FDL Statement on Senate Combined Health Care Bill  —  The Senate Health Care Reform Bill (photo by roemerman)  —  It is encouraging that Senator Reid respected the will of the American people and included a public option in the merged Senate bill.  However, the addition of a state opt …

FOX rolls wrong video, heads may roll  —  FOX has done it again, and this time, once again, FOX says its misplay of the wrong crowd video was another regrettable mistake.  —  Today, FOX News host Gregg Jarrett was talking about Republican Sarah Palin's book tour and the crowd she is drawing …

NPR Shocker: Attorney General Holder Stumped By Lindsey Graham  —  During Wednesday's Justice Department oversight hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stumped Attorney General Eric Holder on what should have been a fairly routine question for America's top law enforcement official.

To Our Readers, An Update  —  This Dish will resume as normal tomorrow morning.  We apologize for the lacuna.  And I suppose some will say we've gotten this book and the issues it raises out of perspective.  But since the last campaign, we have raised many questions about Palin …

The Permanent Campaign Continues  —  The KSM trial announcement was too important for a Friday news dump.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Every modern White House has put out news on contentious issues late on Friday in the hope that doing so will bury it, or reduce the amount of critical scrutiny it would otherwise receive.

Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages  —  AUSTIN — Texans: Are you really married?  —  Maybe not.  —  Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed …

Hoffman: ACORN, unions, Dems tampered with NY-23 election  —  With his prospect of winning the 23rd Congressional District race now almost zero, Conservative Party candidate Douglas L. Hoffman suggested Wednesday in a letter that “ACORN, the unions and the Democratic Party” “tampered” with results to deny him victory.

Jesse Jackson: 'You can't vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man'  —  The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday night criticized Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) for voting against the Democrats' signature healthcare bill.  —  “We even have blacks voting against the healthcare bill,” Jackson said at a reception Wednesday night.

To Create Jobs, Voters Say Cut Taxes and Stop Spending  —  As the policy debate has unfolded in Washington this year, voters have consistently believed that tax cuts would do more than increased government spending to stimulate the economy and create jobs.  Now that the nation's unemployment rate …

House Dem: ‘Growing’ liberal consensus to dump Geithner  —  A Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) member said there's “growing consensus” among liberals that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should step down.  —  {mosads}Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that he and other liberal House members …

The Breast Brouhaha  —  Everyone has been trying to come up with a good nickname for the 10 years we're concluding next month.  Terror Era really sounds like too much of a downer.  How about the Decade of Medical Backtracking?  —  Somewhere between the reports that Pap smears and tests …

McCain defends campaign team against Sarah Palin  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain on Wednesday strongly defended the top advisers from his 2008 presidential campaign in the face of sharp criticism from his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin.

Debate Shifts to Afghan Exit Plan  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have turned the focus of Afghan war planning toward an exit strategy, publicly declaring that the U.S. and its allies can't send additional troops without a plan for getting them out.

Corps' operation of MR-GO doomed homes in St. Bernard, Lower 9th Ward, judge rules … In a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' mismanagement of maintenance at the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was directly responsible for flood damage …

The Senate's Health Care Calculations  —  CRITICS of the health care reform plan often refer to it derisively as “ObamaCare.”  On the policy merits, this is highly questionable: the White House has taken a hands-off approach toward the legislation that recently passed in the House and the version that is being worked out in the Senate.

Obama rewards big donors with plum jobs overseas  —  He may have promised to change Washington, but President Barack Obama is continuing one of its most renowned patronage traditions: bestowing prized ambassadorships on big donors.  —  Of the nearly 80 ambassadorship nominations …

EXCLUSIVE: CIA Secret ‘Torture’ Prison Found at Fancy Horseback Riding Academy  —  ABC News Finds the Location of a “Black Site” for Alleged Terrorists in Lithuania  —  The CIA built one of its secret European prisons inside an exclusive riding academy outside Vilnius, Lithuania …