The Smear This Time  —  ON Oct. 11, 1991, I testified about my experience as an employee of Clarence Thomas's at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  —  I stand by my testimony.  —  Justice Thomas has every right to present himself as he wishes in his new memoir, "My Grandfather's Son."

GOP Is Losing Grip On Core Business Vote  —  Deficit Hawks Defect  —  As Social Issues Prevail;  —  'The Party Left Me'  —  \*country-region\*country-regionWASHING TON\*\* — The Republican Party, known since the late 19th century as the party of business, is losing its lock on that title.

Democrats Seize on Limbaugh to Distract from their Iraq Surrender  —  The Senate yesterday passed the annual defense authorization bill with little fanfare.  Although it was intended to be the vehicle for any Iraq restrictions Democrats could come up with, it passed by an eye-popping 92-3.

Clinton Raises $27M in 3rd Quarter  —  Surpassing her rivals by a margin that few Democrats predicted, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign announced this morning that it had raised $22 million since July to compete in the 2008 primaries, and another $5 million …

Anti-war veterans target Limbaugh  —  An anti-war group consisting of veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is launching an ad Tuesday that attacks popular conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.  —  The group, VoteVets.org, is spending $60,000 on the ad, which will air on Fox News and CNN.

Battle of sound bites reaches health care  —  In the battle of sound bites over President Bush's expected veto of the children's health insurance bill, the White House position boils down to this: Beware, beware — it's the first step toward federalized health care.

Obama to Urge Elimination of Nuclear Weapons  —  Senator Barack Obama plans to call on the U.S. to greatly reduce its stockpiles to lower the threat of nuclear terrorism, aides say.

Marine Hero: The 5 Things I Saw that Make Me Support the War  —  Liberals often like to say that "violence is senseless."  —  That's wrong.  —  Violence isn't senseless.  Senseless violence is senseless.  And I should know.  Before being awarded the Navy Cross and having the privilege of becoming a Marine, I was a gang member.

Expect less Mr. Nice Guy from Fred  —  CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Fred Thompson has a folksy, good old boy persona on the stump, but it may not last much longer.  —  When I asked him if he is an 11th Commandment man — Never speak ill of a fellow Republican — he responded, "I am more of a 12th Commandment man …

Censorship lifted on September 6 IAF strike inside Syria  —  Israel on Tuesday began to lift its strict veil of secrecy on an air strike in Syria last month, allowing the media to report on the raid without attributing such reports to foreign sources.  —  The censor did not release any other details for publication.

Oak Lawn Schools Cancel Holiday Traditions  —  School District To Discuss Cancellation Or Renaming Of Holiday Celebrations At Emergency Meeting  —  (CBS) OAK LAWN, Ill. A southwest suburban school district has taken action, responding to the concerns of a Muslim parent.

Angry, hateful liberal bloggers  —  On Protein Wisdom — the right-wing blog of Pajamas Media's Jeff Goldstein — there is a "response" to a post I wrote a couple of weeks ago concerning the exaggerations of the Muslim threat from Marty Peretz's assistant, Jamie Kirchick of The New Republic and Commentary.

Washington Post Polls Democrats; Shows Support for Iraq Mission  —  The Washington Post features the results of their latest poll, and uses a headline suggesting bad news for the administration and the war in Iraq: … If that were the case, it would be no surprise.  After all, the poll is heavily skewed toward Democrats.

Clinton's baby boondoggle  —  Politicians often try to attract votes by obliquely appealing to the voter's self-interest.  Vote for me, a candidate might say, and I'll cut taxes or boost school spending or protect your embattled industry from foreign competition.  But Hillary Clinton is taking a more direct approach to parents.