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Constitutionality of Health Insurance Mandate Questioned — President Obama has called for a serious and reasoned debate about his plans to overhaul the health-care system. Any such debate must include the question of whether it is constitutional for the federal government to adopt and implement the president's proposals.
Discussion:
Balkinization, Hot Air, QandO, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Moderate Voice, Viking Pundit, Stop The ACLU, Right Wing News, The Glittering Eye and Althouse


SO THE KNOXVILLE TEA PARTY CROWD HAD A RECESS RALLY at the Federal Courthouse, where Rep. Jimmy Duncan and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have offices. They had 100-15 people (I heard that about half that many counterprotesters were there at the beginning, but they were marching off …
Discussion:
Riehl World View
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Report From The Birmingham, MI Tea Party Protest - August 22, 2009 — I took a few of my kids and headed down to Birmingham today, anticipating a good turnout at the tea party protest against unconstitutional government expansion. I wasn't disappointed either.


An overdraft? That'll be £200 at Lloyds TSB (but only £15 if you're a Muslim) — Many Lloyds TSB customers are being hit with charges of up to £200 a month if they go into the red - while Muslims who use the bank are only being charged £15.

Baucus does not represent his state, say Montanans — Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 8/17-19. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines) — Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Max Baucus' actions on health care? — Approve Disapprove Not sure — All 42 44 14
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Why the Gang of Six is Deciding Health Care for Three Hundred Million of Us


Web extra: Congressman Herger calls Obama plan ‘threat to democracy’ — Republican Congressman Wally Herger held a health care town hall meeting Aug. 18 at Simpson University in Redding, where a partisan crowd of over 2,000 people loudly cheered Herger's position that a public option was “unacceptable.”

White House Reveals Identity of Firm That Sent Unsolicited E-Mails on Health Reform — The White House revealed to FOX News that it hired a private communications firm to distribute mass e-mails, including unsolicited spam to help sell President Obama's health care plan. — FOXNews.com


'I've never seen anything like this' — MARIANNA, Fla. — Rep Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) is a skilled politician who has pretty much seen it all — a Deep South Democrat who's managed to dispatch all opponents in his conservative-leaning Panhandle district since winning election in 1996.
Discussion:
American Power, DownWithTyranny!, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Wake up America, Blue Crab Boulevard and Seeing the Forest


Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions — A long-awaited report on post-9/11 interrogation tactics will reveal harrowing new details about treatment of suspected terrorists. … A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals …
Discussion:
New York Times, ABCNEWS, Gawker, The Other McCain, The Daily Dish, unbossed.com, Newshoggers.com, At-Largely, The Corner on National …, Raw Story, Emptywheel and Truthdig
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A Judgment Call That Comes Up A Bit Short — The first lady stepped off Air Force One during the Obama family's recent mini-vacation out West wearing a pair of moss-colored shorts. They were not the kind of knee-grazing Bermudas or pedal pushers that the fashion industry has long advocated …

Lebanese man is target of first rendition under Obama — Contractor Raymond Azar is arrested in Afghanistan, hooded, stripped and flown to the U.S. His alleged crime? Bribery. A human rights activist calls the case ‘bizarre.’ — Reporting from Alexandria, Va. - A Lebanese citizen …
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Monitors: Taliban cut off fingers of Afghan voters — KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Making good on a threat of election day violence, the Taliban sliced off the index fingers of at least two people in Kandahar province, according to a vote monitoring group. — After they cast their ballots …
Discussion:
Don Surber
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Stimulus hits a pothole — And Obamacare can't be rationalized on economic or medical grounds because it's not about that. It's about moving America left. — Recommend — The other day, wending my way from Woodsville, N.H., 40 miles south to Plymouth, I came across several “stimulus” …

“Wars of Necessity” — This phrase is getting kicked around a lot lately, I'm sort of in search of an operational definition. Fortunately, here's Richard Haas: … If that's what people mean by “war of necessity” then I think we can probably do without the phrase.


Is Donna Edwards Catching the #Rahmflu? — It was somewhat disconcerting when Donna Edwards would not confirm to the Hill this week that she would vote against any bill through conference that did not have a public plan: … So Howie Klein asked her if she'd like to clarify that.