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 …

Alternate Plan as Health Option Muddies Debate  —  WASHINGTON — The White House has indicated that it could accept a nonprofit health care cooperative as an alternative to a new government insurance plan, originally favored by President Obama.  But the co-op idea is so ill defined …

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.

Obama's MySpace page: I'm 52 years old, not 48  —  Would place president's birth during time Hawaii was a territory  —  If President Obama were indeed born in Hawaii, was it while the islands were a territory of the United States?  —  A new wrinkle in the dispute over his birth …

Thousands Quit AARP Over Health Reform  —  Tens of Thousands Don't Like the Health Care Overhaul  —  (CBS) CBS News has learned that up to 60,000 people have cancelled their AARP memberships since July 1, angered over the group's position on health care.  —  Elaine Guardiani has been with AARP …

Fear-mongering at Yale  —  Flash back to 2006.  Professor Marcia Inhorn, a medical anthropologist and director of the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan, is invited to lecture in Tehran on her field of expertise, infertility and assisted reproductive technologies in Muslim countries.

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.

Huckabee says 2 states in Holy Land ‘unrealistic’  —  JERUSALEM — Former U.S. presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said Tuesday there is no room for a Palestinian state “in the middle of the Jewish homeland” and Israel should be able to build settlements wherever it wants — taking a stance firmly at odds with Washington.

The Evolution of the Public Option  —  Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy  —  Monday, on Dylan Ratigan's “Morning Meeting,” I had the opportunity to chat health care with Gov. Howard Dean.  Dean's point was simple: “If you're not going to have a public option …

DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show  —  Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.  —  The scientists fabricated blood …

Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan  —  When cryptic posters portraying President Obama as the Joker from “Batman” began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities, the question many asked was, Who is behind the image?  —  Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group …

Why Obama's Ratings Are Sinking  —  Americans will put up with a lot.  But not with someone who imperils their future.  —  Washington Wire  —  White House Issues Q&A on Health Plan  —  The White House, seeking to reassure allies that it hasn't abandoned plans for a government-sponsored …

Lawyer: FBI Trained Hal Turner As An “Agent Provocateur”  —  HARTFORD — Internet blogger Harold “Hal” Turner's attorney said today that Turner's background as an FBI informant will be a key part of his defense to charges that he incited violence against two state legislators and a state ethics official.

Black cats  —  I really had no intention of writing more about Niall Ferguson.  Regular readers may recall that he wrote an article in the Financial Times that began, … I asked, are there no editors?  —  But Professor Ferguson demands that I (and James Fallows) print his response:

Despite fumbles, Biden's a player  —  Cementing his value to Obama, the vice president has been tapped to take on key issues.  Next up: healthcare.  —  Reporting from Washington  —  The gaffes keep piling up: the untimely comments stoking fears of swine flu, dismissals of Russia that seem straight out of the Cold War.

Troubled History  —  As we track the escalating number of incidents of right-wing fringers bringing guns to Obama events or other health create town hall events, we are, unsurprisingly, seeing various conservative websites mocking the public concern.  “Oh, those Dems, they go all wobbly …

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.