Obama's Trust Problem  —  According to news reports, the Obama administration — which seemed, over the weekend, to be backing away from the “public option” for health insurance — is shocked and surprised at the furious reaction from progressives.  —  Well, I'm shocked and surprised at their shock and surprise.

Obama to raise 10-year deficit to $9 trillion  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.

Obama's Big Bang could go bust  —  Barack Obama's Big Bang is beginning to backfire, as his plans for rapid, once-in-a-generation overhauls of energy, financial regulation and health care are running into stiff resistance, both in Washington and around the country.

Seller, beware: Feds cracking down on garage sales  —  WASHINGTON — If you're planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you'd best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law.  As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales …

‘Wee-weed up:’ White House explains it  —  So what did the president mean when he said this week that everyone's getting all “wee-weed up” in Washington?  —  “It's a phrase I use,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today, hesitating at his press briefing to offer a physical demonstration of the phraseology.

Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in.  —  The Texas State Board of Education review committee is preparing to vote on a draft of proposed standards for history textbooks.  Noting that the draft has “nothing about liberals,” the Houston Chronicle reported:

Hoyer: Public option may have to go  —  A day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that health reform won't get through the House without a public option, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday that the public option may have to go in order to get a bill passed.

Honest Debate Needed on End-of-Life Talk  —  Let's see if we can have a reasoned discussion about end-of-life counseling.  —  We might start by asking Sarah Palin to leave the room.  I've got nothing against her.  She's a remarkable political talent.  But there are no “death panels” …

STATEWIDE POLL: Poll suggests Gibbons a guaranteed election loser  —  Two preferred choices not even seeking office yet  —  Talk about a mandate for change, Nevadans' favorite candidates for governor aren't even running for office.  —  Respondents to a statewide poll said if the governor's election …

No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform  —  President Obama's health care “reform” plan has met with significant criticism across the country.  Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system.  We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world …

Liberal bloggers admit conservatives have upper hand on Twitter  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Liberal bloggers established online political activism, besting their conservative rivals during President George W. Bush's eight years in office.  But conservatives are now finding great success 140 characters at a time.

Politico Discredits Moral Case For Health Care Reform  —  Politico writes: … I would be quite curious to hear how the “moral” argument for health-care reform has been discredited.  Actually, I would be curious to hear how one would go about discrediting such a moral argument at all.

The Real Republican Health Care Proposal  —  While in many cases it has fallen on deaf ears, we've made efforts in the past to clear up some of the misinformation being handed out by proponents of Democratic health insurance reform proposals around the web, including here at TMV.

Where Obama Is Losing Ground  —  The Pew Research Center for The People & The Press national survey released Wednesday joined a lengthening line of polls showing President Obama's approval rating sinking from its heights earlier this year back to levels closer to his actual vote in November 2008.

Voight: Is Obama creating a civil war in America?  —  Inside the Beltway column  —  CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE  —  A Hollywood conservative has headed East.  It's “Freedom Concert” time for Jon Voight.  The Academy Award winner will join Sean Hannity in Cincinnati and Atlanta this weekend …

Court Expected to Send Runaway Teen Home Despite Muslim Honor Killing Fears  —  A 17-year-old girl who fled to Florida after converting from Islam to Christianity will almost certainly be forced to return home to Ohio, experts say, despite her fears that she will become the victim of an honor killing for abandoning her parents' faith.

Paterson says reason voters want him to step aside is race … ALBANY - Gov. Paterson blamed a racist media Friday for trying to push him out of next year's election - launching into an angry rant that left even some black Democrats shaking their heads.  —  “The whole idea is to get me not to run …

Newspaper corrects ‘Jackass’ Keith Olbermann mix-up  —  Thank goodness The Times is the forthright, ethical institution that it is.  —  And when a mistake happens, it rushes to set the journalistic record straight with an honest repair.  —  Here is an actual correction from Page A4 of today's print edition:

Who do the birthers love?  —  We decided to break down the birthers by their opinions of Barack Obama and the various leading 2012 contenders.  Here's what we found:  —Not surprisingly only 16% of them approve of Obama's job performance while 75% disapprove.

Free markets and government intervention  —  I am a fierce proponent of free markets.  Therefore I am a fierce proponent of government intervention in the market.  —  Or, to put things less inflamatorily, one thing that often bothers me about US defenders of free markets is how easily they …

The Death Throes of a Corvette.—  In the Great Depression, the government paid to destroy crops in order to prop up farm prices — about as dumb a policy as can be imagined.  —  Today the government pays to destroy cars in order to ... frankly, I don't know why.

Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall  —  The rich have been getting richer for so long that the trend has come to seem almost permanent.  —  They began to pull away from everyone else in the 1970s.  By 2006, income was more concentrated at the top than it had been since the late 1920s.

Betsy McCaughey Pt. 1  —  Jon asks Betsy McCaughey to find the page in the health care bill that makes end-of-life consultations mandatory.  —  Guest(s):Betsy McCaughey  —  A Taliban threat causes low voter turnout in Afghanistan's election.  Americans turn in their Ford Explorers, and banks profit from overdraft fees.

Republicans Say Democrats Are Censoring More GOP Mail  —  House Republicans this week accused Democrats of censoring GOP mailings to constituents on a variety of subjects and of imposing uneven requirements on the minority party's mail.  —  Democrats on the franking commission …