Wilson took caffeine pills in 2007  —  Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who shouted “you lie!” at President Obama during his Wednesday night address to Congress, admitted to regularly consuming caffeine pills in 2007.  —  It is unclear if Wilson still takes NoDoz, a brand of pill that contains 200 milligrams …

Poll: Obama's Speech Buoyed Public Support  —  President Obama attempt to explain his plans for health care reform to the American public Wednesday night appear to have been successful — to some extent.  —  A CBS News poll shows that Americans now give him the best marks of his presidency …

GOP ‘cranks’ dominating debate  —  Joe Wilson's outburst Wednesday night earned more than a personal rebuke from the president and a dagger-eyed gasp from the speaker of the House; it drew winces from Republicans worried that their party is becoming known less for the power of its ideals and more for the pettiness of its vitriol.

Obama Faces Doubts From Democrats on Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — The leading Senate Democrat on military matters said Thursday that he was against sending more American combat troops to Afghanistan until the United States speeded up the training and equipping of more Afghan security forces.

PATRIOT DAY AND NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE, 2009  —  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  —  Through the twisted steel of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the scarred walls of the Pentagon, and the smoky wreckage in a field in southwest Pennsylvania …

Anti-abortion activist shot in front of Owosso High School … OWOSSO, Michigan — State police at the Corunna post have confirmed a well-known anti-abortion activist was shot multiple times and killed this morning in front of Owosso High School.  —  The victim's identity has not yet …

Obama sets stage for using budget maneuver to pass health reform  —  President Barack Obama this week has been laying the foundation for Senate Democrats to use a controversial budget maneuver to pass healthcare reform.  —  By offering Republicans olive branches during his address to Congress on Wednesday …

How one becomes “crazy” in Washington culture  —  (updated below)  —  Politico has an article on how certain mainstream Republican leaders are worried that “crackpots” are dominating their party's image (h/t reader jv): … While the Republican Party is absolutely dominated by people who are exactly that …

Judge angered by special treatment for Andrew Sullivan  —  Political commentator, author and writer for The Atlantic magazine Andrew M. Sullivan won't have to face charges stemming from a recent pot bust at the Cape Cod National Seashore — but a federal judge isn't happy about it.

The Dime Standard  —  On Wednesday night, Barack Obama delivered the finest speech of his presidency.  The exposition of his health care views was clear and lively.  The invocation of Teddy Kennedy was moving and effective.  The rumination at the end about the American character and the role …

Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification  —  Two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Margaret Thatcher told President Gorbachev that neither Britain nor Western Europe wanted the reunification of Germany and made clear that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it.

Betraying our dead  —  Forgetting the vows we made  —  Eight years ago today, our homeland was attacked by fanatical Muslims inspired by Saudi Arabian bigotry.  Three thousand American citizens and residents died.  —  We resolved that we, the People, would never forget.  Then we forgot.

Countdown: Special Comment About the Shout of “You Lie”  —  Keith lets Rep. “Wrong-Way” Wilson have it in this Special Comment.

Eight years later: Remembrance and resolve  —  Remember: Project 2,996.  —  Remember: “Let's roll!”  —  Remember: The angels on loan from God.  —  Remember: The 9/11 babies.  —  Remember: Falling Man.  —  Remembrance is worthless without resolve.  Resolve is useless without action.

The Cost of Urban Freeways  —  SE-SW Freeway, Washington DC (cc photo by dbking)  —  One of the great mistakes this country made decades ago was to seriously damage a large number of American cities by cutting freeways through existing neighborhoods.  How much damage?

A Fortress City That Didn't Come to Be  —  FEAR FADES Looking west from the Chrysler Building on Tuesday.  Skyscrapers still draw tenants, which seemed unlikely after 9/11.  More Photos >  —  The day dawned different and stayed that way.  Traffic was thin and sidewalks quiet.

Is America coming apart?  —  Flying home from London, where the subject of formal debate on the 70th anniversary of World War II had been whether Winston Churchill was a liability or asset to the Free World, one arrives in the middle of a far more acrimonious national debate right here in the United States.

FCC Official Comes Under Fire  —  WASHINGTON — New Federal Communications Commission chief Julius Genachowski says he wants to promote diversity in media ownership, but his recent decision to hire Mark Lloyd, a civil-rights attorney critical of corporate-owned media, to help with that effort …

I'm proud to say sorry to a real war hero  —  The treatment of code-breaker Alan Turing was utterly unfair, says Gordon Brown  —  This has been a year of deep reflection - a chance for Britain, as a nation, to commemorate the profound debts we owe to those who came before.

Special report: How Obama cronyism threatens rail security  —  How Obama cronyism threatens rail security  —  Creators Syndicate  —  New Delhi.  Mumbai.  Chechnya.  Madrid.  London.  The question isn't whether America will suffer a jihadi attack on our passenger rail lines, but when.