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.

Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to address a joint session of Congress next week in an effort to rally support for health care legislation as White House officials look for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills …

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Sen. Enzi drops by, speaks at tax rally  —  Gillette residents had a chance to voice their concerns and opinions about cap-and-trade legislation Tuesday at an event in which even U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., stopped by to comment.  —  Conservative political group Americans for Prosperity hosted the event at Dalbey Memorial Park.

Kennedy Memoir Doesn't Ignore Lows  —  In a memoir being published this month, Senator Edward M. Kennedy called his behavior after the 1969 car accident that killed Mary Jo Kopechne “inexcusable” and said the events might have shortened the life of his ailing father, Joseph P. Kennedy.

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.

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” …

MSNBC promoting Buchanan's Hitler column on its own website  —  From MSNBC's website:  —  Previously:  —  MSNBC's Pat Buchanan defends Hitler.  Again.

Operation “Hall Pass on That”  —  From the National Tea Party Coalition, there's a counter-program to President Obama's Sept. 8 pretextual education speech.  —  “Hall Pass on That:”

MSNBC's Schultz: ‘I Believe Jesus Would Vote Yes for a Public Option’  —  What would Jesus do?  Well, Ed Schultz thinks he knows - that is on health care reform at least.  —  Schultz, on his Sept. 2 MSNBC program, “The ED Show” told viewers he believed Jesus would vote for a government public option.

Health care reform means more power for the IRS  —  There's been a lot of discussion about the new and powerful federal agencies that would be created by the passage of a national health care bill.  The Health Choices Administration, the Health Benefits Advisory Committee, the Health Insurance Exchange — there are dozens in all.

Roosevelt: The Great Divider  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA'S apparent readiness to backtrack on the public insurance option in his health care package is not just a concession to his political opponents — this fixation on securing bipartisan support for health care reform suggests that the Democratic Party …

Accountability, but at What Cost?  —  My friend and fellow columnist Eugene Robinson has written a characteristically passionate and well-reasoned piece commending Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to name a special counsel to examine possible law-breaking by interrogators of terrorist subjects during the last administration.