Dems warn Baucus with gavel threat  —  In an apparent warning to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), some liberal Democrats have suggested a secret-ballot vote every two years on whether or not to strip committee chairmen of their gavels.

WARNING EXPLICIT CONTENT: - A copy of the email sent by Police Officer Justin Barrett  — Weather - Traffic - News - Sports - Business - Entertainment - Morning - Health - On TV - Blogs - About Us  —  Many pages in this Fox Television Stations, Inc. web site feature links to other sites …

How nervous should those Blue Dogs be?  —  OK, as promised the other day, I've run some numbers about the Democratic Blue Dogs in the House of Representatives, and they're quite interesting.  Here's the deal.  This is a long post, but it's got lots of actual new information, and no difficult-to-discern irony.

Poll: Obama loses ground on health care  —  NBC/WSJ survey also shows a drop in his overall job-approval rating  —  President Barack Obama discusses health care reform during a town hall meeting at Broughton High School on Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C.  —  Deputy political director

Exclusive: Earmark critic steered cash to blimp, former aide  —  Rep. Pete Sessions — the chief of the Republicans' campaign arm in the House — says on his website that earmarks have become “a symbol of a broken Washington to the American people.”  —  Yet in 2008, Sessions himself steered …

Debra Burlingame: Revenge of the ‘Shoe Bomber’  —  The terrorist sues to resume his jihad from prison.  The Obama administration caves in.  —  Multimedia  — previous  — next  —  Health Care Reform  —  President Obama's effort to overhaul the health-care system may have momentum.

Debts paid, Hillary Clinton builds $3+ million campaign fund for ...?  —  With all of the immense numbers coming out of Washington these days, former senator, ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign debt is chump change.  Make that, “was.”  —  Here's the news: There is no more Hillary Clinton campaign debt.

The ‘birthers’  —  Don't encourage them, senator  —  Conspiracy theorists are a stubborn bunch.  Facts usually don't deter them.  And encouragement, especially from a U.S. senator, doesn't help.  —  Oklahoma's senior senator, Jim Inhofe, might not have thrown gasoline on the whacky theory …

‘Auto-Tune’ the latest, greatest spoof  —  With his mashup of news, music and video called “Auto-Tune the News,” Michael Gregory is taking political satire into the digital era.  “Auto-Tune the News” is the brainchild of Gregory, 24, and his two brothers and sister-in-law.

EXCLUSIVE: No. 3 at Justice OK'd Panther reversal  —  Case involved polling place in Philadelphia  —  Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli, the No. 3 official in the Obama Justice Department, was consulted and ultimately approved a decision in May to reverse course and drop …

Cash for Clunkers: Federal rebate revs up buyers  —  Dale Skreen, left, of Loretto, took a last look at his 1993 Ford F-150 pickup truck before he drove away in his 2009 Ford F-150 XLT pickup.  Salesman Adam Notsch helped Skreen get a federal rebate in the Cash for Clunkers program.

Despite Obama's Objections, House Appropriators Seem Intent on Earmarks  —  The Democratic-controlled House is poised to give the Pentagon dozens of new ships, planes, helicopters and armored vehicles that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says the military does not need to fund next year …

50 Most Beautiful 2009 - Top 10 (HTML)  —  1. Rep. Martin Heinrich … Rep. Martin Heinrich has gone from climbing mountains to climbing stairs.  —  The avid outdoorsman, who once ran a wilderness adventure program for children and teens, now has to rely on his trips from his fifth-floor Longworth office …

Photos/Video Obama Town Hall Meeting Protesters In Raleigh  —  Live video of crowd as motorcade went bye, a lot of booing  —  Interesting day at President Obama's Town Hall meeting at Broughton High, but first just let me say “We kicked the liberals' asses in numbers, debate and behavior.

America's Moral Panic Over Obesity  —  With health care in the news, everyone's looking for magic bullets to save money.  Obesity seems to be a growing favorite: wouldn't it be great if we could make everyone look like Jennifer Anniston, and be cheaper to treat?

Jihadi's Facebook Account: I will kill you (Updated: Pics Added)  —  ****STICKY OVERNIGHT****NEW POSTS BELOW***  —  More on the banality of terror.  You should read it for the context in understanding the federal indictments against Ziyad Yaghi, Mohammad Omar Aly Hussain, and six others.