Glenn Beck becomes damaged goods  —  Editor's note: This is Part 2 in a three-part series on Glenn Beck's roots.  Read Part 1 here.  —  Glenn Beck, foreground.  In the background, the scene in Tripoli, Libya, on April 15, 1986, after an American attack.  —  Sept. 22, 2009 |

Whoops: Anti-ACORN Bill Ropes In Defense Contractors, Others Charged With Fraud  —  Going after ACORN may be like shooting fish in a barrel lately — but jumpy lawmakers used a bazooka to do it last week and may have blown up some of their longtime allies in the process.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA  —  Credits: Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Masi Oka, Jordana Spiro, Linda Cardellini, Donald Faison  —  Produced by Chris Bruss, Lauren Palmigiano & MoveOn.org

PM: Israel, PA agreed to begin talks without preconditions  —  Article's topics: Binyamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, Mahmoud Abbas  —  Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to relaunch peace negotiations without any preconditions, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday.

Obama Is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Pelosi backs away from deal with Blue Dogs  —  Speaker Pelosi is backing away from a deal she cut with centrists to advance health reform, said a source familiar with talks.  —  Pelosi's decision to move away from the agreement that was made with a group of Blue Dogs to get the bill …

NBC/WSJ: OBAMA HEALTH #S INCH UP  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  Here's another tease of our new NBC/WSJ poll: According to the poll, the president's health-care numbers have slightly increased, although that increase remains within the margin of error.  Thirty-nine percent believe Obama's …

Why Is Soda So Expensive in Europe?  —  I'm one of those “drinks a ton of Diet Coke” people, and thus every time I come to Europe I find myself dismayed at the cost of soda over here.  Does anyone have a good explanation of why it's so much more expensive than in the US?

Senate passes successor bill  —  The state Senate passed a bill this afternoon that would allow Governor Deval Patrick to name an interim successor to Edward M. Kennedy, potentially paving the way for appointment of a new US senator later this week.  —  The Senate approved the measure by a 24-16 vote …

Cantor To Uninsured Woman With Growing Tumors: Get ‘An Existing Government Program’ Or Find Charity  —  At the Richmond Times-Dispatch “public square” forum yesterday, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) fielded open questions from his constituents on the health reform debate for the first time this summer.

Conservatives Turn Their Sights On Health Care Reform's Most Obvious Provision  —  Democrats are bracing themselves for a new line of conservative attack against a provision in the health care legislation once considered so non-controversial that it was endorsed by several major Republican officials.

After ‘Inappropriate’ NEA Conference Call, White House Pushes New Guidelines  —  An August 10, 2009 National Endowment for the Arts conference call in which artists were asked to help support President Obama's agenda — a call that at least one good government group called “inappropriate” …

Even Obama ‘vulnerable’ to Clinton's charms  —  President Obama, speaking now at former President Bill Clinton's Clinton Global Initiative, opened with a tribute to his Democratic predecessor's raw political talent.  —  “He looks you in the eye, feels your pain, he makes you feel like you're the only person in the room.

U.S. closes Mexico border crossing after shootout  —  TIJUANA, Mexico (Reuters) - U.S. authorities closed the world's busiest land border crossing on Tuesday after a shootout between suspected Mexican human traffickers and U.S. agents, U.S. officials said.  —  “The port is closed …

Condi: The should-be face of the GOP  —  She's smart.  She's experienced.  She's worldly.  Republican strategists worried about their party's future should take heed.

Steven Chu: Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’ When It Comes to Energy  —  This post was updated Monday evening.  —  When it comes to greenhouse-gas emissions, Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees Americans as unruly teenagers and the Administration as the parent that will have to teach them a few lessons.

Delayed Foreclosures Stalk Market  —  Debra and Arthur Scriven were served notice in June 2008 that their mortgage lender, a unit of Citigroup Inc., was preparing to foreclose on their home.  Fifteen months later, the Scrivens are still in their home near Columbia, S.C., and battling to stay there …

Steele says Dems, GOP failing to address poverty  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Monday said his party must take steps to win over black voters, and he faulted both Democrats and the GOP for failing to address poverty.  —  Speaking at a historically black college …

Reid gives GOP direct warning on healthcare  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gave Republicans his most direct warning to date that he is prepared to use a procedural maneuver to pass healthcare reform with a simple majority.  —  Reid told Republicans that he would prefer …

When Speechwriters Kiss and Tell  —  A man I hired was not the star he thought he was.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When the sun rises over our capital city this morning, its denizens will awake to a truly novel tale: The aggrieved ex-staffer—wait for it!—disillusioned by Washington.

Democrats on path to repeat housing disaster  —  With all the attention paid to the health care battle, ACORN, and the president's “Full Ginsburg” appearances on five Sunday talk shows, few people noticed a hearing with an exceedingly boring title — “Proposals to Enhance the Community Reinvestment Act” …

The growing ambitions of the food police.  —  A nonalcoholic sequel to the Whiskey Rebellion seems to be brewing.  And Slate may be joining it.  I'll call it the Fresca Rebellion, in honor of our editor, David Plotz, a hard-core addict of the citrus-flavored soft drink.

Administration Silences Medicare Advantage Critics—So AARP Can Collect More “Kickbacks”  —  “There's an inherent conflict of interest....They're ending up becoming very dependent on sources of income.”  — Former AARP Executive Marilyn Moon, quoted in Bloomberg article

Obama the impotent  —  The disappointment with Barack Obama is tangible - on climate change and financial reform Europe leads while the US lags  —  Much hope has been invested in Barack Obama's ability to strike a new course for the US following eight years of Bush administration unpopularity.