A Democrat's view from the House: Senate bill isn't health reform  —  Editor's note: Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, a Democrat, represents the 28th Congressional District of New York.  Slaughter is the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee and the only microbiologist in Congress.

Why I Don't Write About Sarah Palin's Facebook Posts  —  Last week, PolitiFact.com announced its “Lie of the Year”: Sarah Palin's claim that the health care bill might create “death panels” that would kill elderly or disabled Americans.  It was a lie, the editors pointed out …

Crapo: GOP unlikely to be able to repeal health bill  —  Republicans are unlikely to repeal the health reform legislation before Congress if they take control of the House and Senate, a GOP senator conceded Wednesday.  —  Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said Republicans are unlikely to be able …

CNN Poll: More Americans think Democratic policies better than Republican  —  Washington (CNN) - Despite the bruising battle over their health care reform proposals, congressional Democrats have maintained an advantage over their Republican counterparts on one key measure, according to a new national poll.

Yes, Obama did campaign on the public option  —  Oy.  I'll defend the argument that the health-care bill that looks likely to pass is structurally similar to the health-care proposal released by the Obama campaign.  But it's impossible to defend Obama's statement that “I didn't campaign on the public option.”

McCain, GOP secretly courting another Dem to switch  —  Republicans are stepping up their efforts to persuade more House Democrats to switch parties and are zeroing in on a second-term Pennsylvanian who is not ruling out such a move.  —  Democratic Rep. Chris Carney received a phone call Wednesday …

Jane Hamsher, Grover Norquist Call for Rahm Emanuel's Resignation  —  Today, Grover Norquist and I are calling for an investigation into Rahm Emanuel's activities at Freddie Mac, and the White House's blocking of an Inspector General who would look into it.  The letter follows:

Colbert Dishes On Bush, Glenn Beck, and MSNBC  —  When Chicago's Second City comedy troupe held a weekend-long 50th anniversary bash, the obvious highlights were Friday and Saturday shows with Martin Short, Steve Carell, Bonnie Hunt, Jim Belushi, George Wendt, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin …

Congratulations to Captain Picard!  — By: Mike Potemra  —  Palace sources say Patrick Stewart is about to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.  It turns out he is an avid supporter of Britain's Labour party; his support must be especially welcome in this, one of Labour's darker hours.

After quiet first months, Franken's sharp tongue emerges in Senate  —  Al Franken, the Democrat from Minnesota who won election to the Senate after a successful career as a comic and author, has begun to show the sharp-tongued side of his personality by ripping into GOP staffers behind the scenes.

Jane Norton, GOP Senate Candidate, Sits Silently As Obama Called A Muslim  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Former Colorado lieutenant governor Jane Norton, one of the five candidates competing in the Republican primary for the state's 2010 Senate race, is distinguishing herself with her full-hearted embrace of the tea party crowd.

Challenge to health bill's constitutionality fails, 39-60  —  A challenge to the Senate health bill's constitutionality failed on Wednesday afternoon in a party-lines vote.  —  Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) point of order arguing that the Senate bill is unconstitutional under …

Meep Meep  —  My own view is that 2009 has been an extraordinarily successful year for Obama.  Since this is currently a minority view and will prompt a chorus of “In The Tank!”, allow me to explain.  —  The substantive record is clear enough.  Torture is ended, if Gitmo remains enormously difficult …

Schwarzenegger to seek federal help for California budget  —  Facing another huge deficit, the governor wants $8 billion or threatens massive cuts in social services.  He also plans to renew push for offshore oil drilling.  —  Reporting from Sacramento - Facing a budget deficit of more than $20 billion …

The Great Leap  —  In the heart of downtown Chongqing, a sprawling city-state in Western China on the banks of the Yangtze River, a six-story tower commemorates those who died in what the Chinese call “the anti-Japanese war.”  After Japan invaded in 1937, the government moved the capital of China upriver from Nanjing to Chongqing.

Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces New Delay  —  WASHINGTON — Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison.

Harry Reid Turns Insurance Into a Public Utility  —  The health bill creates a massive cash crunch and then bankruptcies for many insurers.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  As Harry Reid's 2,000 page health-care bill is being rammed through the Senate, most of the public debate has been focused …

Balloon boy hoax parents jailed  —  A US man who triggered a major alert by falsely claiming his son was adrift in a helium balloon has been sentenced to 90 days in jail - and his wife to 20.  —  Richard Heene, 48, and his 45-year-old wife Mayumi said in October their son had been carried off by the balloon.