadinejad listened to President Obama's address at the U.N. on Wednesday.

Dem campaign anxiety: Vulnerables say they lack cover from Pelosi  —  Politically vulnerable Democrats say Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders aren't offering them the protection from tough votes that they did in the last Congress.  —  Conservative Democrats fear that dozens …

Obama to Use Current Law to Support Detentions  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided not to seek new legislation from Congress authorizing the indefinite detention of about 50 terrorism suspects being held without charges at at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Wednesday.

New York Police Official in Terror Unit Is Removed  —  The New York Police Department has removed a senior official from one of its two sometimes competing antiterrorism units, after it played a role in disrupting a sensitive federal terrorism investigation, current and former police officials said on Wednesday.

LOOK WHO'LL BE ON THE TEEVEE (AGAIN).... ABC News announced the guest list for Sunday's episode of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” and you'll never guess who's going to be on.  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will go first, followed by the guy who didn't win last year's presidential election.

Obama takes the supplication of America to a disgusting new level  —  Conservative commentary on President Obama's U.N. speech has correctly taken note of the extent to which Obama once again has apologized for America.  What struck me as new, though, was extent to which he begged his audience …

In journalism, lawmaking, quality control inadequate  —  The key to healthcare reform may be in using the Internet to mobilize average voters to help craft a good bill, and then get it passed into law.  But passing along rumors at the speed of light is not good for legislation or the reputation of the Internet.

Critics Assail Obama's ‘Safe Schools’ Czar, Say He's Wrong Man for the Job  —  Critics say Kevin Jennings is too radical for the job of director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, citing what they say is his promotion of homosexuality in schools, his writings about his past drug abuse and his onetime contempt for religion.

Seniors Lean Against New Healthcare Law  —  Demographic analysis also reveals distinctions by race, income, and education  —  PRINCETON, NJ — There are significant differences in views on a new healthcare law by age.  The youngest Americans, aged 18-29, favor it by a 13-point margin …

Health, Race And Obama  —  America's real and imagined grievances.  —  After an exceedingly disappointing 10 months in office pursuing a hyper-partisan agenda, President Barack Obama reminded me last week of why, for a brief moment during his campaign eons ago last year, he actually won my heart.

They're torturing me, Honduras' Manuel Zelaya claims  —  Honduras' fallen leader told The Miami Herald he is being subjected to mind-altering gas and radiation — and that ‘Israeli mercenaries’ are planning to assassinate him.  —  FROBLES@MIAMIHERALD.COM  —  TEGUCIGALPA — It's been 89 days since Manuel Zelaya was booted from power.

King: Same-Sex Marriage Is ‘A Purely Socialist Concept’  —  In April, when the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously struck down a state law defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) called it an “unconstitutional” decision and predicted that it could lead to Iowa becoming “the gay marriage Mecca.”

Al Franken Reads the 4th Amendment to Justice Department Official  —  Just in case he wasn't familiar with it, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) decided to read the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to David Kris, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's National Security Division …

Obama's ‘Policy Presidency’  —  A new publication came across my desk this week containing an essay that offers as good an insight into President Obama's approach to government as anything I have read — and is particularly useful in understanding the struggle over health-care reform.

Obama's Policies Would Redistribute Nearly $1 Trillion in Wealth Every Year  —  (CNSNews.com) - By 2012, nearly $1 trillion from the top 30 percent of American families will be redistributed among the bottom 70 percent if Obama's proposals on taxes, health care, and climate change become law, according to the Tax Foundation.