Health Policy Now Carved Out at a More Centrist Table  —  WASHINGTON — On the agenda is the revamping of the American health care system, possibly the most complex legislation in modern history.  But on the table, in a conference room where the bill is being hashed out by six senators, the snacks are anything but healthy.

Bachmann blocks resolution declaring Hawaii to be Obama's birthplace.  —  Today, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) introduced a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's statehood.  The resolution also proclaims the state as President Obama's birthplace, a point …

Why Won't Obama Talk to Israel?  —  IN his global tours and TV appearances, President Obama has spoken to Arabs, Muslims, Iranians, Western Europeans, Eastern Europeans, Russians and Africans.  His words have stirred emotions and been well received everywhere.  —  But he hasn't bothered to speak directly to Israelis.

Frothy Diplomacy: What Beer Will Obama Pick?  —  The President Hopes to Ease Tensions by Drinking Beer with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley  —  The easy part for President Obama might have been getting Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard University scholar …

Sen. McCaskill's Office Holds Town Hall— TEA PARTY BREAKS OUT  —  Senator Claire “ACORN” McCaskill's office agreed to hold a town hall meeting on Obamacare.  —  A massive Tea Party Protest broke out!  —  Check this out:  —  This tea party protester fired up the crowd:

Shatner Does The Palin Farewell Speech  —  I haven't blogged on Sarah Palin's bizarre farewell speech, but Conan O'Brien's inspired idea to stage a dramatic reading by William Shatner has wakened me from my dogmatic slumbers:  —  Of course the definitive bizarre Shatner vocal performances can be found on his album The Transformed Man.

Sarah Palin's Gradual Descent Into Incoherency  —  Remember how Sarah Palin graduated from her fiftieth college with a degree in communications?  What the hell happened to addle this woman's mind so much that she can no longer form logical sentences?  We went to the tapes to investigate.

Obama's Health-Care Reform Plan Is Not the Answer  —  For the 85 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, the Obama health plan is bad news.  It means higher taxes, less health care and no protection if they lose their current insurance because of unemployment or early retirement.

Liberals Forgetting Keynes  —  In a striking turn in the unedifying history of business-cycle economics, John Maynard Keynes's masterpiece, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), was ignored by liberal and conservative macroeconomists alike until the collapse …

The Power of Posterity  —  Every day, I check a blog called Marginal Revolution, which is famous for its erudite authors, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, and its intelligent contributors.  Last week, one of those contributors asked a question that is fantastical but thought-provoking …

GOP's teachable moment on the risks of Obamacare  —  Pick your average member of the House of Representatives, one who has a lot of work to do but hasn't been deeply involved in crafting the massive health care makeover bill.  Who knows more about what's in that bill — Mr. Average Democrat, or Mr. Average Republican?

Foreclosures Are Often In Lenders' Best Interest  —  Numbers Work Against Government Efforts To Help Homeowners  —  Government initiatives to stem the country's mounting foreclosures are hampered because banks and other lenders in many cases have more financial incentive to let borrowers lose …

Bashing Goldman Sachs Is Simply a Game for Fools: Michael Lewis  —  From the moment I left Yale and started working for Goldman Sachs, I've felt uneasy interacting with those who don't.  —  It's not that I think less of Goldman outsiders than I did while I remained among you.

Newsweek's Obama Correspondent Joins Administration  —  Daren Briscoe, a Newsweek correspondent who was embedded with Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, has taken a job with the Obama administration, according to an email sent to a listserv of his classmates at the Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

Dems have huge day with Latinos  —  Republicans' dilemma in connecting with the growing Hispanic electorate will be on vivid display Tuesday: GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote overwhelmingly against confirming Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latino nominee to the Supreme Court.

FURTHER BLURRING THE LINES.... I continue to be fascinated by the shrinking differences between the nutty, right-wing fringe and the Republican establishment.  Lee Fang flagged this gem yesterday. … Gohmert was on quite a roll, insisting that health care reform will “absolutely kill senior citizens …

In Study, Texting Lifts Crash Risk by Large Margin  —  The first study of drivers texting inside their vehicles shows that the risk sharply exceeds previous estimates based on laboratory research — and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions.

Q & A with Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal  —  You have said that in Afghanistan protecting the population is the top priority.  What does that mean you stop doing?  —  It means we put as much of our effort as we can to establish security for the population and we stay there so those other critical parts …

Is Pluto a planet after all?  —  HOW many planets are in the solar system?  The official answer is eight - unless you happen to live in Illinois.  Earlier this year, defiant Illinois state governors declared that Pluto had been unfairly demoted by the International Astronomical Union …