Bill would give president emergency control of Internet  —  Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.  —  They're not much happier …

We Ration.  We Ration.  We Ration.  We Ration.  —  “Look at Canada,” says Charles Krauthammer.  “Look at Britain.  They got hooked; now they ration.  So will we.”  —  So do we.  This is not an arguable proposition.  It is not a difference of opinion, or a conversation about semantics.

Local official to Bachmann: 'I'll be danged if I am going to give up my Social Security because of socialism.'  —  In Lake Elmo, Minnesota yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann held a “raucous” town hall meeting to discuss health care reform that was filled with “deafening cheers and a few jeers.”

Huckabee: Kennedy Would Have Been Urged To Die Earlier Under ObamaCare  —  Conservative media figures are blasting Democrats for trying to draw political gain from the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.  But on Thursday, it was one of their own — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — who went there.

Holder's Decision To Probe CIA Hints At a New Dynamic  —  About five weeks ago, faced with a crucial decision on how to react to brutal CIA interrogation practices, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. concluded that it would be all but impossible to follow President Obama's mandate to move forward …

Media pundits suggest John McCain could be ‘the new Ted Kennedy.’  —  Yesterday, Cynthia Tucker, a columnist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and frequent television pundit, argued that “John McCain could be the Senate's new Ted Kennedy.”  While acknowledging McCain has …

‘Public Option’, Rolls Off the Tongue  —  Nate Silver wrote a post last night flagging an AARP poll, the upshot of which is that Americans don't seem to have any idea what the ‘public option’ even is.  As Silver notes, the fact that only 37% of respondents correctly identified what the ‘public option’ was …

With LeMieux Pick, the Dawn of a New Era of Appointed Senators  —  George LeMieux, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's selection to succeed retired Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), will become the fifth senator this year to take his seat through appointment.  A possible sixth appointee is waiting …

US Military Investigates Afghan Desk  —  This article from Stars and Stripes has a lot of journalists talking.  It is about The Rendon Group, a company that puts together background briefs on reporters who apply for embeds with the US military in Afghanistan.  —  Most reporters in Afghanistan know about these reports.

General Russell Honore To Run Vs David Vitter In Louisiana US Race?  —  In a breaking story, The Louisiana Weekly and Bayoubuzz.com have learned that the hero of Hurricane recovery, General Russell Honore is seriously considering entering the Republican Primary for the U.S. Senate seat against incumbent David Vitter.

‘Reading Rainbow’ Reaches Its Final Chapter … For 26 years, Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton (left) shepherded kids through the exciting world of books.  The show, which fostered a love of reading, was the third longest-running program in PBS history, outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Strange Hypocrisy  —  In 2004, Massachusetts changed its laws to prevent Republican Mitt Romney from appointing John Kerry's replacement in case he became President.  Now it's 2009, the Governor of Massachusetts is a Democrat, and Ted Kennedy is dead so the state legislature is considering changing …

CBS Reporter Injured in Afghanistan  —  Correspondent Cami McCormick Stable after IED Explosion Hits Army Vehicle  —  (CBS) CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick was injured today in Logar Province, Afghanistan, while on assignment for CBS Radio News.  —  McCormick was traveling with members …

Race-baiter Democrat Rep. Diane Watson praises Cuban health system, Castro & Guevara who “kicked out the wealthy”  —  Longtime readers of this blog will be quite familiar with race-baiting Democrat Rep. Diane Watson of California.  —  She attacked Ward Connerly for marrying a white woman.

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... The good news is, nearly four-dozen advertisers have now pulled their sponsorship of Glenn Beck's deranged Fox News program.  The bad news is, Beck's ratings have gone up, in part because he's acting like an even bigger lunatic than usual, and clowns doing funny dances tend to draw a crowd.

Opposing Gay Unions With Sanity & a Smile  —  The nightmares of gay marriage supporters are the Pat Robertsons of the world.  The James Dobsons, the John Hagees — the people who specialize in whipping crowds into frothy frenzies, who say things like Katrina was caused by the gays.

Murdoch attack on ‘dominant’ BBC  —  News Corporation's James Murdoch has said that a “dominant” BBC threatens independent journalism in the UK.  —  The chairman of the media giant in Europe, which owns the Times and Sun, also blamed the UK government for regulating the media “with relish”.

Stephanopoulos: Kennedy Would Have Agreed To Ditch The Public Option  —  Last night, ABC News' George Stephanopoulos appeared on The O'Reilly factor and echoed a growing conventional wisdom.  —  “It's pretty clear right now that there aren't the votes in the senate to pass …

Ted Kennedy's Soviet Gambit  —  Considering the late senator's complete record requires digging into the USSR's archives.  —  Picking his way through the Soviet archives that Boris Yeltsin had just thrown open, in 1991 Tim Sebastian, a reporter for the London Times, came across an arresting memorandum.

Lobbying Group Says Letters Against Climate Change Bill Were Fake  —  Lawyers for a Washington lobbying firm have asked federal prosecutors to investigate a former employee who the firm says sent fake letters to members of Congress urging them to oppose climate change legislation.

McCain Throws in With Sarah Palin: Agrees That VHA Pamphlet is “Kind of a Death Panel”  —  John McCain embraces his former running mate Sarah Palin's “death panel” rhetoric on Sean Hannity's show last night and throwing in a little fear mongering about socialized medicine for good measure.

Rudd cites ‘orgasm’ blunder for China tensions  —  SYDNEY — Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has sought to make light of strained diplomatic relations with China by telling an anecdote about how sentiments can easily get lost in translation.  —  Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat …

Davis leads in Al. poll  —  A source sends on to my colleague Jonathan Martin some numbers from a survey completed August 12 for the Alabama Education Association, the powerhouse local teachers union, by the state's Capital Survey Research Center.  —  The 900-likely voter survey shows …

National Review Defends Its Segregationist Roots.  —  You'd think that National Review would be trying to put things like its proud advocacy of white supremacy during the Civil Rights Movement to rest, but Fred Schwartz wants you to know that William F. Buckley was right, dammit:

Anti-reform town hall attendees are unable to locate Iraq on a map.  —  Many town hall protesters enjoy boasting to federal lawmakers about how knowledgeable they are about public policy.  For example, at a town hall meeting with Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) yesterday, an attendee stood up and declared …

Dealing With Being the Health Care ‘Villains’  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Max Shireman says that when he looks in the mirror he does not see the monster the politicians have made him out to be.  —  Sure, he could stand to lose a few pounds.  And there was that speeding ticket last year for going 40 in a 30-mile-an-hour zone.

OOPS!  CHARLIE FORGOT THIS $1M HOUSE  —  REALTY BITES TAX-THEM-NOT-ME RANGEL  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income — including up to $1 million for a Harlem building sale — on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006, according to newly amended records.