Man's Finger Bitten Off in Scuffle at Health Care Rally  —  THOUSAND OAKS — A 65-year-old man had his finger bitten off Wednesday evening at a health care rally in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.  —  Sheriff's investigators were called to Hillcrest and Lynn Road at 7:26 p.m.

A Truther Czar?... Obama's Green Czar Van Jones Believes Bush Administration Was Behind 9-11  —  It figures.  —  Barack Obama's communist Green Czar Van Jones is a Truther.  —  He believes the Bush Administration was behind 9-11 and signed the official 9-11 Truth Document demanding a further investigation.

House Liberals Write Directly To Obama: No Public Option, No Support  —  In a letter delivered to the White House moments ago, the two leaders of the bloc of House progressives bluntly told President Obama that they will not support any health care plan without a public option in it — and demanded a meeting to inform him face to face.

Extremism in Media's Glare  —  Health-care reform is said to be in trouble partly because of those raucous August town-hall meetings in which Democratic members of Congress were besieged by shouters opposed to change.  —  But what if our media-created impression of the meetings is wrong?

How Did Economists Get it So Wrong?  —  I. MISTAKING BEAUTY FOR TRUTH  —  It's hard to believe now, but not long ago economists were congratulating themselves over the success of their field.  Those successes — or so they believed — were both theoretical and practical, leading to a golden era for the profession.

The Inexorable Logic of Iraq  —  Since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq's cities, two months have passed, and so has the illusion that Iraq is smoothly transitioning to a normality free of sectarian violence.  Recently, Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. troops there, “blanched” when asked if the war is “functionally over.”

It Gets Worse  —  I was at a Blanche Lincoln town hall meeting in Russellville, Arkansas, yesterday—and the number of people who believe that the President has larded the government with communists (!) was astonishing.  One woman said there were four known communists in the government and that she'd researched it on the internet.

Rep. Charles Rangel Must Step Aside as Chairman of Ways and Means  —  FOR POLITICIANS with major bad news to release or to make public, there's no time like the dead of August to do it.  The thinking goes that the public won't remember a thing come September.  We hope Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) will have no such luck.

MSNBC promoting Buchanan's Hitler column on its own website  —  From MSNBC's website:  —  UPDATE: It appears that the column has been removed from the MSNBC website.  MSNBC, however, has yet to offer any explanation on why it was posted in the first place.  —  Previously:

The Controversy Won't Stop...  SOURCE:  —  I read the front page of the NY Post this week and was happy to see that Mr. Spitzer is moving on with his life and considering getting back into politics.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Everyone deserves a second chance.  Me too, right?  Well, apparently not.

Anti-Beck Backlash Hits Nauseating Extreme with “Murder and Rape” Meme (UPDATED THRICE)  —  The viral posters that compared Obama to the Joker and to Hitler feel tame compared to the latest nasty meme to hit the Internet: insinuating that Glenn Beck raped and killed a young girl in 1990.

Senator: Sanford behind rumors that Bauer is gay  —  KNOTTS CALLS FOR LEGISLATURE TO ‘MOVE SWIFTLY TO RID OUR STATE OF THIS GOVERNOR’  —  In a letter to South Carolina legislators, a prominent state senator Thursday said Gov. Mark Sanford's supporters were behind recent Internet rumors that Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is gay.

Schilling ineligible to run as Republican  —  Former Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling may be making noises about running for the Senate to succeed the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) but, according to Massachusetts election law, he's ineligible to run as a Republican.

Video: Rep. Pete Stark tells interviewer, “Get the f**k out of here or I'll throw you out the window”  —  Longtime readers of this blog are well aware of California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark (Raving Mad)'s unhingedness.  —  He has called a Republican opponent a “c**ksucker” …

Khadafy to United Nations: Abolish Switzerland!  —  Libya's Col. Moammar Khadafy has a beef with Switzerland and plans to ask the United Nations to abolish the tiny Alpine home of milk chocolate, cuckoo clocks and yodeling.  —  According to Swiss minister Christa Markwalder …

Why Senator Chuck Grassley Turned on Health-Care Reform  —  If there had ever been any hope for a truly bipartisan health-care bill this year, it came in the person of one cantankerous and quirky Iowan.  For months, much to the consternation of many of his fellow Republicans, Charles Grassley …

Saudis ‘must offer Shia equality’  —  A report by the Human Rights Watch pressure group has detailed what it says is systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia against Shia Muslims.  —  Unfavourable treatment of minority Shia extends from education and employment to the justice system …

Lehman downfall triggered by mix-up  —  • Communication breakdown revealed in first-hand accounts of bank collapse  —  • Blame game goes on as G20 ministers prepare for crucial London talks  —  A breakdown in communications at the highest level between the US and the UK led …

A Decent Health Care Reform Plan-from Max Baucus  —  Tell me how this sounds for a health care reform plan.  — A national health care exchange  — Buy-in to Medicare at age 55  — No discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions  — No waiting period for Medicare for disabled