It's Not An Option  —  Congress: It didn't take long to run into an “uh-oh” moment when reading the House's “health care for all Americans” bill.  Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.  —  IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure

CBO Sees No Net Federal Cost Savings in Dem Health Plans  —  ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports:  —  Here's a blow to President Obama and Democrats pressing health care reform.  —  One of the main arguments made by the President and others for investing in health reform now is that it will save …

Video: Witness rips Boxer for racial condescension  —  Red meat by the slab, folks!  Barbara Boxer wound up getting reamed by Harry Alford, the chair of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, after attempting to challenge his testimony on energy policy.  When Boxer started waving position papers …

Joint Statement On Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Nomination To The United States Supreme Court  —  WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION  —  CHRIS W. COX, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION - INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION

Romney Edges Palin, Huckabee in Early 2012 GOP Test  —  Palin's favorable rating stable after announcement of her resignation  —  PRINCETON, NJ — About one in four Republicans and Republican-leaning independents make Mitt Romney their top choice for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination …

Why We Endorsed Warrantless Wiretaps  —  The inspectors general report ignores history and plays politics with the law.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  It was instantly clear after Sept. 11, 2001, that our security agencies knew little about al Qaeda's inner workings …

The real price of Goldman's giganto-profits  —  Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein in Washington DC in November 2008 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty) … So what's wrong with Goldman posting $3.44 billion in second-quarter profits, what's wrong with the company so far earmarking $11.4 billion in compensation for its employees?

Up Next: Biden vs. Cantor  —  Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) landed a fresh blow in a tit-for-tat battle with Vice President Biden today after the latter accused the senior Republican lawmaker of smearing the administration's $787 billion stimulus package.  —  Cantor called an afternoon news conference …

Iran Simmers, America Moves On  —  Hillary says it's time to engage Mahmoud.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  That didn't take long.  President Obama last week gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an autumn deadline to negotiate over Iran's nuclear program.  “We remain ready to engage with Iran …

DEM HEALTH RX A POI$ON PILL IN NY  —  TERRIFYING 57% TAX LOOMS FOR BIGGEST EARNERS  —  Congressional plans to fund a massive health-care overhaul could have a job-killing effect on New York, creating a tax rate of nearly 60 percent for the state's top earners and possibly pressuring small-business owners to shed workers.

Obama losing his cool?  —  It's been a tough week for President Obama's cool factor.  —  Not only is he weathering criticism of his policies, but the Cool One has also taken a few dings to his immaculate image in recent days.  —  It started on Monday.  Speaking at the White House …

The President Moves the Economic Goalposts  —  The stimulus isn't working as originally advertised.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  So what's a president to do when the promises he made about his economic stimulus program fail to materialize?  If you're Barack Obama …

Boxer: But You're Black!  —  Boxer doesn't actually say that, she just implies it.  And the black male she's questioning takes great offense.  Chuck Devore is certainly going to have plenty of material to work with thanks to Boxer herself!  —  Update: Lifted from comments via Dan at GP with more - so true.

BREAKING: AMA Endorses House Bill.  —  Via Health Care for America Now: The American Medical Association just sent a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, endorsing the health reform proposal put forward by three House committees.  —  This is unexpected.  Or, at least, I wasn't expecting it.

Hillary Clinton almost out of the red  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Hillary Clinton is almost debt free from her failed bid for the presidency.  —  According to reports filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, Clinton's 2007-2008 campaign for the White House is now only $1.5 million in the red.

Wise Latina  —  Bama's Supreme nominee, a-nominee.  —  How'd you ever get so darn wise, Latina?  —  Giving O a victory, a-victory.  —  Tingle up Chris Matthews' fat thighs, Latina?  —  Never gonna stop, shut it up,  —  Such a motor mouth,  —  Always backing down when your

Federal judge dismisses reservist's suit questioning Obama's presidency  —  A federal judge this morning dismissed the suit filed here by a U.S. Army reservist who says he shouldn't have to go to Afghanistan because he believes Barack Obama was never eligible to be president.

The Obsolete New York Model  —  Where a tax-eating majority votes itself a permanent income  —  It's worth recalling that when the Founding Fathers led the American colonists in revolt against British oppression, they weren't rebelling against torture on the rack or being chained in galleys …

40 Years After Apollo 11 Moon Landing, It's Time for a Mission to Mars  —  On the spring morning in 1927 when Charles Lindbergh set off alone across the Atlantic Ocean, only a handful of explorer-adventurers were capable of even attempting the feat.  Many had tried before Lindbergh's successful flight …