To Our Readers  —  This is only the second time in its nearly ten-year history that the Dish has gone silent.  The reason now is the same as the reason then.  When dealing with a delusional fantasist like Sarah Palin, it takes time to absorb and make sense of the various competing narratives that she tells about her life.

Reid modifies abortion provisions but eschews Stupak language  —  The Senate healthcare reform bill includes new language designed to prevent taxpayer money from financing abortions, an anti-abortion-rights Democrat said Wednesday.  —  Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who was briefed on the healthcare bill …

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.

Sebelius says Ignore Mammogram Rec, GOP Attacks Health Reform Bill  —  HHS Secretary Sebelius did her best to ride the wave of incredulous opposition to the new government-sponsored guidelines advising women to hold off on regular mammograms til age 50.  Perhaps anticipating that opponents …

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 …

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 …

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 …

5:30 p.m. |  Palin comes out of the bus, clad in a red and black jacket and black skirt and carrying her son Trig.  She tells the people gathered outside that she was thrilled to be back in Michigan.  —  “Alaska and Michigan have so much in common with the huntin' and the fishin' and the hockey moms …

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.

Senator Vitter doesn't know if Loving was correctly decided.  —  Vitter graduated Tulane Law School in 1988.  Loving v. Virginia, decided in 1967, was a unanimous Supreme Court decision that declared state anti-miscegenation (interracial marriage) laws unconstitutional.

Stimulus Goes to the Dogs  —  President Obama in a speech to the National Conference of State Legislatures on March 2009: … Half a block from my house, November 2009:  —  Yep.  That's a state-of-the-art dog park, paid for with stimulus money.  —  Like the man said: No plan is perfect.

Health-care reform will not be remembered for its price tag  —  The numbers came first.  The Senate bill, we now know, costs a smidge under $850 billion during its first 10 years, cuts the deficit by $127 billion, and covers 31 million people.  In the second decade, it cuts the deficit by an improbably large $650 billion.

Republicans Block Dodd's Effort to Immediately Stop Credit Card Rate Hikes  —  “Ninety colleagues here voted for the bill this spring.  Why wouldn't you join us today?”  —  Today, Senate Republicans blocked Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd's (D-CT) attempt to pass legislation to stop credit card interest rate hikes.

The Federalist Society Annual Dinner: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!  —  Sensible shoes are for liberal chicks.  Say hello to fabulous Federalist footwear!  —  As you may have noticed, from our two posts late on Monday night and one from Tuesday morning, we're engaging …

Schwarzenegger Rules Out Another Run for Office  —  MILAN (AP) — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won't say what his plans are when his term expires next year, but it won't be running for another office.  —  “I have never labeled myself as a politician, so I am not going to run for anything else …