Meet The Conservatives Who Think Today's Job Numbers Are A Conspiracy  —  The Bureau of Labor Statistics released an unexpectedly strong monthly jobs report on Friday, finding a dramatic drop in unemployment to 7.8 percent and revised the number of jobs added in July and August up from initial estimates.

Cover Story: The First Presidential Debate  —  Here's a sneak preview of next week's cover, “One on One,” by Barry Blitt.  “This image seemed like a proper response to the first Presidential debate,” says Blitt, “but I'm not sure I realized how hard it is to caricature furniture.”

Romney “Cheat Sheet” Was A Handkerchief, Campaign Says  —  Conspiracy theory of the day.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  ABINGTON, Va. — Mitt Romney's campaign is shooting down a simmering online theory the Republican nominee used a “cheat sheet” in Wednesday night's debate against President Barack Obama.

Robert Gates Says Israel Is an Ungrateful Ally: Jeffrey Goldberg  —  It was an extraordinary scene: President Barack Obama, sitting impassively in the Oval Office in May as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lectured him, at considerable length and at times condescendingly …

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA): Evolution, Big Bang ‘Lies Straight From The Pit Of Hell’  —  Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) tore into scientists as tools of the devil in a speech at the Liberty Baptist Church Sportsman's Banquet last month.  —  “All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology …

Email Shows State Department Rejecting Request of Security Team at US Embassy in Libya  —  (Image Credit: Ibrahim Alaguri/AP Photo)  —  ABC News has obtained an internal State Department email from May 3, 2012, indicating that the State Department denied a request from the security team …

Voting three days before election reinstated but not required  —  Early voting in Ohio began Tuesday.  These voters cast ballots at the Franklin County Board of Elections location on Morse Road.  —  The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today sided with the Obama campaign and Ohio Democrats …

Patrick Abner and Thomas Roberts  —  EVEN news anchors with matinee-idol looks can get a case of the jitters.  —  Of course, this isn't exactly how Thomas Roberts — a fairly down-to-earth guy and the 11 a.m. host of “MSNBC Live” — describes himself.  —  But it is what happened back in September 2000.

Mitt Romney's Big Bird Attack Threatens Thousands Of U.S. Jobs … FOLLOW:  —  Sesame Street, Video, Big Bird, Big Bird Debate, Presidential Debate, Sesame Workshop, Big Bird Trending, First Debate, Pbs Funding Cuts, Romney Big Bird, Romney Pbs, Business News

Exclusive: Jim Lehrer says he was ‘effective’ as presidential debate moderator  —  I didn't follow it carefully,' he said |  Jim Lehrer has been widely criticized for his passive performance as the moderator of Wednesday's night's presidential debate, but in his first post-debate interview …

Economist: Unemployment drop ‘implausible ... a statistical quirk’  —  I posted a bit of this earlier, but here is the entire, eye-opening note from economists John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros of RDQ Economics: … Of course, the economy is not growing 4-5%, not even half that.

I was not calling Ryan out  —  I am the woman in the Green Bay Packer jacket at Rep. Paul Ryan's rally in Clinton who asked him the question about specific plans to fix our economy.  Needless to say, I was quite shocked to learn the Obama campaign seized my question, putting out the statement …

Almost-Eagle Scout denied award because he is gay  —  Ryan Andresen had completed the requirements to earn his Eagle Scout award, but his mother, Karen, said his Scoutmaster said he wouldn't get it because he recently came out as gay.  The Boy Scouts of America said later Thursday that Andresen …

Ohio Poll Analyst: Voter Turnout Modeling Predicts Big Ohio Trouble for Obama … That's the analysis of Clinton Cooper at Election Insights, an Ohio firm that uses geographic information systems (GIS) and election data to illustrate the political landscape of the electorate.

Paul Ryan Has News For The Birthers: He's Not One Of Them  —  Paul Ryan has figured out a way of letting the birthers down gently.  —  Like many of his fellow congressmen, Ryan has been bombarded for years with letters from conspiracy theorists who believe President Obama was somehow secretly born …

Republican extremists, in their own words  — SLAVERY HAD ITS PLUSES: Republican Rep. Jon Hubbard.  —  Extremism is no vice among Arkansas Republicans.  And, no, I'm not talking about neo-Confederate Republican Rep. Loy Mauch, who once tried to have Abraham Lincoln's bust removed from the Hot Springs Convention Center.

Halloween Horror Story: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin Lattes  —  Starbucks Fans Bemoan Shortage of Seasonal Favorite; Expressions in Haiku  —  For Asher Anidjar, the arrival of fall isn't marked by turning leaves or a chilly breeze, but a steaming seasonal drink.