To Our Readers  —  This is only the second time in its nearly ten-year history that the Dish has gone silent.  The reason now is the same as the reason then.  When dealing with a delusional fantasist like Sarah Palin, it takes time to absorb and make sense of the various competing narratives that she tells about her life.

Reid modifies abortion provisions but eschews Stupak language  —  The Senate healthcare reform bill includes new language designed to prevent taxpayer money from financing abortions, an anti-abortion-rights Democrat said Wednesday.  —  Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who was briefed on the healthcare bill …

Palin photographer breached contract with sale to Newsweek  —  What on earth was Sarah Palin thinking when she posed in a pair of teeny-tiny gym shorts for a photograph that ended up on the cover of Newsweek — a cover she has called “sexist”?  Perhaps she was thinking that her image …

Holder's Testimony — By: Andy McCarthy  —  They are in recess after opening statements and initial rounds of questions.  Here are some of the Attorney General's whoppers so far:  —  1. The “tragic shooting” at Ft. Hood.  What happened at Ft. Hood was a jihadist massacre — a terrorist act, not a tragedy.

Obama Approval Dips Below 50% For First Time, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For U.S. Troops In Afghanistan Drops Below 50%  —  President Barack Obama's job approval rating is 48 - 42 percent, the first time he has slipped below the 50 percent threshold nationally …

5:30 p.m. |  Palin comes out of the bus, clad in a red and black jacket and black skirt and carrying her son Trig.  She tells the people gathered outside that she was thrilled to be back in Michigan.  —  “Alaska and Michigan have so much in common with the huntin' and the fishin' and the hockey moms …

Breast Imaging Guidelines Trigger Political Fight  —  Some Republicans are seizing on new mammogram guidelines issued by a government advisory panel to underline their assertion that the Democrats' health care overhaul would lead to rationing of medical services.

In Senate vote, signs of shift on Guantanamo Bay detainees  —  The Senate on Tuesday rejected an attempt to bar using funds from a defense spending bill to build or modify prisons in the United States to hold detainees from Guantanamo Bay, a move that suggested congressional Democrats …

$500 Million and Apology From Goldman  —  How much good will can an apology — and half a billion dollars — buy?  A lot, Goldman Sachs is hoping.  —  After first staunchly defending its outsize profits and pay, and then bristling at calls for restraint in these tough economic times …

Union blocks teacher bonuses  —  Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston's best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics in a puzzling move that gets a failing grade from education experts.  —  The Boston Teachers Union staunchly opposes a performance bonus plan …

Study: Stupak Amendment Will Eliminate Abortion Coverage ‘Over Time For All Women’  —  A new study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services adds some expert imprimatur to what many progressives have been saying all along: The Stupak amendment …

Jobless Benefits Set to Expire Unless Congress Acts  —  About one million laid-off workers will see their unemployment benefits end in January unless Congress acts quickly to renew existing federally paid extensions, according to a new survey and legislators and state officials.

Somali woman stoned for adultery  —  A 20-year-old woman accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people.  —  A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man.

Palin: ‘Death Panels’ Are Like Reagan's ‘Evil Empire’  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  —  Sarah Palin is acknowledging that “death panels” aren't part of Democrats' health care bills.  —  But, she says, she's been talking about them to make a point — and she's comparing her use of the term …