UPDATED: As boycott continues, Glenn Beck's audience swells  —  An advertising boycott against Fox News host Glenn Beck has succeeded in keeping most major sponsors from running commercials on his show even as the controversial commentator's viewership has grown.

‘Wellstone effect’ for Kennedy?  —  Key conservative voices have begun to charge in the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy's death that Democrats are inappropriately politicizing the senator's death, his memorial and his legacy.  —  Kennedy was that ultimate political creature, a “lion of the Senate …

The Onion Wins The Internet.  —  First, there was the article on the “afterbirthers” demanding to see Obama's placenta.  Now, we have an Onion segment discussing whether or not using a minotaur to gore detainees is, in fact, torture.  Obviously there are two sides to the question.

The Fall Guy  —  CIA Director Leon Panetta getting sacked by his own team.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  In the game of political football that is today national security, spare a thought for CIA Director Leon Panetta.  Quarterbacking is hard enough without getting sacked by your own team.

Markey: Medicare will take hit  —  Some people, including Medicare recipients, will have to give up some current benefits to truly reform the nation's health-care system, Rep. Betsy Markey told a gathering of constituents in Fort Collins on Wednesday.  —  Markey has repeatedly said during …

Girl taken in 1991 surfaces; couple held  —  (CNN) — A 29-year old woman walked into a northern California police station, saying she was abducted 18 years ago, authorities said Thursday.  Two people are being held in connection with the case.  —  Jaycee Dugard is in good health …

My Last Word on Guns  —  Jason Zengerle indicates that the real point is that openly carrying weapons at a protest makes it harder for the Secret Service to do their job.  Probably.  On the other hand, lots of things make it harder for the Secret Service to do their job.

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 …

Obtained: The RNC's Health Care Survey  —  I just chatted with Raymond Denny, the 64-year-old La Center, Wash., man who received the RNC's “2009 Future of American Health Survey,” which alleged that President Obama's health reform plans might discriminate against Republicans.  Here's the survey question:

MAKING THE PUBLIC OPTION OPTIONAL.... Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R) of Texas has been one of the leading right-wing agitators against health care reform.  It was a little odd, then, to see Armey accidentally tell The Economist that the public option may be a good idea.

‘Post’ poll: Only 4% of Jewish Israelis think Obama is pro-Israel  —  The number of Israelis who see US President Barack Obama's policies as pro-Israel has fallen to four percent, according to a Smith Research poll taken this week on behalf of The Jerusalem Post.

Till Debt Does Its Part  —  So new budget projections show a cumulative deficit of $9 trillion over the next decade.  According to many commentators, that's a terrifying number, requiring drastic action — in particular, of course, canceling efforts to boost the economy and calling off health care reform.

Bush's Search Policy For Travelers Is Kept  —  Obama Officials Say Oversight Will Grow  —  The Obama administration will largely preserve Bush-era procedures allowing the government to search — without suspicion of wrongdoing — the contents of a traveler's laptop computer …

Business groups target climate bill  —  Advocates for manufacturers and small businesses are launching a multimillion-dollar ad campaign against climate change legislation in states represented by senators likely to determine the bill's fate.  —  The National Association of Manufacturers …

A Strategy to Save Obamacare, But at What Cost  —  Obamacare Version 1.0 is dead.  The 1,000-page monstrosity that emerged in various editions from Congress was done in by widespread national revulsion not just at its expense and intrusiveness but also at the mendacity with which it is being sold.

Late Senator's Staff Became The Other Kennedy Family  —  Behind each of Edward M. Kennedy's legislative victories was a vast coterie of staffers who became Washington legend.  They meticulously packed the senator's black briefcase each evening with tabbed, underlined and dog-eared briefing papers.

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.

Gutless Cowards  —  Observe the man who undoubtedly receives medicare speaking in an Iowa town hall meeting with Senator Charles Grassley earlier this week: … Observe that Grassley says NOTHING to dissuade the gentlemen from his thesis or desire.  —  This has happened again, and again, and again in the last month.

ABC, NBC Won't Air Ad Critical of Obama's Health Care Plan  —  The refusal by ABC and NBC to run a national ad critical of President Obama's health care reform plan is raising questions from the group behind the spot — particularly in light of ABC's health care special aired in prime time last June hosted at the White House

Stephen Hayes: Cheney Himself Didn't Actually Torture.  So There!  —  Indefatigable Dick Cheney hagiographer Stephen Hayes, nervously typing away while Cheney glowers over his shoulder, has yet another post up attacking yours truly for suggesting that the newly-released CIA docs don't prove Cheney's claim that torture worked.