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.

How Andrew Breitbart Hacks the Media  —  Andrew Breitbart has been waiting 45 minutes for a filet mignon.  He drums his fingers on the table in this plush Italian restaurant off Times Square, a place where the media types he regularly trashes used to flaunt their expense accounts — back when they still had them.

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 …

White House, Democrats close in on health bill  —  House Dems look to health vote without changing abortion provision  —  WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders abandoned a long struggle to appease the most ardent abortion opponents in their ranks, gambling Thursday that they can secure …

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 …

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?

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.

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.

Texas Hearing Considers Deeper Conservative Stamp on Textbooks  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — Even as a panel of educators laid out a vision Wednesday for national standards for public schools, the Texas school board was going in a different direction, holding hearings on changes to its social studies curriculum …

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.

'Net Posse Tracked ‘Jihad Jane’ for Three Years  —  Civilian Monitors Warn of Others Like ‘Jane’ on the 'Net Who Are More Dangerous  —  While the rest of America was stunned to hear that a suburban Pennsylvania woman allegedly used the Internet identity of Jihad Jane and tried to join militant jihadists …

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 …

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.

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”.

Holder Failed to Disclose Brief on Detainee Policy  —  WASHINGTON — During his Senate confirmation hearings last year, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. failed to disclose that he had signed a brief urging the Supreme Court not to uphold President Bush's claim that he could imprison …

House GOP votes to ban all earmarks  —  House Republicans approved a conference-wide moratorium on earmarks on Thursday, one day after a House committee enacted a ban on for-profit earmarks.  —  The Republicans' moratorium is more extensive than the House Appropriations Committee's ban …

Beck: Fox News executive told me ‘you are the key’ to surviving ‘a global economic holocaust.’  —  Fox News host Glenn Beck has made a trademark of propagating outlandish conspiracy theories and far-right rhetoric, but his employers at Fox have long claimed that his views do not reflect the network's.

Sperling not yet offered OMB job  —  Sources tell CNN that Gene Sperling will fill the No. 2 job at the Office of Management and Budget.  —  Washington (CNN) - Two Obama administration sources told CNN Thursday that plans are in the works to shift Gene Sperling from a senior Treasury Department role …

Palin to testify in e-mail case  —  Sarah Palin has been asked by the U.S. Department of Justice to testify against David C. Kernell.  —  (CNN) - Sarah Palin and her husband Todd will testify in the federal case against a Tennessee man who allegedly accessed Palin's private e-mail account during …

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 …

Barney Frank confirms key detail in Massa saga  —  Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) confirmed a key detail that was allegedly reported to the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) regarding allegations of Eric Massa's improper behavior.  —  The Washington Post reported Thursday that Joe Racalto …

Court-Appointed Lehman Examiner Unveils Report  —  Updated It's not clear that there was a crime committed in the fall of Lehman Brothers.  But the court-appointed examiner's report makes it clear that there was financial massaging going on.  —  The examiner, Anton Valukas, refers repeatedly to …