Yes, the health care bill has passed the House. The Senate is the final hurdle.

A very interesting open letter from Conor Friedersdorf to Jonah Goldberg.

I’m writing this letter as a fan – I’ve tremendous respect for the pioneering work you did at National Review Online, your attempts to inject humor into political writing, and the enjoyable debates you’ve done with Peter Beinart. But I’m also a friendly critic, here to challenge your take on the current state of the GOP, the conservative movement, and the country. Perhaps I can persuade you that certain of your positions are wrongly held, though I’d be as satisfied were I moved by counterarguments.

It is actually surprising that the gulf separating our attitudes is so deep. As a native of Orange County, California, the people I most respect in this world – my parents and two sets of grandparents – are all self-described conservative Republicans. My involvement in politics began in response to what I regarded as grave flaws in leftist campus politics at Pomona College, and the dubious actions of Democrats during the Gray Davis era in California, when I witnessed giveaways to public employee unions that were arguably the most fiscally irresponsible measures in state history. The political writers I’ve read whose work most resonates are Burke, Hayek, and Milton Friedman. The bulk of President Obama’s domestic agenda strikes me as ill conceived at best—I worry about the unabated growth of the federal government, America’s perilous fiscal situation, and an approach to governance that relies on the enduring wisdom of elected and appointed officials.

But try as I might, I cannot muster any enthusiasm for the Republican Party, I am profoundly disillusioned by the state of the conservative movement, and though my background and political beliefs ought to make me a lock for GOP presidential candidates – were they running, I’d certainly prefer Ford, Reagan, George Bush Sr. or Bob Dole to a second Obama term – I am a solidly undecided voter as 2012 approaches.

Read the whole thing…

The IDF has uploaded a video presentation showing the huge shipment of weaponry from Iran, intended for Hezbollah, that was intercepted this week by an Israel Navy commando force aboard the civilian ship Francop.

Here’s an open thread, with music video accompaniment by Ramona Falls, directed by Stefan Nadelman.

An excellent video for “Time Flies,” from Porcupine Tree’s highly recommended new album, The Incident. (Here it is at the iTunes Store.)

I watched this earlier and was going to export from EyeTV and upload it to YouTube, but Think Progress beat me to it so I’ll use their video.

It’s not one of the GOP’s finest moments (to put it mildly), as House Republicans shout, scream, and make repetitive objections over the members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus. But this is probably going to be a big hit with the TPers.

Again we’re seeing the influence of the social conservative wing on the GOP, because the big issue today is the Stupak abortion amendment, and the Democratic Women’s Caucus is pro-choice. So we get treated to the lovely spectacle of Republicans openly opposed to letting women have a voice in an important debate, and acting like boorish sexist pigs.

Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel condemned signs containing Holocaust imagery and antisemitic conspiracy theories, at Michele Bachmann’s “tea party” event last Thursday.

One sign at the rally contained images of dead Holocaust victims at the Dachau concentration camp under the banner “National Socialist Health Care.” Another sign said that President Barack Obama “takes his orders” from the Rothschilds, a family of Jewish bankers.

Wiesel commented through his eponymous foundation’s Twitter account:

Elie Wiesel on the GOP Tea Party’s anti-Semitism and Holocaust comparisons: “This kind of political hatred is indecent and disgusting.”

The National Jewish Democratic Council also issued a statement:

“The time has come for [John] Boehner, [Eric] Cantor, [Mike] Pence and other GOP leaders — especially those who were present today — to condemn these disgusting comparisons and anti-Semitism,” said NJDC President David Harris in a statement. “They must tell their base once and for all to cut out this despicable pattern of Holocaust imagery and rhetoric.”

This is the sign, which was reportedly directly in front of the podium and visible to every politician or pundit who spoke at Michele Bachmann’s event.