Happy Dependence Day!  — By: Mark Steyn  —  Well, it seems to be in the bag now.  I try to be a sunny the-glass-is-one-sixteenth-full kinda guy, but it's hard to overestimate the magnitude of what the Democrats have accomplished.  Whatever is in the bill is an intermediate stage …

Waterloo  —  Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.  —  It's hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster.  Conservatives may cheer themselves that they'll compensate for today's expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections.

‘Baby Killer’ Yelled At Bart Stupak During Health Care Debate (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A Republican members of Congress apparently called Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) a “baby killer” near the end of the day-long House debate on health care Sunday night.

Legal and Political Fights Loom for Democrats  —  WASHINGTON — The battle over health care is poised to move swiftly from Congress back to the country as Democrats, Republicans and a battery of interest groups race to define the legislation and dig in for long-term political and legal fights.

Analysis: Political lift of health bill uncertain  —  WASHINGTON - The initial blush of President Barack Obama's health care triumph immediately gives way to a sober political reality — he must sell the landmark legislation to an angry and unpredictable electorate, still reeling from the recession.

Stupak Stripped of “Defender of Life” Award  —  Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund Pledges to Drive Out Pro-life Betrayers in November  —  WASHINGTON, DC - In response to Rep. Bart Stupak's announcement that he and other self-labeled “pro-life” Democrats will vote in favor …

Special Editorial: Repeal  —  The editors of National Review sensibly counsel conservatives, in the wake of last night's victory for Obamacare: “'Nil desperandum'—never despair.”  I agree, though I'm more inclined to the mock-Latin motto of the Harvard band: “Illegitimi non carborundum”—don't let the bastards get you down.

Ten immediate benefits of HCR  —  Here are ten benefits which come online within six months of the President's signature on the health care bill:  — Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents' policy until their 27th birthday  — Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions

How To Say It?  —  Well, here goes.  I really resent the term, but I use it because it's recognized and accepted.  —  I'm gay.  —  From some seventy years of personal experience, I can tell you that there's not much “gay” about being homosexual.  For the first twenty years of my life …

Health Care Reform Bill Summary: A Look At What's in the Bill  —  Cost:  — $940 billion over ten years.  —  Deficit:  — Would reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years.  That is an updated CBO estimate.  Their first preliminary estimate said it would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over ten years.

Attorneys general launch lawsuit backlash against Demcare  —  In January, I blogged about the first line of defense against Demcare by the states: Opt-out initiatives.  —  The backlash continued over the last several weeks with state attorneys general signaling plans to sue the feds.

Perspective  —  Now that it's done, Barack Obama will go down in history as one of America's finest presidents.  It's always possible of course that, like LBJ, he'll get involved in some unrelated fiasco that mars his reputation.  But fundamentally, he's reshaped the policy landscape …

Boehner to GOP lawmakers: ‘Behave like grown-ups’  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner told his conference to “behave like grown-ups” if the healthcare bill is passed by the House on Sunday.  —  The Ohio Republican made the warning at a quick closed-door meeting with fellow House GOP lawmakers at noon in the Capitol.

Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating  —  The bond market is saying that it's safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama.  —  Two-year notes sold by the billionaire's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in February yield 3.5 basis points less than Treasuries of similar maturity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Has Germany just killed the dream of a European superstate?  —  So after weeks of Euro-bluff it looks ever more like an IMF rescue for Greece after all, and hence for any other eurozone nation driven to ruin by the wrong monetary policy.  —  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has little hope …