The New Republic

I've been getting a little nervous about the political trajectory of health care. This passage in Politico's story today ("The three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are under pressure from their leadership not to cut a deal too quickly, according to sources, and that message has been delivered frequently in recent weeks.") is especially vexing. READ MORE >>

Francisco Toro blogs obsessively about Venezuela and the Ch READ MORE >>

More than 80 House members have signed a letter to the president arguing as much: "It would appear that Turkey, in an effort to block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, agreed to a roadmap it did not intend to uphold." --Michael Crowley READ MORE >>

If so, read this. It'll be very satisfying (albeit in a soul-corroding way). Of course, I like to think that if, say, Ty Lawson's big toe tested positive for steroids, I'd deal with the news like an adult. But that's the thing about being a sports fan: it inevitably brings out the idiot in you--especially if you believe that your team stands for something greater than just sports. --Jason Zengerle READ MORE >>

The latest in a long run of bad press for New York Governor David Paterson:  "I have some advice for him: Stay his ass out the clubs." --Michael Crowley READ MORE >>

Annie Lowrey is an assistant editor at Foreign Policy. READ MORE >>

The physician and writer Abraham Verghese makes a good point about physician-owned medical facilities--and what it will take to get rid of them: READ MORE >>

Michael Gerson has a very touching column on being a parent and watching your children go off to overnight camp. My kids aren't old enough for that, yet, but there are apsects of this I relate to. In the old days, is would have been one of those columns that people clip from their newspaper and tape up on the refrigerator. I don't think many people still do that, but anyway, read this column, especially if you have children: READ MORE >>

His father, whose public comments have caused trouble in the past, talks again to for a long Ha'aretz article about the White House chief of staff and Israel: When Rahm's father hears that the interlocutor is an Israeli journalist, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, a retired Jerusalem-born pediatrician who moved to Chicago in the 1950s after finishing his studies in Switzerland, switches to Hebrew. READ MORE >>

Roger Cohen has a long piece on Obama's Iran policy in the forthcoming NYT magazine, much of it focusing on the elusive Dennis Ross. The Ross material is interesting, although many of the particulars will be already familiar to people who have followed his adventures through outlets like this blog. This bit was new to me, however: READ MORE >>