Today’s news on Obama’s plan to revamp NCLB might fool the uninitiated that the administration’s proposals will help solve the myriad problems that NCLB helped…

As Virginia Thomas tells it in her soft-spoken, Midwestern cadence, the story of her involvement in the “tea party” movement is the tale of an average citizen in action.

“I am an ordinary citizen from Omaha, Neb., who just may have the chance…

I tend to agree with The Financial Times’ Tobias Buck that the provocative Israeli decision to approve a plan to build 1,600 new homes…

Obama didn’t postpone his Asia trip just for optics, though the optics–and relations with a House that wasn’t too pleased at another relatively arbitrary deadline–are important. The March 18 deadline was slated to be his early departure to take the kids to Indonesia on their spring break. The official business part of the trip doesn’t start until Monday the following Monday.

His trip postponement also means, and now we have leadership confirmation, that they’re nearing in on the actual vote in the House on the reconciliation package. Pelosi says it could happen next week.

“We stand ready to stay as long as it takes to pass the bill,” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference this morning, adding that Obama’s delay “increases the prospects that we will be here–since he’ll be here–three more days.”

After her conference, her spokesman Nadeam Elshami added “If we have to be here next weekend or the week after we will.”

Pelosi was once again careful to note that the House’s timeline for passage of reform depends largely on when CBO hands them a final analysis, and that could come as early as today.

To put a period on that, Chris Van Hollen’s office sent a memo out to House Dem staffers Friday, “telling them to clear members’ schedule for next weekend, saying a vote could come as early as Friday or Saturday.” And the House Budget Committee announced on it’s schedule that it will begin markup of the instructions for the reconciliation bill Monday at 3:00 p.m., EDT. That’s the beginning of the markup process.

Keep a close eye on the various whip counts, though some members will likely continue to play coy for as long as they can.

Two heartbeats away.

Don’t climb on Sarkozy’s bandwagon just yet.

CBO has updated its assessment of the Senate-passed health care bill that will form the basis of the final health care package once the reconciliation package of ‘fixes’ is complete:

Obama health bill gets boost from budget office

WASHINGTON (AFP) – In a boost to President Barack Obama’s flagship reform drive, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday a Senate health care bill would cut the deficit by 118 billion dollars.

The release of the report thickened the intrigue in a tense period of vote hunting for Obama’s Democratic allies in the House of Representatives, with the White House pushing for a crucial vote on the measure within a week.

The non-partisan CBO said in its updated assessment that the Senate bill would cost 875 billion dollars over 10 years and reduce projected budget deficits by 118 billion dollars.

In a bid to thwart Republican obstruction tactics, Obama wants the House to pass the Senate bill along with a package of “fixes” in a delicate political maneuver that represents the last hope for his key domestic priority.

As it currently stands, the legislation would cover 31 million Americans and offer consumer protections to all Americans, eliminating the ability of insurance companies to deny people for pre-existing conditions or to rescind coverage to people who get sick. Its ten-year $875 billion price tag would be funded by Medicare cost-savings (without jeopardizing benefits) and a mixture of new taxes. It would reduce the deficit by $118 billion in the first ten years.

Remember, these budget numbers represent a baseline, and will likely change (presumably for the better) once the reconciliation package is complete. But it’s an important reminder that the net financial impact of reform will be a reduction in the budget deficit.

If Republicans want to argue that government should not provide a safety net insuring that all Americans have health insurance, that’s their right — but for them to argue that this bill is a fiscal calamity just isn’t grounded in reality.

Join the discussion in Bensonola’s recommended diary, CBO: Senate HCR Bill Reduces the Deficit by 118 Billion!.

Keep it in the family.

By Capt. FoggI feel left out. The hysterical e-mails about Obama’s latest evil deed usually hit my in-box before Fact Check.org or Urban Legends.com or Snopes.com get around to debunking the latest scoop from the bottomless crock. Surprising inde…

By Carl …and went to Nerdstock last night.There’s been a theme running around my mind, and apparently other people’s minds, about the psychologic future of America and Americans (read the comments in the thread in particular).&nbsp…

From Bloomberg:

One year after U.S stocks hit their post-financial-crisis low on March 9, 2009, the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen more than 68 percent, and it’s up more than 41 percent since Obama took office. Credit spreads have narrowed. Commodity prices have surged. Housing prices have stabilized.

“We’ve had a phenomenal run in asset classes across the board,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. “If he was a Republican, we would hear a never-ending drumbeat of news stories about markets voting in favor of the president.”  [...]

[M]onthly job losses have abated, from 779,000 during the month Obama took office to 36,000 last month. Corporate profits have grown; among 491 companies in the S&P 500 that reported fourth-quarter earnings, profits rose 180 percent from a year ago, according to Bloomberg data. Durable goods orders in January were up 9.3 percent from a year earlier. Inflation is tame, and long-term interest rates remain low.  [...]

Zandi said the economic rebound is largely a result of the policies of the White House and Federal Reserve. He cited the bank bailout, the Fed’s low-interest-rate policy and support for credit markets, and the Obama administration’s stimulus plan, bank stress tests and backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“When you take it all together, the response was massive and unprecedented and ultimately successful,” Zandi said.

If Democrats are waiting for the traditional media to shower them with huzzahs, it’s time for a reality check. The media is too busy reporting that “Republicans say” the stimulus has failed, we’re going to hell in a handbasket, and socialism is just around the corner (while conveniently omitting the fact that those same Republicans are touting stimulus money in their home districts).

In other words, Democrats need to start blowing their own horn on what has been accomplished economically over the course of the Obama administration.

(h/t to Americablog)

With over 100 advertisers (and counting) abandoning Glenn Beck’s show, it’s obvious that what’s left is the dregs of the world, like these guys. But the gold dealers dominating the ranks of his advertisers have new competition:

Yup. All those Beck viewers are suckers, because their gold stockpile will be worth less than seeds! But that’s not all! You know how Obama wants to steal your guns and shit? That’s not all he’s trying to confiscate!

Phew! That’s a relief. Because as we all know, the Second Amendment protects an American’s right to bear arms … and seeds! Then again, no seeds are truly indestructible. They are, after all, living things. The Glenn Beck patriots can’t just wait for the apocalypse, and then plant them in the ground.

Of course, they don’t need to wait long. Obama is obviously a one-termer, so will need to trigger the end of the world before Sarah Palin can take him out in 2012. So we’re pretty much talking two years before the End of Times. Better to start planting now, before the first nukes strike.

They they better hope the apocalypse happens during rainy season, because it’ll be tough to irrigate a whole acre without electricity. (And that’s assuming they don’t need municipal water.)

On the plus side, they won’t have any trouble with fertilizer.

p.s. Given that they are a Glenn Beck advertiser, this should go without saying, but yes, they’re a scam.

A recent Pew poll showed that youth still leans Democratic, but the party’s margin is slipping, and young Democrats’ enthusiasm level is lower than that of their Republican counterparts. What can be done?

Not to steal Ms. Bigelow’s thunder, but we witnessed another historic first at this year’s Oscars: Geoffrey Fletcher, who won Best Adapted Screenplay for Precious, became the first African-American to win an Oscar for screenwriting.