Amazing  —  A year ago, no one took seriously the idea that a federal health care mandate was unconstitutional.  And the idea that buying health care coverage does not amount to “economic activity” seems preposterous on its face.  But the decision that just came down from the federal judgment in Virginia …

Is the Hudson ruling good news for health reform?  —  District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee, has, as expected, ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional.  So why are health reformers so unexpectedly pleased?  —  There are two reasons, but first, let's put this into context.

Virginia health-care ruling strikes down key provision of Obama's plan  —  RICHMOND - A federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday that a key provision of the nation's sweeping health-care overhaul is unconstitutional, the most significant legal setback so far for President Obama's signature domestic initiative.

Judge Who Ruled Health Care Reform Unconstitutional Owns Piece of GOP Consulting Firm  —  Henry E. Hudson, the federal judge in Virginia who just ruled health care reform unconstitutional, owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in a GOP political consulting firm that worked against health care reform.

CHEERING A VICTORY OVER THEIR OWN IDEA.... Many on the right are, not surprisingly, delighted with today's federal district court ruling on the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate.  That's to be expected — they're hoping to gut the law.  The two previous legal defeats notwithstanding …

Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords  —  Longtime U.S. diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke, whose relentless prodding and deft maneuvering yielded the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in Bosnia - a success he hoped to repeat as President Obama's chief envoy …

Richard Holbrooke  —  It was there that Holbrooke had some of his most dramatic moments of diplomacy and statecraft.  In the mid-1990s, he served as assistant secretary of state for Europe, where he brokered peace in the Balkans, crafting the Dayton Peace Accords that ended years of brutal fighting in Bosnia.

Strong American Voice in Diplomacy and Crisis  —  Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2009 and a diplomatic troubleshooter who worked for every Democratic president since the late 1960s and oversaw the negotiations that ended …

Holbrooke dies days after aorta tear  —  (CNN) — Richard C. Holbrooke, the high-octane diplomat who spearheaded the end of the Bosnian war and most recently served as the Obama administration's point man in the volatile Afghan-Pakistani war zone, has died, officials said.