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.”

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

‘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 …

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.

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 …

The Great Gradualist  —  In the days since Ted Kennedy's death, the news programs have shown and re-shown the unforgettable ending of his 1980 Democratic convention speech — the passage from Tennyson and the beautiful final lines: “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

‘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.

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.

Banks ‘Too Big to Fail’ Have Grown Even Bigger  —  Behemoths Born of the Bailout Reduce Consumer Choice, Tempt Corporate Moral Hazard  —  When the credit crisis struck last year, federal regulators pumped tens of billions of dollars into the nation's leading financial institutions …

Pawlenty Says ‘Ludicrous’ to Claim Stimulus Pivoted Economy  —  Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, charged that President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus program still isn't working and that his health-care overhaul proposal …

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:

Rep. Michele Bachmann to heckler: “I've given birth here probably more times than you, sir”  —  Some pro-socialized medicine hecklers tried to shout down GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann as she pointed to the crappy care pregnant moms are getting in the U.K.  —  Watch her snappy retort.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Why Isn't Health Care a Right?  —  I am an American citizen without health insurance.  I don't have a dental plan, either.  I am, however, very familiar with the inside of my doctor's office as well as that of my municipal emergency room.  Not to mention the operating rooms at two city hospitals …

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.

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 …

Obama defies safety advocates, shuns bike helmet, looks great, ignites debate  —  In an obvious bid to broaden public support for his troubled healthcare reform plans, a vacationing President Obama has now taken to defying the advice of safety advocates at both the federal and state levels.