Ruling Kills an Option for Moving Health Bill  —  The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress' original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday.

Senate Liberals Dissed on Health Bill  —  Senate Democratic leaders are concerned about the amount of mischief their own Members could create if or when a health care reconciliation bill comes up for debate.  And sources said some supporters of creating a public insurance option are privately worried …

Wired Magazine, Conde Nast Scoop Breitbart, the ‘Bigs’ — HUD next O'Keefe Video Sting Target  —  Credit where credit is due: Wired Magazine's Noah Shachtman and Conde Nast have a scoop on their hands.  In the course of researching his new and largely fair piece on Andrew Breitbart and the …

The Scandalous Scott Brown Lawsuit that No One Told You About  —  Did you know that Scott Brown—the new star Republican Senator—was accused of harassing a female campaign worker in 1998?  We have the documents to prove it.  Did the Democrats blow an opportunity to keep their 60th Senate seat?

What Biden told Netanyahu behind closed doors: “This is starting to get dangerous for us”  —  Publicly, Vice President Joe Biden tried to keep up a positive tone in his good will visit to Israel this week.  But privately, the Israeli press reports, he had sharper words for Israeli decisions Biden …

If Democrats ignore health-care polls, midterms will be costly  —  In “The March of Folly,” Barbara Tuchman asked, “Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests?”  Her assessment of self-deception …

How Obama spent his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize  —  You probably recall late last year on one of his autumn commutes to Scandinavia President Obama picked up the Nobel Peace Prize.  We wrote about that here and here and here.  His speech was well-received here.  Also some fallout over here.

Rove ‘proud’ of US waterboarding  —  A senior advisor to former US President George W Bush has defended tough interrogation techniques, saying their use helped prevent terrorist attacks.  —  In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as “Bush's brain”, said he “was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists”.

The Lincoln Model  —  A reader writes: … Trust me.  I have not forgotten.  It informs every judgment I make on the guy.  I remain absolutely convinced we are beyond lucky to have him st thi moment in history - and he deserves far more grass-roots support from his supporters than he's currently getting.

Huge Majority Of MoveOn Members Supports Passing Senate Bill  —  Here's a pretty clear indication that the left, whatever its disappointment with the Senate health bill, still overwhelmingly sees passing it as by far the best course of action.  —  As I noted here yesterday …

Sanders: Obama Has Tragically Lost The Youth, Antagonized Unions  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A trio of the Senate's leading progressives expressed concern on Wednesday that President Obama has squandered the transformational political coalition that propelled him into office, concluding that he will pay a price for it.

Divided appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate Constitution  —  A divided federal appeals court Thursday reversed itself, ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate the constitutional prohibition against state-mandated religious exercise even though it contains the phrase “one nation under God.”

Obama Social Secretary Ran Into Sharp Elbows  —  WASHINGTON — Long before the State Dinner party crashers and the tension with her White House colleagues and the strain in her relationship with the first lady, Desirée Rogers began to understand she was in trouble when David Axelrod summoned …

Obama to tap Yellen for Fed vice chair: source  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to nominate San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen, a respected policy dove, to be vice chairman of the central bank, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday.

Johnny Weir Deemed “Not Family Friendly” Enough to Perform in Stars on Ice Tour  —  GLAAD has learned from a source that wishes to remain anonymous that sponsors of the Stars on Ice Tour, which include Smuckers and IMG Entertainment, have refused to allow 3-time US National Champion and 2 …

Money for Nothing  —  On February 23 the New York Times reported that ABC News had decided to reduce its staff by a whopping 300 to 400 people, or approximately a quarter of its workforce.  Three days later, the paper ran a full-page ad featuring a Photoshopped crowd of the network's biggest and best-compensated celebrities.

Top Obama Priorities Collide as Student Loan Legislation May Be Attached to Health Care  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement on Thursday that breathes new life into President Obama's proposed overhaul of federal student loan programs.