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Sources: Thompson announcement on Sept. 6 — Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting will hold a 4 p.m. conference call today with supporters to brief them on plans for the former Tennessee senator's presidential announcement next week, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.com.
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Analysis: Has Fred Thompson Waited Too Long? — Former Sen. Fred Thompson's Reluctance to Jump Into '08 Race May Have Cost Him Momentum — He was primed to be the summer's big blockbuster and the script was written in advance: A dispirited party finds its great hope in a swashbuckling Southern senator …
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The Swamp, Comments From Left Field, Political Radar, Los Angeles Times and The Right's Field

FOOT TAPPING AND BATHROOM CRUISING....Yesterday one of my readers emailed to say he was annoyed by all the ignorant blog commentary emanating from straight young whippersnappers on the subject of Larry Craig's restroom shenanigans in Minnesota: … Today, non-whippersnapper blogger …
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Audio of Larry Craig's Bust! — Download (1350) | Play (1760) … Seems that Larry doesn't know what hand his gold ring is on...Sadly, No! has more...


Conservative 'Homophobic Hypocrisy' In Craig Scandal
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Associated Press, OutInAmerica.com, NY Daily News, Open Left, The Carpetbagger Report and Your Right Hand Thief


Texas governor spares getaway driver — HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry accepted a parole board recommendation Thursday to spare condemned inmate Kenneth Foster, the getaway driver in a 1996 murder who had been scheduled for execution within hours. — The sentence had drawn protests …
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Thank You — Thanks so much to everyone who picked …
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TalkLeft


Chemical Weapons Scare at U.N. Headquarters — Brian Ross Reports: — United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous chemical warfare agent, phosgene, as they were cleaning out offices at a U.N. building in New York, federal authorities tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
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protein wisdom, Little Green Footballs, On Deadline, A Blog For All, Wizbang, Atlas Shrugs and Liberty Pundit
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Nerve gas found at United Nations building — Six to eight vials discovered — ABCNews has learned that United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous nerve gas, phosgene, as they were cleaning out offices at a U.N. building in New York Thursday morning.
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CNN, Captain's Quarters, FP Passport, Wonkette, The American Pundit, Gay Patriot, Wake up America and Take Our Country Back

Suspect material found in UN office
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The Carpetbagger Report

Locked, Loaded and Looney — As the Army's suicide rate hits record levels in the Iraq war, there's small wonder practically everyone in Congress wants to deal with the parallel emerging crisis of depressed veterans tempted to take their own lives. Everyone, that is, except Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES' EDITORS think that the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is in the Constitution. But then, they believe many things that are demonstrably untrue. — UPDATE: More questions about the NYT's constitutional scholarship. — ANOTHER UPDATE …
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The American Pundit, A Second Hand Conjecture, Althouse, Weekly Standard, Charlie Foxtrot and NewsBusters.org


Edwards On Track in Iowa — John Edwards is betting that a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses will catapult him into national contention, and so far his strategy in the state is on track. A new TIME poll of likely Iowa caucus goers, taken a week after Edwards' seven-day …
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On Hypothetical Questions And Troop Levels In Iraq — Bill Richardson just put out an interesting action alert: … I applaud Richardson's efforts on this front, just as I applauded MSNBC when they attempted to get straight answers from candidates on how many troops they intend to leave in Iraq if they become President.


Report Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals — Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report. The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment …
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Boston Globe, The Lede, The Carpetbagger Report, TPMmuckraker, Think Progress, Sadly, No!, QandO, BuzzFlash.org, DownWithTyranny!, All Spin Zone, Comments From Left Field, AMERICAblog, Booman Tribune, The Debate Link, Wake up America, Watching Those We Chose, The Democratic Daily, The Reaction, PoliBlog (TM), Firedoglake, Prairie Weather, Donklephant, The Newshoggers, Outside The Beltway, The Gavel, Democratic National Committee, The Next Hurrah, Truthdig, Macsmind, Balloon Juice, BAGnewsNotes and TIME: Swampland
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Porter ties U.S. withdrawal from Iraq to $9 gasoline — Lawmaker reports on his trip to country — WASHINGTON — Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the United States withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week.
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Warner to reveal plans tomorrow — Sen. John Warner will announce tomorrow at the University of Virginia whether or not he intends to seek a sixth term, according to two top Virginia sources. Warner is planning a 2 p.m. news conference on the grounds of the Charlottesville, Va., school, where he took his law degree over 50 years ago.
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When Fox News Republicans Lie, Democrats Should Tell The Truth — Regarding Karen Hanretty's comments in which she invoked the name of Barry Goldwater while she lied about me: — I knew Barry Goldwater. Barry Goldwater was an authentic conservative who believed in political discourse of honesty and civility.

BREAKING NEWS: Polk judge rules against gay marriage ban — A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa's law banning gay marriage. — The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson concluded that the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and he ordered the Polk County recorder …
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MyDD, Iowa Independent, Daily Kos, race42008.com, Stop The ACLU, On Deadline and Liberty Pundit


'Post' Homophobia Still Mysteriously Unfunny — You know what? We're getting pretty bored by the New York Post's homophobia. For a while, we giggled at "Page Six"'s use of archaic adjectives like "swishy" and "limp-wristed" to describe gay subjects. We tried to find the humor …