SENIOR TALIBAN COMMANDERS arrested.

HEH: Al Qaida Faces Recruitment Crisis. Well, the pay’s lousy, and the benefits stink. Then there are those pesky Hellfire missiles.

UH OH: U.S. government nervous about stimulus fraud, scams. “As billions of dollars from the economic stimulus plan pour through the U.S. economy, members of Congress, the administration and regulatory agencies are increasingly worried about the risks of fraud.” Now they’re worried?

UPDATE: Reader Bill Wiltsch writes: “I thought Joe Biden was supposed to be all over that. Or was that one of those one week jobs –like the time he and Obama were discussing how to set things right in Iraq, and Barack leans over to Joe and says –Joe, why don’t you go take care of that; Joe gets on the plane to Iraq the next day and has a meeting or two over there, recounting the story over and over. Apparently he fixed that in a few days, because we have not heard anything more about that.”

TIM GEITHNER SAYS THAT everything is proceeding according to plan.

RUSS FEINGOLD ON CAP-AND-TRADE: “I’m not signing onto any bill that rips off Wisconsin.”

Plus this: “I thought he looked unusually grumpy.”

OOPS: McClatchy: Obama’s savings’ won’t pay for health plan, experts say. “Despite President Barack Obama’s insistence that his $900 billion health care plan won’t increase already-huge federal budget deficits, experts say that it would – unless he raised more taxes than he’s suggesting he would.”

CATO: Obama’s Health Care Speech In Plain English.

WHEN DID THE HOPEMEISTER turn bitter? “Tucker Carlson marvels at the transformation of Barack Obama from candidate to rookie President to … grumpy old man.”

MICKEY KAUS: Will No One Speak For The Granny-Killers?

AWAITING U.N. AND RED CROSS ATTENTION TO this war crime. Likely to be “awaiting” for a long time . . .

WELL, THIS IS BETTER NEWS THAN I EXPECTED: Treasuries Rally After Stronger-Than-Forecast 30-Year Demand. “Treasuries surged after a $12 billion sale of 30-year bonds drew the strongest demand since November 2007, the last of three auctions this week that each attracted more investors than forecast. Thirty-year bonds rallied the most in almost six months as the debt drew a yield of 4.238 percent, the lowest level since March and below the 4.289 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.” Sounds like it was better news than most people expected. Thanks to reader Sean Giefing for the link.

INSTAPUNDIT WILL BE BRIEFLY DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE later tonight. It’ll return upgraded, rested, and ready for action.

TEA PARTY CARAVAN heading to DC after passing through Knoxville.

SEVEN TIPS FOR perfect French Fries.

KEITH OLBERMANN: Send Me Everything You Can Find About Steven Crowder.

WELL, IT IS A TURKEY: Biden says health care will be done by Thanksgiving.

ST. LOUIS heads to Quincy.

CHARLES COOPER: “Again, if this discussion becomes a question of ‘who lied,’ then the Democrats lose. Healthcare reform is their big enchilada. The administration can’t afford to get caught up in a game of liar liar, pants on fire. Been there, done that – thrice so far in 2009. Remember the Henry Louis Gates flap in July?”

DAN RIEHL interviews Rep. Joe Wilson.

UPDATE: Charges of No-Doz use? “Oh man, is this all they’ve got? And the Hill runs with it?” I’d say No-Doz is pretty much a requirement at some of those speeches . . . .

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ed Driscoll:

Old conventional DC wisdom: Man, could Ted Kennedy and Tip O’Neill put it away, or what?!

New conventional DC wisdom: caffeine: the satanic potion.

Heh.

MORE: Rep. Wilson Outburst Leads Senate Dems to Close Loophole in Health Reform Bill.

STEVEN DEN BESTE WRITES: “I just looked at the Washington Post’s front page on the web. There are several articles there about Joe Wilson calling Obama a liar, but not a single mention of ACORN.” Quel surprise!

UPDATE: From the A.P.: ACORN fires 2 after hidden-camera footage aired.

THE TOP 25 blogging law schools.

CASS SUNSTEIN has been confirmed.

JOHN STOSSEL: What Obama Should Have Said to Congress. Stossel, by the way, is leaving ABC for Fox. That’s too bad, though I’m sure he’ll find Fox more congenial. I don’t think he was appreciated at ABC, despite the stellar ratings he brought.

UPDATE: A couple of readers wonder why I think the move is “too bad.” It’s because with Stossel at ABC, some viewers might be exposed to non-conventional (at ABC) views. I very much doubt that ABC will replace Stossel with someone of similar libertarian inclination, though I’d love to be proven wrong. Fox viewers, on the other hand, will appreciate the quality of his work, but it’s not likely to be the same kind of wake-up call it is to the Barbara Walters crowd . . . .

NEW BREAKTHROUGH in understanding concrete.

THE TOWN HALLS of August. “That’s the full list of documented violence from the August meetings. In more than 400 events: one slap, one shove, three punches, two signs grabbed, one self-inflicted vandalism incident by a liberal, one unsolved vandalism incident, and one serious assault. Despite the left’s insistence on the essentially barbaric nature of Obamacare critics, the video, photographic, and police report evidence is fairly clear in showing that 7 of the 10 incidents were perpetrated by Obama supporters and union members on Obama critics.”