Visitor Records  —  As part of President Obama's commitment to government transparency, we are providing records of White House visitors on an ongoing basis online.  In December 2009, we will begin posting all White House visitor records for the period from September 15th onwards under the terms of our new voluntary disclosure policy.

Deal Reached in Honduras to Restore Ousted President  —  MEXICO CITY — A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end on Friday after the de facto government agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office.

Lieberman Marching Further Right in 2010  —  Subway Series: Former Dem Veep Candidate Plans to Campaign for GOP  —  Sounding more like an independent than a Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., tells ABC News he will campaign for some Republican candidates during the 2010 midterm elections …

Gavin Newsom quits race for California governor  —  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has been seen as a leading contender to be the next governor of California, announced today that he is quitting the race.  —  Newsom is withdrawing from the Democratic primary amid lackluster poll numbers and meager fund-raising receipts.

What the NY-23 Special Election Is Really About  —  In the span of a few short weeks, the special election in New York's 23rd congressional District has become the one result that the savviest church members are polishing off our sharpest metaphors for.  —  But what would a victory by the Democrat …

Attention Bush Apologists: Reagan Greeted Fallen Americans at an Air Force Base, Idiots  —  It appears my post yesterday got the teabaggers all riled up.  —  Apparently, their position is that George W. Bush's refusal to honor fallen Americans as they return to this country for the last time …

MSNBC Airs Uncensored Breast Self-Exam  —  This reminds me when Fox News plays a constant b-roll of girls in bikinis during, say, Spring Break while proclaiming, “Ohhhh, isn't that terrible!  That's so inappropriate!”  —  MSNBC's Dr. Nancy — who's show gets terrible ratings …

CREW LAWSUIT RESULTS IN RELEASE OF NOTES OF CHENEY'S FBI INTERVIEW IN WILSON LEAK CASE  —  30 Oct 2009 // Washington, D.C. - Today, after successfully winning a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, under court order, CREW received documents related to former Vice President Dick Cheney's interview …

Gore Vidal: Thirteen-year-old Roman Polanski rape victim was a ‘hooker’  —  Author Gore Vidal says he refuses to feel any sympathy for Roman Polanski's rape victim, whom he dubs a “hooker.”  —  In an interview with The Atlantic, the controversial 83-year-old author of such books as …

Do They Need the Public Option?  —  Much discussion of the House Democrats' health care bill has focused on its inclusion of the “public option,” which most observers see as a Trojan Horse intended to serve, ultimately, as the vehicle for socialized medicine as private insurers are driven from the market …

Pat Robertson on hate crimes bill: ‘The noose has tightened around the necks of Christians.’  —  Yesterday on the Christian Broadcasting Network, televangelist Pat Robertson aired a segment slamming President Obama for signing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

Source: Afghan election talks break down  —  Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his election opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, have broken down, a Western source close to the Afghan leadership told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Friday.

NRCC Pulling Out of NY-23?  —  I'm hearing that the NRCC is pulling out of NY-23.  It's coming from a credible source familiar with the operation inside of the beltway Committee.  —  That being said I just reached out to Matthew Burns, Spokesman for the Scozzafava campaign, who denied this claim.

The Pay Czar Is Unconstitutional  —  Kenneth Feinberg hasn't been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Last week's announcement that “Pay Czar” Kenneth Feinberg slashed compensation for executives at seven large financial firms by an average of 50% stunned Wall Street …

White House announces end to HIV travel ban  —  Your Browser Does Not Support IFrames.  —  Updated 12:30 p.m.  —  By Garance Franke-Ruta  —  President Obama called the 22-year ban on travel and immigration by HIV-positive individuals a decision “rooted in fear rather than fact” …

The Death of Private Investment  —  The Bureau of Economic Analysis released third-quarter gross domestic product numbers yesterday, and overall real growth at 3.5 percent was pretty good.  —  But examining the components of GDP reveals a more disturbing picture.

Daily Show Heckled, Attacked For Airing Interview With Leader Of Palestinian Nonviolent Democratic Movement  —  This past Wednesday, The Daily Show aired an interview with Anna Baltzer, a Jewish American peace activist and author of Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories …

The Return of Israel's Existential Dread  —  In tabloid cartoons and dinner conversations, Israelis brace themselves for war with Iran.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Jerusalem  —  The postcard from the Home Front Command that recently arrived in my mailbox looks like an ad from the Ministry of Tourism.

Ayn Rand's Revenge  —  A specter is haunting the Republican Party — the specter of John Galt.  In Ayn Rand's libertarian epic “Atlas Shrugged,” Galt, an inventor disgusted by creeping American collectivism, leads the country's capitalists on a retributive strike.

New York 23: When a Nation Calls  —  The Tea Party movement has been quiet since the September 12 massive rallies in Washington, Quincy, Dallas, and elsewhere.  Paul Krugman was so bold as to write on October 26, “the tea baggers have come and gone.”  On the same day, CBS News blogger Charles …

Will the public plan have higher premiums than private insurance?  —  I've been saying that a public option with negotiated rates probably won't post much of a price advantage against private insurers.  But according to the Congressional Budget Office (pdf), that's an overoptimistic take.

Why do other countries care more about health care cost control?  —  Ralph Sisson, a loyal MR reader, asks me: … Putting normative questions aside, let's focus on the positive comparison.  I can think of a few factors here:  —  1. Americans have the “anything I want, whenever I want it” mentality of consumer spending.