Howard Dean: “Kill The Senate Bill”  —  In a blow to the bill grinding through the Senate, Howard Dean bluntly called for the bill to be killed in a pre-recorded interview set to air later this afternoon, denouncing it as “the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate,” the reporter who conducted the interview tells me.

Snowe has ‘misgivings’ about health bill, Christmas vote  —  Democrats from the White House to Capitol Hill are still holding out hopes of winning the support of Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) for their healthcare bill.  But despite major concessions made to centrist Democrats, Snowe has not yet jumped aboard.

Double Punch of Economy, Health Care Sends Obama to New Lows in Approval  —  ABC News/Washington Post Poll: President Obama's Approval Ratings Keep Sliding  —  A double punch of persistent economic discontent and growing skepticism on health care reform has knocked Barack Obama's key approval ratings …

The GOP had at most 55 Senators during Bush's presidency  —  I've heard people say that it's not fair to criticize the Democrats for botching health care reform because the Democrats never truly had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  Sure, they have 60 votes in principle …

Pranksters Make Short Work of GOP's URL Shortener for Conservatives  —  The Republican National Committee's GOP.am home page was offline Tuesday morning, and several URLs entered into the system by pranksters have been blocked.  —  Revised and expanded at 12:50 ET, with comment from Political Media president Larry Ward.

Taunton second-grader suspended over drawing of Jesus  —  A Taunton father is outraged after his 8-year-old son was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after drawing a stick-figure picture of Jesus Christ on the cross.  —  The father said he got …

CLIMATE CHANGE IS NATURAL: 100 REASONS WHY  —  HERE are the 100 reasons, released in a dossier issued by the European Foundation, why climate change is natural and not man-made:  —  1) There is “no real scientific proof” that the current warming is caused by the rise of greenhouse gases from man's activity.

The two faces of O  —  Prez's lovefest with Wall St. ‘fat cats’  —  In public, President Obama is on a tear against Wall Street.  In private, not so much  —  Over the weekend, Obama attacked fat-cat investment bankers, telling “60 Minutes” he didn't become president to aid and abet Wall Street …

Young Pittsfield Township man struggles with sex offender label  —  Matthew Freeman is struggling to move on with his life, six years after being convicted of having sex with a high school girlfriend who was one year below the legal age of consent.  —  Freeman, who is required to register …

Gay Marriage Passes Final D.C. Council Vote  —  City lawmakers voted this afternoon to legalize same-sex marriages, making the District of Columbia the fifth jurisdiction in the country to have its elected legislature pass such a measure.  —  “Today is the final step in a long march toward equality …

The best argument I've heard from people who say the emerging bill isn't just insufficient but just bad law is this: If you're going to force people to buy coverage (mandates), you need to provide them an alternative to buying private sector health insurance to prevent them from getting gouged by the insurance companies.

Rep. Capuano Tells Fellow Dems: 'You're Screwed'  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  When House Democrats gathered on Friday for their end-of-the week caucus meeting in the basement of the Capitol, caucus chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) told the group he wanted them to hear first from Rep. Michael Capuano …