Dem Senator Warns of ‘Big, Big Tax’ on Middle Class in Baucus Bill  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis reports:  —  It's not every day that you hear a Democratic senator charge that a fellow Democrat is proposing to raise taxes on the middle class, but that is what happened on Tuesday when Sen. Jay Rockefeller …

Blowback in the ACORN Wars  —  Recent videos posted online and aired repeatedly on Fox News Channel that seem to show ACORN workers allegedly advising two 20-somethings dressed up as a pimp and prostitute on how to skirt the law, the community group has taken some major hits as of late.

Extremism in New Jersey  —  We've been uncovering a remarkable level of anger toward Barack Obama in a lot of our recent polling so for New Jersey we decided to go a step further in determining how extreme some people's feelings are about the President and asked respondents if they think he is the Anti-Christ.

Obama Admin: Cap And Trade Could Cost Families $1,761 A Year  —  Posted by Declan McCullagh The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent.

12% Say Most Opponents of Obama Health Care Plan Are Racist  —  Twelve percent (12%) of voters nationwide believe that most opponents of President Obama's health care reform plan are racist.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 67% of voters disagree, and 21% are not sure.

Meet the man who changed Glenn Beck's life  —  On Saturday, I spent the afternoon with America's new breed of angry conservative.  Up to 75,000 protesters had gathered in Washington on Sept. 12, the day after the eighth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, sporting …

EXCLUSIVE: W.H. collects Web users' data without notice  —  Social-media messages go into archives  —  The White House is collecting and storing comments and videos placed on its social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube without notifying or asking the consent of the site users …

ACORN says workers conduct ‘indefensible’  —  Suspends, plans audit, in wake of videos  —  UPDATED:  —  ACORN, calling the actions of some of its employees “indefensible,” has suspended advising new clients as part of its service programs and is setting up an independent review to see what happened.

Gibbs blasts GOP critics of Obama czars  —  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fired back at GOP critics of White House czars on Wednesday.  —  Gibbs said GOP “silence was deafening” on the issue of czars during former President George W. Bush's administration.

Judge tosses out Army captain's complaint questioning president's birth; Orly Taitz on notice  —  U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land tossed out on Wednesday a complaint by an Army captain fighting deployment to Iraq by questioning the legitimacy of President Barack Obama.

Limbaugh Goes Full-On Racist During Rant About School Bus Beating  —  Rush Limbaugh has never hidden his bigoted beliefs, and on Tuesday he went on a racist rant about a highly disturbing incident on a school bus where a black student attacked a white student while other children cheered on.

As Right Jabs Continue, White House Debates a Counterpunching Strategy  —  Facing a near-daily barrage of attacks from conservative opponents, White House officials are engaged in an internal debate over how hard to hit back, even as they have grown increasingly aggressive in countering allegations they deem to be absurd.

The Baucus Bill: The Neutered Co-Ops  —  The co-ops have never been a satisfying alternative to the public option.  But the version in Baucus's bill isn't even a satisfying alternative to the co-op option.  It's a neutered version of the co-op idea, which was in turn a neutered version of the public option.

‘Jackass!’  —  And here's that video, which shows, above all else, the president as a normal person — and moreover, a normal pol, utterly immersed in the cable-news frivolity he affects to disdain.  —  UPDATE: Not so much: Wiser heads than mine at POLITICO made the call to take down the video of the “jackass” moment.

A message from Van Jones  —  Van Jones sent this message out to friends and supporters on Tuesday, Sept. 15.  —  Dear Friends:  —  My family and I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support that we have received over the past week or so.

Waters: Probe ‘birthers and the teabaggers’ at rallies for racist views  —  The media should investigate the racial views of conservative activists like the ones who descended on Washington last weekend, one liberal congresswoman said Wednesday.  —  Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) …

The Man Who Defused the ‘Population Bomb’  —  One of America's greatest heroes remains little known in his home country.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Norman Borlaug arguably the greatest American of the 20th century died late Saturday after 95 richly accomplished years.

Votes are lined up to appoint a senator  —  Top Democrats press for Mass. bill  —  Senate President Therese M. Murray has not pushed the bill.  —  Legislative leaders on Beacon Hill believe they have narrow majorities in both chambers to give Governor Deval Patrick the power to appoint …

Preliminary Analysis of Specifications for the Chairman's Mark of the America's Healthy Future Act  —  CBO has just issued a preliminary analysis of specifications for the Chairman's mark of the America's Healthy Future Act, which was released by the Senate Finance Committee earlier today.

Ignoring a Law on Foreign Relations  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has declared that President Obama can disregard a law forbidding State Department officials from attending United Nations meetings led by representatives of nations considered to be sponsors of terrorism.

Ethics Panel Investigates Waters, Graves and Jackson  —  The House ethics committee revealed Wednesday it is investigating allegations involving three lawmakers in unrelated incidents.  —  The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, commonly known as the ethics panel …