Lieberman: I'll block vote on Reid plan  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he'd back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care reform bill.  —  Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is positioning himself as a fiscal hawk on the issue …

Scalia: Some on court inventing rights  —  One of the most conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday his more liberal colleagues are trying to manufacture new constitutional rights that were never intended by the drafters.  —  “The fight is about the Supreme Court inventing …

Alan Grayson Stands by “K Street Whore” Comment  —  Outspoken Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson is under fire from both Republicans and Democrats after a month-old radio interview was posted online in which Grayson is heard calling an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke a “K Street whore.”

NY-23 Poll: Hoffman +5  —  For the second time in two days, a poll released by a conservative group finds Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman leading the Nov. 3 special election race for New York's 23rd District.  Neighborhood Research polled the district for Minuteman PAC …

Pathetic: Jarrett backtracks from Fox News bias claim when asked about MSNBC  —  Credit CNN here.  Not only did Campbell Brown follow up with a question about MSNBC after this sorry hack went into Fox-bashing mode but CNN.com actually posted a write-up noting her lame retreat when confronted.

Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace  —  I was debating with Jon Chait at a J Street panel this morning on the subject of “what does it mean to be pro-Israel?”  As expected, we disagreed on a number of points, most of which I was right on and he was wrong on.  But one thing he said in his opening remarks …

Police: Gang rape lasted over two hours  —  (CNN) — A California high school student who police said was gang raped in a two-and-a-half-hour assault outside a homecoming dance remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday, two days after she was flown from the attack scene in critical condition.

The Lethal Politics Of The Opt-Out Public Option  —  I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention.  But imagine for a moment that the opt-out public option passes and becomes law (I give it a 65 percent chance at this point).  Then what happens?  Well, there has to be a debate in every state …

Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A. Payroll  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years …

Exclusive: Robust Public Option Lacks Votes To Pass House, Internal Whip Count Document Shows  —  The House Dem leadership has conducted its preliminary whip count and has tallied up less than 200 likely Yes votes in support of a health care reform bill with a robust public option …

Freaked Out Over SuperFreakonomics  —  Global warming might be solved with a helium balloon and a few miles of garden hose.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Suppose for a minute—which is about 59 seconds too long, but that's for another column—that global warming poses an imminent threat to the survival of our species.

Vaccinations for the First Family  —  We've been asked about whether the President, Mrs. Obama, and Sasha and Malia have received their H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines.  All four members of the Obama family have received their seasonal flu vaccine.  Malia and Sasha were both vaccinated for H1N1 last week …

U.S. Mood Sours on Economy  —  Poll Reflects Increasing Pessimism, With Majority Saying U.S. Is on the ‘Wrong Track’ for First Time in Obama Presidency  —  Americans are growing increasingly pessimistic about the economy after a mild upswing of attitudes in September.

New York Fed's Secret Choice to Pay for Swaps Hits Taxpayers  —  Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) — In the months leading up to the September 2008 collapse of giant insurer American International Group Inc., Elias Habayeb and his colleagues worked nights and weekends negotiating with banks …

Gallup's Conservatives and Libertarians  —  In today's Washington Post, William Kristol exults: … Gallup often asks people how they describe themselves.  But sometimes they classify people according to the values they express.  And when they do that, they find a healthy percentage of libertarians …

Bush's first stand on a new podium  —  FORT WORTH — After nine months of being nearly invisible — a big outing has been to a Dallas hardware store for flashlights — George W. Bush made his debut Monday in his latest incarnation: motivational speaker.  —  Nearly 15,000 people heard …

The public option is not the Medicare option  —  TPMDC's Brian Beutler asked Sen. Chuck Schumer whether the Democrats were right to brand the public option as separate and apart from Medicare.  “Yes, definitely,” Schumer replied.  “In America, people like choices.”

Iraq goes nuclear with plans for new reactor programme  —  Iraq has started lobbying for approval to again become a nuclear player, almost 19 years after British and American war planes destroyed Saddam Hussein's last two reactors, the Guardian has learned.  —  The Iraqi government …