Chicago Loses Bid for 2016 Olympic Games  —  COPENHAGEN — The International Olympic Committee delivered a stunning blow to Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics, knocking it out of the voting in the first round Friday, leaving Rio de Janeiro and Madrid waiting for the announcement which city will host the Games.

The Wizard of Beck  —  Let us take a trip back into history.  Not ancient history.  Recent history.  It is the winter of 2007.  The presidential primaries are approaching.  The talk jocks like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and the rest are over the moon about Fred Thompson.

McCain Campaign Manager: Palin In 2012 Would Be Catastrophe for GOP  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  If Sarah Palin is her party's nominee for president in 2012 it will be a “catastrophic election” for the GOP, Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign manager predicted on Friday.

Mission Not Accomplished  —  Stocks are up.  Ben Bernanke says that the recession is over.  And I sense a growing willingness among movers and shakers to declare “Mission Accomplished” when it comes to fighting the slump.  It's time, I keep hearing, to shift our focus from economic stimulus to the budget deficit.

David Letterman reveals $2M extortion plot; CBS News producer busted in scheme to reveal sex secrets  —  A top CBS News producer was busted Thursday for trying to shake down David Letterman - threatening to expose the late-night funnyman's affairs with several female staffers in a movie and book.

Finance Committee Democrat Won't Read Text of Health Bill, Says Anyone Who Claims They'll Understand It ‘Is Trying to Pull the Wool Over Our Eyes’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Sen. Thomas Carper (D.-Del.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNSNews.com that he does not “expect” …

Is Conservatism Brain-Dead?  —  Over his decades as a columnist, lecturer, TV host and debater, William F. Buckley Jr. lost his cool in public only once — when he threatened to sock Gore Vidal “in your goddamn face” on the third night of their joint appearances on ABC during the ill-fated 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Letterman Haunted by the Ghosts of Monica Lewinsky Jokes Past  —  Since David Letterman went public about having sex with members on his staff, one of his myriad humiliations is having all those millions of “sex with interns” jokes he made about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky turned back at him.

Glenn Beck's sobbing secrets revealed: A little Vicks Vaporub gets the tears flowing  —  [YouTube here, via MisterMovies.]  —  This was too funny to pass up.  We've known all along that Glenn Beck is a two-bit phony.  Now we see how Glenn Beck gets himself properly weepy for the cameras: A little Vicks Vaporub.

Labor Leader Warns Of “Price To Pay” For Dems Who Support Health Care Filibuster  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  One of the nation's most powerful union leaders warned conservative Democratic senators on Thursday that there would be a “price to pay” if they voted to sustain a Republican filibuster on health care legislation.

Washington Sketch  —  Helen Thomas is 89 years old and requires some assistance to get to and from the daily White House briefing.  Yet her backbone has proved stronger than that of the president she covers.  —  On Thursday afternoon, Thomas gave a clinic in fortitude to President Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, during the briefing.