Don't talk to me about death panels, Sarah Palin.  —  You, who so carelessly bolstered a lie about healthcare reform to score a cheap political point; you, the most craven of political opportunists, who fearmongers about some dystopian socialist/fascist fantasyland; you …

32% Favor Single-Payer Health Care, 57% Oppose  —  Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% are opposed to a single-payer plan.

SEIU Recruits Obamacare Supporters to ‘Drown Out Voices’ in Conn. (Pelosi Will Be Appalled at the 'Un-Americanness')  —  Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer decided to double down on some pretty distasteful messaging today, calling some of the opposition to health care reform, “un-American” …

Lost in Translation: Clinton Says She, Not Bill, is the Secretary of State  —  ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost her cool Monday after a Congolese student, speaking through a translator, asked her what “Mr. Clinton” thought about a Chinese trade deal …

MSNBC Anchor: “Socialist' Is Becoming the New N-word'  —  UPDATE at end of post: Is this what Newsweek meant when it proudly declared on its cover, “We're All Socialists Now?”  —  Did you know that when you refer to someone as a socialist, you're really calling them the N-word?

It doesn't take Stephen Hawking to figure this one out  —  The conservative opinion magazine Human Events was reputedly Ronald Reagan's favorite read, and to this day fancies itself the house organ for the hard-right intelligentsia.  Among those published regularly in its pages are such luminaries as Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter.

Our Fuzzy President Is About To Come Into Focus  —  We're finally going to get to know the real President Obama.  —  Once the final outlines of health-care legislation become clear, we'll know what really matters to him.  Where he draws the line.  How he wields the levers of power.

Perriello's Health Care Town Hall: Fear and Respect in VA-5  —  Last week I attended a couple of town halls: one in Maryland for Donna Edwards, and one in Danville, VA for Tom Perriello.  Going into them, I kinda figured that Edwards' event would be pretty tame, but Tom Perriello's would be raucous, if not violent.

Judge sentences man to 6 months in jail for yawning  —  6-month term given by judge who has doled out the most charges of contempt in Will  —  Clifton Williams arrived at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet and sat in the fourth-floor courtroom where his cousin was pleading guilty to a felony drug charge.

Who's Ready for a New, Race-Based Government Entity Called the “Native Hawaiian Council”!  —  The 50th state is on the verge of being governed quite differently, now that a pro-sovereignty Hawaiian is in the White House: … Read the Akaka bill here; Wikipedia page here.

As more U.S. troops arrive, is Afghan war worth it?  —  Seventy-five U.S. and NATO troops died in Afghanistan in July, the deadliest month for allied forces in nearly eight years of fighting.  More than 1,000 Afghan civilians have died this year, up 24 percent from 2008.

NAKED EMPEROR NEWS: 'OBAMA'S MOTHER OF ALL POLITICAL LIES AND THE TOWN HALL MAYHEM IT CAUSED'  —  “But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf …

FL-Senate: Breaking Down the Crist Pick  —  Florida Gov. Charlie Crist must pick a replacement for resigning Sen. Mel Martinez.  AP Photo/Phil Coale  —  Florida Sen. Mel Martinez's (R-Fla.) surprise resignation announcement on Friday has put Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in the hot seat as he must pick …

George Soros Pledges $5 Million To Bankroll Health Care Reform Push, Group Says  —  In another sign of the urgency gripping the pro-health care reform camp, billionaire George Soros has pledged to sink $5 million into the fight, the group getting the money confirmed.

Hill jets may be scrapped  —  The new congressional jets may be getting scrapped.  —  After an uproar over a proposed purchase of new executive jets for use by senior government official, including members of Congress, the top Defense appropriator in the House has offered to eliminate funding …

New Graduates Finding Jobs in China (Mandarin Optional)  —  BEIJING — Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college graduates who face unemployment nearing double digits at home.  —  Even those with limited or no knowledge of Chinese are heeding the call.

‘Concerned father’ on Fox: Obama's health-care reforms ‘sentencing our families to death’  —  You had to figure that the moment you saw that “concerned father” harassing John Dingell at the town-hall meeting on health care in Michigan, he'd be showing up eventually on Fox News.  After all, it's what they do.

Why Obama will have to raise taxes  —  “Read my lips.  No new taxes.”  George Bush senior made that fatally memorable promise during his campaign for the White House.  Later he saw that for the sake of the economy he would have to break it.  When he did the right thing and went back on his word, he was vilified.

Obama Sets Immigration Changes for 2010  —  GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Flanked by his counterparts from Mexico and Canada, President Obama on Monday reiterated his commitment to pursuing comprehensive immigration reform, despite his packed political agenda and the staunch opposition such an initiative is likely to face.

Expelled From the New York Times  —  My sister nailed it many years ago when she said, “Your basic human is not such a hot item.”  —  Keep that filed in your head as I tell my little tale.  —  About five or six years ago, roughly, I was solicited to write a column every two weeks for the Sunday New York Times Business Section.

Cross-Examining Forensics  —  On June 25, in a late-term, 5-4 ruling marked by unconventional alliances and sharp disagreement between the justices, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts that the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause requires forensic experts whose reports …