Baucus and the Threshold  —  So Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has released his “mark” on proposed legislation — which would normally be the basis for the bill that eventually emerges from his committee.  And serious supporters of health care reform will soon face their long-dreaded moment of truth.

Pelosi Chokes Up Warning Against Political “Violence”  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw ... I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes.

New Missile Shield Strategy Scales Back Reagan's Vision  —  WASHINGTON — The new plan that President Obama laid out for a missile shield against Iran on Thursday turns Ronald Reagan's vision of a Star Wars system on its head: Rather than focusing first on protecting the continental United States …

Washington Sketch: Michelle Obama Gets Her Farmers Market  —  Let's say you're preparing dinner and you realize with dismay that you don't have any certified organic Tuscan kale.  What to do?  —  Here's how Michelle Obama handled this very predicament Thursday afternoon:

Pro- and anti-government marchers face off in Tehran  —  Ahmadinejad, blasting Israel on the occasion of Quds Day, questions the Holocaust and blames “Zionists” for Mideast wars.  —  Reporting from Tehran and Beirut — Tens of thousands of demonstrators chanting, “Not Gaza, not Lebanon …

Mass. House approves bill that would fill Kennedy seat  —  House lawmakers tonight approved legislation that gives Governor Deval Patrick the power to appoint a temporary successor to the late Edward M. Kennedy in the US Senate, putting Massachusetts on track to have a new senator in place by next week.

How Time magazine enables Glenn Beck's lies  —  Four years ago, Time magazine devoted its cover story to a puff-piece profile of Ann Coulter, the right-wing ideologue best known for serial lies and wishing death upon those she disagrees with (journalists included).

Polish PM wouldn't take U.S. calls  —  Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed today that he declined last night to take a call from the U.S. informing him of the decision to scrap planned missile-defense bases in his country.  —  Two U.S.-based sources close to the Polish government …

75 Percent of Oklahoma High School Students Can't Name the First President of the U.S.  —  OKLAHOMA CITY — Only one in four Oklahoma public high school students can name the first President of the United States, according to a survey released today.  —  The survey was commissioned …

Bankers Face Sweeping Curbs on Pay  —  Fed Plans to Limit How Lenders Can Structure Compensation for Executives, Traders, Loan Officers; 5,000 Firms Affected  —  Policies that set the pay for tens of thousands of bank employees nationwide would require approval from the Federal Reserve …

ACORN=SEIU  —  Same Physical Address 1024 Elysian Fields, New Orleans  —  SEIU President on ACORN Advisory Board (Andrew Stern)  —  anys12799  —  Maybe we'll see some of the SEIU-ACORN ties in response to the Louisiana Subpoena that requests ACORN and ALL affiliates turn over books and records, and ties to the Rathke guys.

Analysis: ‘Racist’ claims defuse word's power  —  With the word being used so often, it's harder to define its meaning  —  Everybody's racist, it seems.  —  Republican Rep. Joe Wilson?  Racist, because he shouted “You lie!” at the first black president.  Health care protesters, affirmative action supporters?

FOX News Poll: Americans Prefer Current System to Obama's Health Care Plan  —  Most Americans see no upside for their family in the health care reforms being considered in Washington and don't believe President Obama when he says his plan won't add “one dime” to the federal deficit.

Beck vs. Limbaugh  —  GOP media strategist Mark McKinnon thinks there are two people in the world who fear Glenn Beck — even if “neither will admit it.”  —  The first is Barack Obama.  —  The second is Rush Limbaugh.  —  Beck is on a huge roll.  Over the last month …

Pagan ‘King’ Has Council GOP Nod  —  Dan Halloran, the Republican candidate for City Council facing primary winner Kevin Kim in the 19th District, already has a leadership role in a vast community that very few people know about - or understand.  —  Halloran is the “First Atheling,” or King …

The Acorn 75  —  The only way they'd defund the outfit is if it endorsed the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Yesterday the House voted 345-75 to ban all federal funding for the scandal-plagued advocacy group Acorn.  Coming on the heels of the Census Bureau's dissociation …

Memo to the DNC: What were you thinking?  —  The add essentially takes a non-issue for a vast majority of people and reminds the world how many czars Obama has.  Geez.  Talk about keeping a story alive.  The RNC should list the ad as an in-kind contribution.

O'Reilly backs government health insurance option  —  File this one under things you never expected to hear:  —  Who knows if O'Reilly was endorsing exchanges, or a public option, or even if he had any clue what he was talking about.  At the very least, though, it's a recognition …

Housing Agency's Cash Reserves Will Drop Below Requirement  —  The Federal Housing Administration has been hit so hard by the mortgage crisis that for the first time, the agency's cash reserves will drop below the minimum level set by Congress, FHA officials said.

CALLASHWAC  —  Such audacious payback to Immelt is stunning.  Typical.  We are going down the tubes, America.  —  GE own NBC too. . .the National Barack Channel.  —  Huge bailout dollars went to GE, and Immelt is on Obummer's financial advisory board.  Very corrupt!  —  Sep 17, 2009

Expand the House?  —  WASHINGTON — In America, democracy follows the simple principle of one person, one vote, right?  —  Unless, that is, you live in Montana, where your vote carries a little more than half as much weight in the House of Representatives as that of someone living in Rhode Island.

FBI quizzes Coloradan again in terror probe  —  DENVER, Colorado (CNN) — A Colorado resident at the center of a federal terrorism probe met with FBI agents for a second day Thursday as his lawyer disputed a report that bomb-making plans were found on the man's computer.