• Touting success, China Communist Party sees 'no reason' to quit now
• OPEC meeting 'break down' sends oil to $101-a-barrel, niiice
• Hedge funds behind 'land grab' in Africa, says U.S. think tank

• Five dead in Wednesday Egypt clashes
• Dear PM Berlusconi, Italy is not a bordello
• Snow and ice, everywhere

• Oklahoma City Bombing remembered
• 15 years after OKC Bombing, anti-government sentiment on rise
• OKC bombing victims' children building new lives

Evan Smith started out addressing her as "Honorable," but the Texas Tribune editor had some difficult questions for Ambassador and former Bush adviser Karen Hughes this Thursday morning. Luckily, Hughes brought some statistical ammunition. more ›

• Outraged Russia suspends adoptions to US.
• In wake of China quake -- body count 600-plus.
• You don't say: Poll finds Tea Party backers wealthier and more educated.

• Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retiring.
• Teabag Party pressure forcing Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak to retire.
• Ignorance over health-care reform spurs rise in threats against Congress members.

• 'Weeds' this ain't: $6 million pot bust in Travis County.
• France's President Sarkozy vows to lift veil.
• North Korea: "Have fun, or else."

• Germany and Ireland call on Catholic church to hold child sex abuse inquiries
• ‘Sinister’ German Plan Aimed at Hedge Funds, Analysts Say
• 'Jihad Jane' due in federal court in Philadelphia

• Pakistan indicts five Americans on terror charges
• GOP blasts Democrats' tactic for health-care bill
• Attorney general says bin Laden would be killed rather than captured

Like me, my roommate is uninsured. Lately, she’s been having gastrointestinal problems, to the effect that— sorry if you’re reading this during lunch— she’s been producing bloody, runny stools several times per day. It’s an ailment that has plagued her off and on for years. But the high cost of medical attention meant, until recently, skipping doctor’s visits and instead experimenting with home remedies, like eating canned pumpkin and hoping for the best. The other day, I broke down and called a doctor on her behalf, managing to arrange for a home visit. See, my roommate also suffers from pretty serious anxiety and office visits leave her trembling, another factor that kept her from getting checked out sooner. While I was lucky to find someone to come to the house, this arrangement was not without drawbacks. For starters, we had to keep several stool samples in the refrigerator so the doctor would have something to take with her and analyze. more ›

• Test vote on unemployment extension bill today.
• Palin admits to making a run for the (Canadian) border for health care.
• So NOW Obama gets all mean to the insurance companies!

• Don't drink the water.
• Bengals wide receiver dies after car accident.
• Blue Shield of California backtracks on their new shady cancellation policy after media scrutiny.

• President Obama accepts Nobel Peace Prize.
• You won't be able to Facebook Stalk the chick that dumped you anymore.
• Yeehaw! Get yer guns out boys! (Oh, wait. Maybe not.)

• Negotiators strike deal to replace controversial government-run insurance plan
• Treasury extends bank bailout through October
• Leaked "Danish text" leads to tension at Copenhagen climate conference

• Suspected serial killer in Ohio denied bail.
• In case you hadn't heard, the Yankees have won the 2009 World Series.
• Conservatives mock the 72-hour window that requested to review health care legislation.

• Health care bill one step closer to reality after passing Senate finance committee
• Retail sales fall after a surge in the previous month, but the drop is smaller than expected
• People magazine features first photo of Jaycee Dugard after her kidnapping

• Clashes reported as Iranians hold demonstrations.
• Dismay in Europe as Obama ditches missile defense.
• Sources: NY transportation hub likely target of terror plot.

• This can't be good for our sushi addiction.
• 35% of conservative voters in New Jersey think Obama might be the Anti-Christ. Seriously.
• They know how to party in Ocala.

• The big health reform speech was last night, in case you hadn't heard.
• Republicans respond as expected.
• Climate change leads a certain creature to congregate on Alaska's shore (coo coo ca choo).

• Louisiana Pastor says Jindal should reimburse taxpayers for his helicopter trips to church.
• President Obama to address Republican attacks on health care.
• Out of work? The government is hiring, maybe.

KLBJ DJs suspended after making repeated racial slurs. Austin man's death likely to be heat-related. Our troops need their smokes. Oh Paris, we don't need your stinkin' smiles. Je t'aime! Meghan, just come out of the closet...as a Democrat. 50 million and counting. Who needs health coverage, really. Obama and his mom jeans (video). more ›

Obama: full speed ahead on health care overhaul. Taxing health care benefits "on the table" after all? Progressives still fighting to get single-payer in same room as table Obama's overseas charm offensive... could it work? Accused killer Roeder: Expect more anti-abortion violence Stephen Colbert dons cammies, takes his act to Baghdad Where the rich eat their cake: over $1000 apple crates When Republicans tweet... more ›

In March 1997 a doctor said to me, “Your jeans are going to fit a lot better once we get that out.” So tactful. The that to which he referred was a cyst-morphing-into-a-tumor that had wrapped itself around my left ovary. This was discovered at a post-abortion checkup. I paid cash for the abortion. The removal of both the tumor, which as it turned out had malignant cells in it, and the ovary (the two could not be disentangled) were covered by insurance. Luckily, I required no chemo or radiation. I don’t recall that my jeans fit any different when all was said and done. more ›

Photo by mirsasha on flickr In June an APD officer sped 139 miles/hour through a funeral procession on Mopac; he resigned in November. Ford recalling over a million trucks and SUVs because of a faulty engine sensor. The Austin Energy Alt-Car Expo is coming next October. Texas Legislative Conference (who?) names Lt. Gov. Dewhurst as Texan of the Year. New state law set to go into effect January 1 charges $5 per each strip club... more ›

Senator Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech to thousands of die-hard supporters this past Saturday at the Backyard, touching on just about every hot issue at the core of next year's election debates. Pledging to shut down Guantanamo, restore habeas corpus, and renew the hunt for Al Qaeda, Obama stressed the need for a stronger international agenda and quoted Kennedy's famous inaugural address—"Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear... more ›

Hark! U.S. health care reform cometh, and that right soon! Boston Red Sox win World Series. Homus Neanderthalensis may have been the Earth's first natural redhead. Study suggests that sexual orientation is coded in genetic material. Wired Magazine's review of the new Mac operating system. French president evidently working overtime to reinforce common stereotypes held about the French people. Sacre bleu! New Jersey school proves the true importance of accessories in a Halloween costume.... more ›

The Health Alliance For Austin Musicians (or HAAM) provides local artists with low-cost health care and other related services. This year’s HAAM Benefit Day is here (today), and the organization is presenting numerous shows all over town this evening, along with a Telethon on ME Television. One can offer their assistance in funds by donating online as well. The HAAM Benefit Day is presented with support from a number of entities, including Whole Foods... more ›

Some Austin restaurants are doing their part to help folks in Sudan and Chad. To help raise funds for the American Jewish World Service's work for the people of Darfur, local restaurants are donating a percentage of their proceeds from today's sales. AJWS provides basic health care, water, therapeutic feeding centers, medicine, activities/programs for children, and education to many of the displaced and traumatized refugees who have been violently forced from their homes and are... more ›

Because of a newly promulgated national accounting standard, city governments must now report their long-term unfunded liability for retiree health care in their annual financial statements. This new standard is forcing municipal governments across the country to face their obligations to public sector retirees, and in most cases the debt is pretty darn big. For example, the City of Austin is now looking down the barrel of its own retiree health care debt....all $1 billion... more ›

Whether you like Michael Moore or think he's an anti-American nutjob, the guy's coming out with a new movie. Sicko is a study of America's (failing) health care system. Moore talks to victims (like a man who had to choose which of his two severed fingers to reattach, because he couldn't afford both) and perpetrators (oft-repentant health insurance agents) of the U.S. health care system, then trots (okay, maybe plods) around the globe in search... more ›