I just found an interesting article by Walter Pincus tucked away in the lower half of the website. It contains no new or breaking news, but is an interesting description of just how far the government has run amok in their over-classification and demand to control information flow to the American people and the world.

Salazar knew enough about the bill last Friday to sign on to a letter from 40 Blue Dogs to Nancy Pelosi, telling her that it was unacceptable in its current form. Pelosi responded by saying today that changes would be made to accommodate them.  Can 40 progressive members get it together to demand the inclusion of an overwhelmingly popular public plan?  Evidently not.

If you want to talk to Rep. Salazar about his persistent memory problem, you can call him at 202-225-4761.

Over at Erickson’s, Cantor pulls a Boehner.

It probably wasn’t a good idea for Ceci Connolly to write a puff piece relying heavily on her Pay2Play invites.

Give Carolyn Maloney credit: she says what everyone else is thinking. The health care bill that comes out of the Senate is going to be shitty, and she wants to be able to vote for it.

This despite the fact that Maloney is a member of the progressive caucus, and the progressive caucus held a press conference saying they would vote down any bill that didn’t have a public plan.

Sit up and quit slouching, get your elbows off the table and dammit, get your values straight. The real obscenity isn’t “blowjob.”

Tomorrow the House will begin marking up the health care bill. Nancy Pelosi has said that there will have to “amendments” added to buy support of the Blue Dogs.

The lobbyists from the insurance industry have homeless people standing in line for them so they can fill the front row seats in the hearings, staring down members of Congress as they text their requests to staff members.

You deserve a viable public health care option. Make sure you get it.

Use Our Citizen Whip Count Tool

Surfing via rappensuncle. Great shot.

The Sotomayor confirmaiton hearings begin again this morning at 9:30 am ET. I’ll be liveblogging them as they begin.

Surfing around the various news and opinion pages this morning, it’s hard to miss the theme that’s emerging among the Beltway talking head set.

• The WaPost will let anyone in these days.
• From people like Sessions and Cornyn? Not.
• Meet the new Surgeon General.
• Or, we could scrap the whole bipartisan deal.
• KBH vs. The Secessionist-in-Chief.
• Not enough “Real Americans” in America. 
• EW has more on the blowjob.
• You’ll be missed, Hilzoy.