Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care  —  The president's proposals would give unelected officials life-and-death rationing powers.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Writing in the New York Times last month, President Barack Obama asked that Americans “talk with one another …

Too late for Obama to turn it around?  —  Plus: The left's visionaries lost their bearings on drugs — but the GOP is led by losers  —  What a difference a month makes!  When my last controversial column posted on Salon in the second week of August, most Democrats seemed frozen in suspended animation …

Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in a high-stakes speech Wednesday to Congress and the nation, will press for a government-run insurance option in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system that has divided lawmakers and voters for months.

Pelosi and Reid Tell President: We Have the Votes; President Wants Bill Passed Soon  —  While White House spokesman Robert Gibbs today refrained from telling reporters whether President Obama in his speech Wednesday night will set a deadline for passing health care reform …

'We're pinned down:' 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush  —  Smoke billows up Tuesday after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the military entrance to Kabul's airport, killing at least three.  Read the story.  (Photo by Hal Bernton of the Seattle Times.)

Seized Times Reporter Is Freed in Afghan Raid That Kills Aide  —  Stephen Farrell, a New York Times reporter held captive by militants in northern Afghanistan, was freed in a military commando raid early Wednesday, but his Afghan interpreter was killed during the rescue effort.

‘Doctors told me it was against the rules to save my premature baby’  —  Sarah Capewell begged them to save her tiny son, who was born just 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy - almost four months early.  —  They ignored her pleas and allegedly told her they were following national guidelines …

Unmentionable: Best-Selling Conservative Books and the Networks that Ignore Them  —  Research reveals a glaring imbalance in network coverage of liberal best-sellers and comparable conservative titles.  —  Culture and Media Institute  —  The most coveted real estate in the publishing industry …

Rep. Jean Schmidt Tells Birther: ‘I Agree With You’  —  Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) spoke at the Voice of America tea party this Labor Day weekend outside of Cincinnati, OH.  Following a tense Q&A session — during which, the congresswoman was booed for acknowledging that the Constitution …

Chambliss: Obama Better Show Humility In Speech To Congress  —  Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said today that, because of angry town hallers and the like, President Obama should show “humility” when he speaks to Congress Wednesday night.  —  “What you're seeing is folks on my side anxious …

Olbermann Flip-flops, Tells Kossacks NOT to Dig Up Dirt on Beck  —  Want to know just how unstable MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is?  —  Within the course of 48 hours, he asked Daily Kos readers to send him everything they could dig up about Fox News host Glenn Beck, and then called off the dogs.

NSA-Intercepted E-Mails Helped Convict Would-Be Bombers  —  The three men convicted in the United Kingdom on Monday of a plot to bomb several transcontinental flights were prosecuted in part using crucial e-mail correspondences intercepted by the U.S. National Security Agency, according to Britain's Channel 4.

After Thesis Uproar, McDonnell's Strongly Worded Comments on Gays Resurface  —  ‘Homosexual Conduct’ Comments ‘Irrelevant’ to Campaign, He Says  —  In January 2003, then-Del. Robert F. McDonnell helped gavel in one of the most extraordinary judicial reappointment hearings in Virginia history …

Obama to seal US-UN relationship  —  By Harvey Morris at the United Nations  —  Barack Obama will cement the new co-operative relationship between the US and the United Nations this month when he becomes the first American president to chair its 15-member Security Council.

‘Inside the Mind of Mark Foley’: Disgraced Congressman Turned Talk Radio Host  —  Foley, Brought Down by Sexually Explicit Messages to Underage Pages, Tapes First Show  —  Nearly three years after then-Congressman Mark Foley, R-FLA, saw his political career crumble following the revelation …

WHO SET UP GOVERNMENT ‘PROPAGANDA’ CONFERENCE CALL?  Newly Revealed White House, NEA Audio Contradict  —  Another conference call has materialized, revealing a concerted effort by government to use the arts to address political issues.  —  Lee Rosenbaum, a blogger for Artsjournal.com …

In Illinois, a Similar Health-Care Fight Tested Obama as State Senator  —  From a back-row seat in the Illinois Senate chamber, Barack Obama listened silently as political adversaries mocked his health-care reform bill: Socialized medicine.  Hillarycare redux.  Too expensive.

What Obama Says vs. What He Does  —  The most important thing about what anyone says are not the words themselves but the credibility of the person who says them.  —  The words of convicted swindler Bernie Madoff were apparently quite convincing to many people who were regarded as knowledgeable and sophisticated.