Okay, Prove You Didn't Say It!  — By: Mark Steyn  —  For some reason, Rush Limbaugh's mooted purchase of a sports franchise has prompted CNN and others to distribute far and wide what appear to be entirely fabricated racist quotes by Rush.  As Tim Blair points out: … Just so.  What's the theory here?

Geithner Aides Reaped Millions Working for Banks, Hedge Funds  —  Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms …

Americans, In Reversal, Now Back Afghan Troop Surge  —  As President Obama mulls the military's request for a big troop build-up in Afghanistan, Americans have swung in favor of such a move, according to a new IBD/TIPP Poll.  —  The survey of 927 adults found that a plurality of 48% favors sending …

Schumer To Reid: The Fate Of The Public Option May Be In Your Hands  —  Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) threw down the gauntlet on the public option for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) last night.  Appearing on The Rachel Maddow Show, Schumer essentially put the fate of the public option …

Health Insurers Emerge as Obama's Top Foe in Reform Effort  —  Now they have an enemy.  —  For months, President Obama and his administration waged their fight for a health-care overhaul without a clear opponent, even courting the industry executives and interest groups that helped kill reform efforts 15 years ago.

The Curious Resignation Of Robert Wexler  —  Today, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), a well-regarded young congressman with a good job and enough seniority to ensure that he is comfortable, will announce his resignation from the House of Representatives.  The reason: he intends to perform other work in a “public policy” capacity.

Saudis Seek Payments for Any Drop in Oil Revenues  —  Saudi Arabia is trying to enlist other oil-producing countries to support a provocative idea: if wealthy countries reduce their oil consumption to combat global warming, they should pay compensation to oil producers.

Olbermann: Without ‘Fascistic Hatred,’ Malkin Is Just a ‘Mashed-Up Bag of Meat with Lipstick’  —  On Tuesday's Countdown show, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann spewed bile at conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, accusing her of possessing “fascistic hatred,” and comparing her to a “mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it.”

Poll shows Specter staring at ‘near fatal’ 31 percent re-election figure  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows.

The Baucus Bill Is a Tax Bill  —  Middle-class families would get hit with a double-digit increase in their marginal tax rate.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Remember when health-care reform was supposed to make life better for the middle class?  That dream began to unravel this past summer …

Apartment residents told to take down U.S. flags  —  Residents of the Oaks Apartments in Albany have reportedly been told to take down their flags.  Even this one, on the back of a motorcycle, is part of the reported ban.  —  ALBANY, Ore. - At the Oaks Apartments in Albany …

Christie Vilsack: “I'm well-qualified” to run for US Senate  —  Christie Vilsack, Tom Vilsack (file photo)  —  Christie Vilsack, the wife of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, sounds as if she may be the “mystery candidate” the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party said was poised to run for the U.S. Senate.

Now who loves America more?  —  Twenty-five years ago, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick famously lambasted Democrats as “blame America firsters” and a party plagued by “self-criticism and self-denigration” of America.  It was a speech at pace with an emerging political stereotype …

An Apartment Complex Teeters  —  High-Profile Tishman/BlackRock Property in New York in Danger of Default  —  The giant Stuyvesant Town apartment complex on Manhattan's East Side, shown Tuesday, was developed by MetLife for World War II veterans.  —  One of the biggest …

Biden No Longer a Lone Voice on Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — A few hours after getting off a plane from America's war zones, Joseph R. Biden Jr. slipped into a chair, shook off his jet lag and reflected on what he had seen.  The situation in Iraq, he said, was much improved.

Boehner downplays Dow 10,000  —  Dow 10,000 just isn't that big a deal, House Republican leader John Boehner said Wednesday morning.  —  And anyone who places significance on the stock market hitting this symbolic number is “certainly not talking to the American people.”

Russia's Putin warns against intimidating Iran  —  BEIJING (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned major powers on Wednesday against intimidating Iran and said talk of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme was “premature”.

Daisy Chain of Cheneys  —  I imagine that if you called the new consulting firm of Cheney, Cheney & Cheney and got put on hold, you'd hear the “Ghostbusters” theme: … It's hard to believe that the Bush dynasty, which limped away in disgrace after smashing our economy and the globe, has spawned another political dynasty.

Limbaugh fires back at ‘fool’ Jackson Lee for NFL floor speech  —  Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday fired back at a House Democrat who has called on the National Football League (NFL) not to let him buy the St. Louis Rams.  —  On his radio show, Limbaugh said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee …

Bush memoirs to haunt GOP  —  For Republicans looking forward to the first Bush-free election in a decade, the book publishing schedule is the bearer of bad news: Between New Year's Day and next November, as many as five Bush administration officials — including the former president himself — will rehash history in hardback.