What's really behind Obama's sudden plea for troubled health reforms today  —  Friday afternoons and evenings — as we've mentioned here previously — are usually a dumping ground for political news its originators do not want noticed much.  Especially entering warm summer weekends.

And That's the Way Cronkite Was . . .  As Walter Cronkite's night of retirement from “The CBS Evening News” grew closer and closer back in 1981, there were signs of palpable public panic — one of them a briefly popular T-shirt on which was printed the horrified rhetorical question, “Oh …

A Year Without A Summer?  —  1816 was the “year without a summer.”  There were several causes of the abnormally cold weather that year, as this source recounts: … If this account is correct, the “year without a summer” played a role in the development of the American Midwest:

Their Own Medicine  —  Senators prefer the insurance they have.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  In the health debate, liberals sing Hari Krishnas to the “public option” — a new federal insurance program like Medicare — but if it's good enough for the middle class, then surely it's good enough for the political class too?

Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle  —  In George Orwell's “1984,” government censors erase all traces of news articles embarrassing to Big Brother by sending them down an incineration chute called the “memory hole.”  —  On Friday, it was “1984” and another Orwell book, “Animal Farm,” …

AmeriCorps IG sues government over “unlawful” firing  —  Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general who was summarily fired in June amid controversy over his investigation of a politically-connected supporter of President Obama, has filed suit alleging that the firing was “unlawful,” …

Last Post  —  I had all kinds of ideas for things I wanted to write before I left, but between last-minute packing and phone calls from friends and family, it didn't happen.  So I'll just say a few things quickly.  —  As I said before, one of the things that led me to start blogging …

Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead  —  I never imagined I'd print a press release in full.  Then, an hour ago, Howard Lovy e-mailed me the most incredible press release of all time...  POMPANO BEACH, Fla.- In response to rumors circulating the internet on sites such as FoxNews.com …

As Mexico Border Tightens, Smugglers Take to Sea  —  SAN DIEGO — They move north in rickety fishing boats, often overloaded and barely seaworthy, slipping through the darkness and hidden from the watchful radar of American patrols.  —  Along beaches north of here, the migrants from Mexico …

U.S. Commanders Are Concerned About New Iraqi Restrictions on American Troops  —  American Officials See Link Between Limits, Spate of Attacks  —  The Iraqi government has moved to sharply restrict the movement and activities of U.S. forces in a new reading of a six-month-old U.S.-Iraqi security agreement …

LRO Sees Apollo Landing Sites  —  NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has returned its first imagery of the Apollo moon landing sites.  The pictures show the Apollo missions' lunar module descent stages sitting on the moon's surface, as long shadows from a low sun angle make the modules' locations evident.