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 …

Snowe: I Haven't Changed, My Party Has  —  It would be easy to over-interpret this statement from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), but it would be a mistake to dismiss it.  —  “I've always been a Republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the Republican party since …

Michelle Obama Plans Dramatic Pitch for Olympics, Jarrett Says  —  Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — A top White House adviser said first lady Michelle Obama is planning to make a dramatic presentation when she offers the closing argument for the bid by her hometown of Chicago to win the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Quds day protests in Iran  —  Thousands of opposition supporters carried out fresh protests today to coincide with the government-backed Quds day ceremony.  As president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated anti-Israeli rhetoric, his leading opponents took to the streets to protest at his disputed re-election?

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?

Duo in ACORN Videos Say Effort Was Independent  —  Duo in Sting Video Say Their Effort Was Independent  —  The proposition was outrageous, outlandish, and right up James E. O'Keefe III's alley.  Hannah Giles was on the phone from the District, and she was asking him to dress like her pimp …

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 …

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

Sen. Bennet wins Obama's support  —  The endorsement comes a day into the Senate primary race.  —  President Barack Obama endorsed U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Thursday, throwing the force of the White House into a Democratic primary battle that officially is just over a day old.

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 …