Facts Are Stubborn Things  —  Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, “facts are stubborn things.”  —  Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example …

Spoof poster of Obama's face painted as The Joker branded ‘dangerous and mean-spirited’  —  A poster depicting Barack Obama as Batman villain The Joker has been called ‘mean-spirited and dangerous’ by the U.S. President's supporters.  —  The image, which has been adopted by Mr Obama's critics …

What Obama and My Wife Have in Common  —  Dear Mr. President:  —  First, happy birthday.  I do hope today is an enjoyable day for you and your family.  Coincidentally, I also will be celebrating this week the birth of someone dear to me, my beloved wife, Gena, whose birthday is Aug. 9.

Geithner Vents as Overhaul Stumbles  —  WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner blasted top U.S. financial regulators in an expletive-laced critique last Friday as frustration grows over the Obama administration's faltering plan to overhaul U.S. financial regulation, according to people familiar with the meeting.

Health Plan Opponents Make Voices Heard  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Arlen Specter and the health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, were heckled and booed in Philadelphia on Sunday.  —  In Austin on Saturday, a throng of protesters enveloped Representative Lloyd Doggett …

Lib “Blue Dog” Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) Booed, Mocked & Laughed At During Town Hall (Video)  —  Another Day— Another Blue Dog Mocked at Obamacare Town Hall  —  Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH) held a town hall on health care reform.  While Driehaus campaigned as a fiscal conservative …

HONORING AN AMERICA-HATER  —  THE Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor.  Past recipients include John Wayne, Norman Rockwell and Vaclav Havel.  This year, one of the 16 recipients President Obama selected (along with such worthies as Sen. Edward Kennedy and the late Jack Kemp) …

McDonnell leads by 14  —  Bob McDonnell has opened up a 51-37 lead over Creigh Deeds in the race to be Virginia's next Governor, up from a 49-43 advantage four weeks ago.  —  The movement in the race likely has more to do with national trends than anything actually going on in Virginia.

Sotomayor: Qualified, mainstream  —  Judicial confirmation hearings weren't always ideological witch hunts.  —  When John Roberts and Samuel Alito were nominated to the Supreme Court, Republicans argued that they should be confirmed based on their impeccable qualifications and mainstream jurisprudence.

When ‘Clunkers’ Are Greener  —  Want to be green?  Consider keeping your “clunker.”  —  The wildly popular “Cash for Clunkers” program is one of a number of policies funded by this year's stimulus package that encourage consumers to make major purchases in the name of the environment.

Teeing Up the Middle Class  —  Joe the Plumber's tax vindication is nigh.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Few of President Obama's 2008 campaign pledges were more definitive than his vow that anyone making less than $250,000 a year “will not see their taxes increase by a single dime” if he was elected.

SPECTER GETS SCHOOLED  —  Drudge had this great video of the crowd at an Sen. Specter town hall in Phillie yesterday - this is a must watch and a must emulate at town halls across the country over the next month.  —  Anonymous  —  Well, it is kind of amazing that my latest comment has not yet …

Bill Clinton Meets Kim Amid Talks on 2 Journalists  —  SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Bill Clinton met on Tuesday with Kim Jong-il, the reclusive and ailing leader of North Korea, while on a visit to negotiate the release of two imprisoned American television journalists, North Korean state media reported.

Is Obama's Vaunted Political Operation Getting Outworked By Tea-Baggers?  —  That's the question right now, in the wake of all the reports yesterday of rage and heckling directed at House Dems at health care town hall meetings around the country.  —  There's mounting evidence that these …

Olbermann to keep Wolffe off show  —  The most anticipated part of Keith Olbermann's return to “Countdown” last night was to see whether he'd abide by a reported cease-fire with Bill O'Reilly — he didn't.  —  But simmering in the background was the ongoing issue of Richard Wolffe …

BECK TELLS AUDIENCE THERE'S ‘NO EXCUSE FOR VIOLENCE’.... The good news is, Fox News' Glenn Beck told his viewers yesterday that they shouldn't become violent.  The bad news is, Beck's wild-eyed on-air tirades probably made the pronouncement necessary.  —  Beck started by noting that his viewers …

Marines Ban Twitter, MySpace, Facebook  —  The U.S. Marine Corps has banned Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites from its networks, effective immediately.  —  “These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due …