Houston—er, Washington—We Have a Problem  —  On Wednesday, according to a Capitol Hill source, the Senate Finance Committee distributed to its members a list of about twenty ways to help pay for health care reform.  Everything you could imagine was on the list: Taxes on soda and cigarettes.

To go forward, GOP must snap out of its Sarah Palin spell  —  Gov. Sarah Palin is the political train wreck that keeps on giving.  First, she was an awful choice last year as John McCain's running mate.  I came to this conclusion with regret - I am one of McCain's biggest admirers.  —  But facts are facts.

Democrats Say C.I.A. Deceived Congress  —  WASHINGTON — The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, has told the House Intelligence Committee in closed-door testimony that the C.I.A. concealed “significant actions” from Congress from 2001 until late last month, seven Democratic committee members said.

Billions in aid go to areas that backed Obama in '08  —  WASHINGTON — Billions of dollars in federal aid delivered directly to the local level to help revive the economy have gone overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year's presidential election.

DeMint: America is ‘Where Germany Was Before World War II’  —  Last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) gave a short talk and Q&A at at the National Press Club about his book “Saving Freedom.”  DeMint told a room of around 100 people about a conversation he'd had with an Iranian immigrant …

Uncommon Detail Marks Rulings by Sotomayor  —  She Almost Oversteps Her Role, Experts Say  —  Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's opinions show support for the rights of criminal defendants and suspects, skepticism of corporations, and sympathy for plaintiffs alleging discrimination …

Coburn Claims Constitutional Shield on Advice to Ensign  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Thursday said he would not testify in court or before the Ethics Committee about any advice he gave Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) on how to handle his affair with a former staffer, citing constitutional protections …

Netanyahu's paranoia extends to ‘self-hating Jews’ Emmanuel and Axelrod  —  At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off.  In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference …

AmeriCorps stonewalls questions of White House involvement in IG firing  —  A top official of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the government agency that oversees AmeriCorps, has refused to answer questions from congressional investigators about the White House's role …

Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family  —  Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime or a gang initiation.  —  But to Marty Marshall, his wife and two kids, it seems pretty clear.  —  It came after a family night of celebrating America and freedom with a fireworks show at Firestone Stadium.

White House denies manufacturer's boast that First Lady carried their $5,950 bag  —  Is First Lady Michelle Obama sporting a taste for ultra-expensive fashion pieces, or is she cementing her status as a savvy shopper?  —  Back in April she wore a pair of $540 Lanvin sneakers at a Washington food bank.

Updated: Hoyer-linked firm wins $18M Recovery.gov contract  —  ABC reports this morning that the Maryland firm Smartronix has won what seems like an enormous $18 million contract to re-design the Recovery.gov website.  Approximately $9.5 million would be spent by January in order to make …

King's New Rationale For Voting Against Slave Labor Resolution: It Wasn't ‘A Balanced Depiction Of History’  —  Yesterday, a number of blogs reported that right-wing Rep. Steve King (R-IA) was the lone dissenter on a House vote to acknowledge the role that slave labor had in constructing the U.S. Capitol.

Jeb Bush: 'I don't know' if Obama is a socialist  —  (CNN) - Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told an interviewer that he could not say whether or not President Barack Obama is a socialist, and that the president would not have been elected if he had been honest with Americans about his agenda.

Bing Now Bigger Than Digg, Twitter and CNN  —  With the headlines that Microsoft's new search engine Bing has been grabbing, it's easy to forget that it only went live about a month ago.  Since its launch at the beginning of June, it has given Google pause and even had its own web infomercial.

A SHAKY STORY STARTS TO LOOK WORSE.... The rationale for Sarah Palin's resignation has never made sense, but it seems even less clear now.  —  One of the few specific points the governor has raised deals with “frivolous” ethics violations filed by her political enemies.