Iran Is Warned Over Nuclear ‘Deception’  —  PITTSBURGH — President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France accused Iran on Friday of building a secret underground plant to manufacture nuclear fuel, saying the country has hidden the covert operation from international weapons inspectors for years.

Kyl: 'I Don't Need Maternity Care.' Stabenow: ‘Your Mom Probably Did’  —  Just before the Senate Finance Committee wrapped up for the long weekend, members debated one of Sen. Jon Kyl's (R-AZ) amendments, which would strike language defining which benefits employers are required to cover.

Drudge's Easy Libel of the Military  —  Earlier today I noted that Drudge's link to the use of LRADs as “acoustic weapons” was over the top, which he would have easily recognized on his own if he had simply applied logic to the very video he linked.  Put simply, if an LRAD is being used as a weapon …

THE FEDS WHO CRIED ‘WOLF’.... Michael Crowley noted this morning, “It's a little weird that there hasn't been more alarm surrounding the apparently major Denver-based terror plot busted up by the feds in the past few days.  Last night, ABC News reported that authorities believe Najibullah Zazi's …

Democrats Are Jarred by Drop In Fundraising  —  Complacency, Absence of Big Donors Cited  —  Democratic political committees have seen a decline in their fundraising fortunes this year, a result of complacency among their rank-and-file donors and a de facto boycott by many of their wealthiest givers …

CBO: A Strong Public Plan Saves Lots of Money  —  According to Congress Daily, the CBO says attaching the public plan to Medicare rates will save even more money than originally thought: … In other words, the conservatives want to spend $85 billion more than the liberals do.

Americans Tilt Against Sending More Troops to Afghanistan  —  Most who oppose also advocate that the U.S. begin to withdraw troops  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are more likely to say they would oppose (50%) rather than favor (41%) a possible decision by President Barack Obama to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Judge rejects GOP bid to block Senate appointment  —  A Suffolk Superior Court judge today rejected a request by the state Republican Party to block the appointment of Paul G. Kirk Jr. as interim US senator, clearing the way for the Democrat to take the oath of office this afternoon in Washington.

It's Easy Being Green  —  So, have you enjoyed the debate over health care reform?  Have you been impressed by the civility of the discussion and the intellectual honesty of reform opponents?  —  If so, you'll love the next big debate: the fight over climate change.

Ensign receives handwritten confirmation  —  This doesn't happen often enough.  —  Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.

Strategic Vision Polls Exhibit Unusual Patterns, Possibly Indicating Fraud  —  One of the things I learned while exploring the statistical proprieties of the Iranian election, the results of which were probably forged, is that human beings are really bad at randomization.

So Off Message  —  From the new Times/CBS poll out this evening ...  “Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan — something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get — that would compete with private health insurance plans?”

Translator collapsed during Khadafy's rambling diatribe  —  After struggling to turn Khadafy's insane ramblings at the UN into English for 75 minutes, the Libyan dictator's personal interpreter got lost in translation.  —  “I just can't take it any more,” Khadafy's interpreter shouted into the live microphone - in Arabic.

Top Republican pulls out of intelligence investigation  —  The top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee has pulled out of the panel's bipartisan review of Bush-era terrorist interrogation techniques, saying Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s criminal investigation into the CIA undermines …

Pakistan discovers ‘village’ of white German alQaeda insurgents  —  Investigators have discovered a “Jihadi village” of white German al-Qaeda insurgents, including Muslim converts, in Pakistan's tribal areas close to the Afghan border.  —  By Dean Nelson in New Delhi and Allan Hall in Berlin

Sources: Emanuel wanted Claypool to be placeholder  —  Plan to keep House seat warm may have included Cabinet consideration  —  It has long been claimed that Rahm Emanuel wanted to find someone to keep his congressional seat warm while he served as President Obama's chief of staff.

As Seen On TV!  Birthermercial Asks, Where Was Obama Really Born?  —  A new birther infomercial running on a CBS affiliate in Texas and elsewhere around the country tells viewers a “got a birth certificate?” bumper sticker can be theirs for the low price of $30.

Reid blocks ACORN probe  —  Tracking abuse by political allies could be ‘distracting’  —  ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — is stinking up Washington.  —  And this is far more significant than if a suspiciously large number of operatives for a purely …

ACORN Funded Political, For-Profit Efforts, Data Show  —  Documents released by a Senate Republican on Thursday show that leaders of the ACORN community organizing network transferred several million dollars in charitable and government money meant for the poor to arms of the group …

Chickens Roosting — By: Victor Davis Hanson  —  Where to begin with the “surprise” announcement of a second, previously undisclosed “nuclear facility”?  Some thoughts:  —  (1) This is Iran's answer to the Obama video peace offensive.  This summer we kept quiet while thousands went …

How Much Money Do Insurance Companies Make?  A Primer  —  In response to my last post, readers left several provocative comments on the profits earned by commercial health insurance companies — provocative in the sense that they provoke me to elaborate.  I propose to do so in this and next week's post.