The New Republic

Exiting a caucus meeting this evening, Democratic Senators said that they were prepared to drop the Medicare buy-in to break the political impasse over the provision--a change that may be enough to win over Joe Lieberman. Jay Rockefeller, one of the health reform's leading liberal advocates, was adamant about describing the merits that the bill would have even without a public option compromise. READ MORE >>

It has been a banner day for the field of Lieberman Psychology. My own contribution is that Lieberman is not as smart as people think he is, and certainly not detail-oriented or well-versed in public policy. In response to the revelation that he endorsed the Medicare buy-in that he now cites as a deal-breaker, Lieberman explains: READ MORE >>

Speaking of famous men behaving badly: In the web chatter surrounding Tiger Woods' slut-puppy antics, I've noticed people responding in disbelief with the whole "But his wife is so beautiful..." logic. READ MORE >>

Of course, back in September, letting 55-64 year-olds buy into Medicare was just a wonky solution for a small segment of the uninsured—not a radical left-wing plan like the public option. Today, Medicare buy-in in a radical left-wing plot, so naturally Lieberman now opposes it. Here's Lieberman back in September: READ MORE >>

I was just listening to a segment on NPR about girlfriend-beater Chris Brown. One of the guests was talking about how he has no interest in listening to Brown's new album because he doesn't think Brown has sufficiently owned up to his personal sins, noting that the singer typically uses weasel words like "what I did" or "what went down" instead of more specific words like "domestic violence."  READ MORE >>

From a reader in Iran: READ MORE >>

READ MORE >>

Here’s How We Rid Ourselves of the Filibuster. Finally. by Nicholas Stephanopoulos The Ungreening of America: Three Reasons Why Americans Are Caring Less and Less About the Environment by Ed Kilgore READ MORE >>

Washington Post writer Michael Leahy has an excellent report on the war within California’s G.O.P. The latest episode was an unsuccessful Republican attempt to recall a fellow Southern California Republican legislator, Anthony Adams, who had the gall to vote for Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s state budget, which, in the face of a projected $42 billion deficit and unpaid state worker salaries, included modest tax increases. READ MORE >>

In the wake of Barack Obama’s speech in Oslo, there has been much talk--some of it based on intellectual hearsay--about the influence that theologian Reinhold Niebuhr had on Obama. READ MORE >>