The question is: what's wrong with the other 45%.

Bush sets out to salvage 2nd term - Yahoo! News: "A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday shows that a solid majority of Americans, 55%, now judge Bush's presidency to be a failure."

Why I love living in the city -- mystery odors.

Foul Odor Traced to WSSC Site In Maryland: "D.C. health inspectors say they have identified the source of a mysterious stench that drifted through the city recently: the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

The WSSC dumped sewer waste for several months in a field at its pumping station in Capitol Heights, health inspectors said in a report issued yesterday. The report said WSSC officials told inspectors that the waste included 'roots, gravel and cigarette butts, human personal items and a variety of other objects that are normally found within the sewer system.'

WSSC officials disputed having a link to the odors that generated hundreds of complaints from D.C. residents. In an interview, they said that the agency had dumped only a small amount of material and that it was not responsible for the smell.

'There was not enough [waste] to create the widespread odors,' said Al Richardson, a commission spokesman. 'It doesn't support the argument for the widespread gas odor problem.'

Richardson said the commission no longer would dump waste at the site because it was not a 'good business practice.' He said the decision was not made in reaction to the District's health report.

For weeks, D.C. authorities had been trying to pin down the source of the stench, which was first noticed Sept. 28. Fire officials received more than 30 calls about gas leaks that day, primarily at large public buildings across Northeast Washington."

Tariq Ali on the earthquake.

This is not good news.

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Pakistan will not forget: "The situation in the north-west of the country is much worse than has been reported. The prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, lost his cool at local journalists for reporting the destruction of schools and the deaths of hundreds of children: 'Why are you being sensationalist? Be optimistic!' The defensiveness was unnecessary. Nobody blames the regime for the earthquake and even the normally loquacious Frontier province and Afghan mullahs, eager to describe Katrina as 'God's punishment' for US wars, have fallen silent. Why would Allah punish the Islamist strongholds in Pakistan?

The death toll has been underestimated. Balakot, a small city which is the gateway to the beautiful Kaghan valley and heavily dependent on tourism, has been destroyed. Corpses litter the streets. According to yesterday's estimates, at least half of the city's population of 100,000 is now dead. A whole generation has been wiped out. Survivors were, till yesterday, without food or water because the roads were wrecked and helicopters were in short supply."

Oh happy day!

Rove to Testify Again in Grand Jury's CIA Leak Probe: "A source close to Rove said Bush's chief political adviser and his legal team are now genuinely concerned he could face charges."

WorkingForChange-The unification of church and state

WorkingForChange-The unification of church and state: "Miers, like Bush himself, is classic Texas conservative Establishment, with the addition of Christian fundamentalism. What I mean by fundamentalist is one who believes in both biblical inerrancy and salvation by faith alone.

She is enrolled in the Valley View Christian Church of Dallas, which she attended for at least 20 years before moving to Washington five years ago. Among that church's other members is Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court, considered second only to Priscilla Owen as that court's most adamant anti-abortion judge.

According to Miers' friends, she was pro-choice when a young woman, but later changed her mind as a result of a Christian experience of some kind. Those who spoke of this did not know her well enough to say whether it had been a born-again experience or simply a different understanding of theology."