Although November 4th (election day) is more than a month away, early voting begins today in Ohio. (Early voting has already begun in Virginia and Iowa.) Moreover, due to a quirk in state law -- which Republicans fought unsuccessfully in court -- for one week an Ohio resident may both register to vote and cast an absentee ballot on the same day.

The (overwhelmingly Republican) Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) was correct to interpret that a calendar overlap meant that voters could do a "twofer" this week. And a Reagan-era appointee, U.S. District Judge George Smith, "declined to rule on another statewide challenge, deferring to the state Supreme Court's decision."

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The headlines read: Dow Drops 777 points, the "largest ever" points drop. It sounds bad (and it is). But the raw numbers provide no context and exaggerate the fear factor. Fear is bad, it leads to panic; and panic is what brought down WaMu last week.

Monday's Dow drop is about a 7% decline, comparable to the first day of trading after 9-11. Not pretty, but somehow 7% doesn't sound as bad as 777 points; and percentage wise, this drop is only the 18th worst. (That's a far cry from #1 points drop, isn't it? Which headline is likely to spark more "sky is falling" panic -- and sales or eyeballs?) This fact check might lead to you ask, how does this stock market decline compare to prior crashes?

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Attorney General Michael Mukasey has appointed Nora Dannehy, the acting U.S. attorney in Connecticut, as special prosecutor investigating the firing of nine United States Attorneys. The announcement came with the conclusion of an 18-month investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility and the DOJ Inspector General.

The launching of a criminal inquiry follows the recommendation of internal Justice Department investigators who concluded that, despite denials of the administration, political considerations played a part in the firings of as many as four of the federal prosecutors.

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Last week, Kimberly Amadeo outlined why the "bailout" was needed to avert a financial meltdown. Today, the House has rejected (228-205) the bipartisan plan developed between the White House and Congressional Democrats and Republicans.

At least the House had sense enough to reject a motion to adjourn (394-8).

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