NBC poll: Doubts over Obama health plan  —  NBC poll: Misperceptions abound on president's health overhaul initiative  —  WASHINGTON - Two weeks since raucous congressional town-hall meetings on health care became a national story — and days after President Barack Obama began holding his own town halls …

Robert Novak (1931-2009)  —  The Evans-Novak column ran under the title “the Sonnenfeldt Doctrine.”  When I finished reading that early spring day in 1976, I remember thinking, this is quintessential Bob Novak.  —  State Department Counselor Helmut Sonnenfeldt had told a London gathering …

Woman yells ‘Heil Hitler’ to Jewish man praising Israel's national health care system.  —  Conservatives have strenuously denied that there is any anti-Semitism on display by anti-health reform protesters at town hall meetings nationwide — despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Science proves zombies could annihilate humans  —  If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively.  —  That is the conclusion of a mathematical exercise carried out by researchers in Canada.

Poll: Was Palin's resignation a smart move?  —  (CNN) - A new national poll suggests that most Americans don't think Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor was a smart political move.  —  Sixty-one percent of people questioned in a Marist survey released Tuesday …

I Am Vaguely Calling You Out  —  This is a message for all you Chicken Littles, you handwringers, you wannabe strategists, you people who have suggestions or doubts: I am vaguely calling you out.  —  Who you are is not really important.  Why I am vaguely calling you out is also not important.

David Axelrod's Very Big Problem  —  The allegations in this Bloomberg story —if true— pose a huge problem for a senior advisor to the president, David Axelrod.  This is the heart of the problem: … The problem is that Axelrod's former firm is currently receiving huge fees …

Why the Public Option S**t Storm is Great News  —  I'm almost certainly going to get in trouble for blogging on vacation, but I thought this point needed to be made and didn't see anyone making it: I have no idea whether the administration intended to shift its position on the public option over the weekend …

Howard Dean Says Senate Republicans Want Obama Dead  —  A QUIET SCREAM  —  Former DNC Head Plays Games With Incendiary Language  —  Apparently, libtalkers aren't the only ones asserting that conservatives want Obama dead.  After a week of reckless rhetoric from the left side of the dial …

60 Votes  —  Quick background: Republicans will filibuster any healthcare bill that reaches the floor of the Senate, and it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster.  If a healthcare bill includes a public option provision, it's vanishingly unlikely that we can find those 60 votes.

Netroots Nation frustration and the impediments to progressive change  —  I just returned to Seattle from Netroots Nation, the yearly gathering of progressive bloggers, journalists, and activists.  Last year, in Austin, the atmosphere was absolutely electric, with the election approaching …

Remembering Rose Friedman  —  Rose Director Friedman passed away Tuesday, August 18, 2009, in her home in Davis, California, of heart failure.  While the exact date of her birth is uncertain, she is believed to have been 98 years old.  —  She will be remembered both as a talented economist and an influential advocate of freedom.

NBC POLL: PLURALITY OPPOSES PUBLIC OPTION  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  The question of whether or not the eventual health-care reform legislation will include a public/government option to compete with private insurers has dominated the health-care debate over the past two days.

For the Left, war without Bush is not war at all  —  Remember the anti-war movement?  Not too long ago, the Democratic party's most loyal voters passionately opposed the war in Iraq.  Democratic presidential candidates argued over who would withdraw American troops the quickest.

Why ‘Obama-care’ is failing  —  The president and his supporters are blaming the wrong people for his healthcare woes — they should look in the mirror.  —  To listen to the White House and its supporters, in and out of the media, you would think that opposition to “Obama-care” is the hobgoblin of a few small minds on the right.

Sweden newspaper: Israel kills Palestinians, harvests their organs  —  A leading Swedish newspaper reported this week that Israeli soldiers are abducting Palestinians in order to steal their organs, a claim that prompted furious condemnation and accusations of anti-Semitic blood libel from a rival publication.

Will Bagram Be President Obama's Guantanamo?  —  The White House declined to comment Tuesday about a letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union asking why President Obama is refusing to make public information about the detainees imprisoned at the US military's Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

Obama Goes Postal, Lands in Dead-Letter Office: Caroline Baum  —  Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — “UPS and FedEx are doing just fine.  It's the Post Office that's always having problems.”  — Barack Obama, Aug. 11, 2009  —  No institution has been the butt of more government- inefficiency jokes than the U.S. Postal Service.

Methane seeps from Arctic sea bed  —  Methane bubbles observed by sonar, escape from sea bed as temperatures rise  —  Scientists say they have evidence that the powerful greenhouse gas methane is escaping from the Arctic sea bed.  —  Researchers say this could be evidence of a predicted positive feedback effect of climate change.

An Unexpected Ally's Road to Championing Same-Sex Marriage  —  Theodore B. Olson's office is a testament to his iconic status in the conservative legal movement.  A framed photograph of Ronald Reagan, the first of two Republican presidents Mr. Olson served, is warmly inscribed with “heartfelt thanks.”

In Appraisal Shift, Lenders Gain Power and Critics  —  Mike Kennedy, a real estate appraiser in Monroe, N.Y., was examining a suburban house a few years ago when he discovered five feet of water in the basement.  The mortgage broker arranging the owner's refinancing asked him to pretend it was not there.