Of the 97 victims of the crash of the Polish presidential airplane outside Smolensk, there were many officials of very high rank, but I would bet that there was not a finer human being among them than Mariusz Handzlik, undersecretary of state in the office of the president. I first met Mariusz in 1993 when he came to the United States as a participant in a program run by James Denton of the National Forum Foundation, later merged into Freedom House. (Denton is now publisher of World Affairs.) The program aimed to help train a new post-Communist elite for the nations of east and central Europe liberated from Soviet occupation.

Sarah Palin calls out Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his executive order requiring sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer….
Full article: Palin Calls Out Perry on HPV Vaccine

The New York Times….
Full article: Death Toll Passes 600 from Raid in South Sudan

Bill Gates and other captains of industry are slated to discuss a new report on energy innovation. …
Full article: Gates brings energy pitch to Senate

President Barack Obama says he would “object very strongly” to a possible push for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, saying such a move would be counterproductive. Obama reiterated Monday that the U.S. would use its veto to stop the motion for full Palestinian statehood if it reaches the Security Council next week at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. He called the proposal a “distraction” that would not solve problems that can only be addressed through negotiations. …
Full article: Obama: Palestinian State Bid a ‘Distraction’

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will soon free two Americans jailed for spying, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday, in what he called a humanitarian gesture weeks before he travels to the United Nations in New York. …
Full article: Jailed Americans to be freed soon: Ahmadinejad

How important is it that you watch this Midnight Show PSA? Let us put it this way: millions of lives depend on it….
Full article: Drive Recklessly

The unusual number of self-funded campaigns is a direct result of both parties’ recruiting strategies. …
Full article: Rich candidates crowd midterm field

Top-ranked Yani Tseng successfully defended her title in the LPGA Tour’s NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday, beating Amy Yang with a 4-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff….
Full article: Tseng defends NW Arkansas Championship title

In advance of President Obama’s speech on job creation, right-wing media have falsely claimed that the stimulus failed. In fact, independent economists agree that the stimulus significantly raised employment and increased GDP, and experts say it is the winding down of stimulus spending that is causing a “fiscal drag” on the economy.Right-Wing Media Falsely Claim Stimulus “Failed” Wash. Times Suggests Stimulus Measures “Didn’t Work In 2009.” From a September 7 Washington Times editorial titled, “Stimulus Jr.”: As with Mr. Obama’s $825 billion spending spree in 2009, the ostensible goal of the latest giveaway is to jump-start job creation. At least he has the priority straight. The economy failed to create any jobs at all last month, the unemployment rate has been stuck above 9 percent for most of this year, and the rate of long-term joblessness has been growing steadily while labor-force participation has declined. It’s his “solution” that will make the situation worse. Temporary tax cuts and permanent spe…
Full article: Right-Wing Media Preview Obama’s Jobs Speech By Pushing Myth That Stimulus Failed