Andrew Breitbart Unleashes A Torrent Of Invective Against Sen. Ted Kennedy's Legacy On Twitter  —  Early this morning, news broke that Sen. Ted Kennedy had passed away after serving in the U.S. Senate for nearly 50 years.  Soon after, conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart began …

Mike Enzi, Gang Of Six Republican, Admits He's Simply Blocking Health Care Reform  —  Mike Enzi, one of three Republicans ostensibly negotiating health care reform as part of the Senate's “Gang of Six,” told a Wyoming town hall crowd that he had no plans to compromise with Democrats and was merely trying to extract concessions.

Romney for Senate?  Succeeding Kennedy Could Help in 2012  —  By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog  —  Though it may be hard to see at first, the passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts may have a profound impact on 2012's race for the GOP presidential nomination.

The Coming Air Force Crisis  —  David Petraeus makes a joke: … As Robert Farley says, this kind of thing is a pretty typical ground forces joke but “the AFA whining reveals a certain insecurity.”  —  It's worth observing that this issue is going to become much more severe in the years to come.

Dominick Dunne: 1925-2009  —  Dominick Dunne, a best-selling author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair, died today at his home in Manhattan.  He was 83.  —  The cause of death was bladder cancer, said his son Griffin Dunne.  —  Dunne—who joined Vanity Fair in 1984 as a contributing editor …

Christie Faces Questions Over '05 Traffic Tickets  —  On a Saturday night in 2005 Chris Christie was issued tickets for speeding and driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.  A tow truck showed up at the scene but Christie was allowed to drive the vehicle with his wife …

China admits death row organ use  —  China is trying to move away from the use of executed prisoners as the major source of organs for transplants.  —  According to the China Daily newspaper, executed prisoners currently provide two-thirds of all transplant organs.

AARP Poll: 8 in 10 Back Public Option  —  A new survey commissioned by the AARP asks respondents to what degree they support or oppose “[s]tarting a new federal health insurance plan that individuals could purchase if they can't afford private plans offered to them” — a public option, in other words.

Palin comes out in support of Fox's Beck over boycott  —  WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is jumping into the fray over Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck, whose assertion last month that President Barack Obama is “a racist” led to a boycott of the companies advertising on his show …

The babies born in hospital corridors: Bed shortage forces 4,000 mothers to give birth in lifts, offices and hospital toilets  —  Thousands of women are having to give birth outside maternity wards because of a lack of midwives and hospital beds.  —  The lives of mothers and babies are being put …

The American Way Of Torture  —  Greg Sargent notes another document secured by the ACLU.  (Yes, Greenwald is right that it's bizarre the media in this country are second to the ACLU in demanding information from the government.)  This document gives a detailed account of the torture techniques used …

New projection: 2.3 million fewer people working in 2010  —  Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office released their “summer update” publication, in which they update their baseline budget and economic projections for changes in the economy and legislation enacted so far this year.

Tax Court Rejects Taxpayer's Attempt to Use Geithner's TurboTax Defense  —  The Tax Court yesterday rejected a taxpayer's attempt to use the TurboTax defense successfully employed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.  Hopson v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ.  Op.  2009-130 (Aug. 25, 2009) (citations omitted):

‘Writing is on the wall,’ ally tells Sanford  —  (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford forcefully rejected his lieutenant governor's request that he resign for the good of the state Wednesday.  —  “I am not going to be railroaded out of this office by political opponents or folks …

California holds a garage sale — with cars autographed by Schwarzenegger  —  In the latest attempt to raise money, the state is selling thousands of surplus items on EBay, Craigslist and in a warehouse auction.  —  Reporting from Sacramento - Does Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have a deal for you.

“We have to go into the despair and go beyond it, by working and doing for somebody else, by using it for something else."  —  The title is a quote by Elie Wiesel and I use it because I've spent the last several weeks trying to write this post but failing, especially when it came to the title.

Hopefully I am mistaken!  —  I read with astonishment weekend news agency reports on the internal politics of the United States, where a systematic debilitation of President Barack Obama's influence is evident.  His surprising electoral victory would not have been possible without …

'08 race worker held in damage to Colorado Democratic HQ  —  One of two people suspected of shattering 11 windows Tuesday morning at the state Democratic Party headquarters has an arrest record and a history of helping a Democratic political candidate, public records show.

Kennedy and Chappaquiddick—in the Obits  —  It's always fascinating to see where obituaries first bring up what might be called the biggest (sometimes single) black mark on a notable person's life.  Just last week we looked at when news outlets first mentioned the Plame case in covering the death of Robert Novak.

President Obama to deliver eulogy at Kennedy's funeral  —  Senator Kennedy's funeral is scheduled to be held at The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston's Mission Hill section.  —  By Bryan Bender, Michael Paulson, Matt Viser, and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Their Own Worst Enemy  —  Democrats have no one to blame for the health care debacle but themselves.  —  With the political prognosis for health care reform turning from poor to likely terminal, many of my fellow Democrats are grieving through grievance.  They're lashing out at friends and foes alike …