Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette (R), 14th Ohio Congressional District, agreed with members of his Chagrin Falls Town Hall Meeting that everyone should be “civil”, then proceeded to respond to a question about whether he “would vote for reform” by answering, “That’s a bullshit question.” The Congressman just didn’t make the statement once but twice. Huffington Post has the video. I think the Congressman’s arrogance towards the voters will come back to haunt him in the next election.

Rising Tide IV , the annual bloggers conference on the recovery and future of New Orleans, will be “Sinking to New Heights” on Aug. 22 at the Zeitgeist Multi Disciplinary Arts Center in New Orleans. Our featured speaker: the multi-talented Harry Shearer , a great champion of New Orleans on Huffington Post and elsewhere, along with panels on the status and future of New Orleans music, food and parading culture; the state of New Orleans health care, a look at politics and the city going into the 2010 elections and more.

by Rachel Weiner The Huffington Post No fewer than 3,300 lobbyists have signed up to influence health care reform, Bloomberg reports. That’s six lobbyists for each of the 535 members of the House and Senate, according to Senate records, and three times the number of people registered to lobby on defense. More than 1,500 organizations have health-care lobbyists, and about three more are signing up each day. Every one of the 10 biggest lobbying firms by revenue is involved in an effort that could affect 17 percent of the U.S.

Tom Matlack interviews Matt Weiner for the Huffington Post . This is one of the most intimate and revealing interviews Matt has done (revealing about himself, not about spoilers or anything). (h/t Basketcase Ellen.) How to have a Mad Men wedding . Starpulse has fresh interview with Vincent Kartheiser. So does Salon (thanks, hullaballoo), but you might want to wait until after Sunday to read it. It’s not really a spoiler, but it’s very very VERY hinty and I would avoid it if I were you.

“The history of liberty is a history of resistance.”  I am not sure whether or not he originated the quote, but one of the original neocons, Woodrow Wilson,  spoke these words at the New York Press Club in 1912. [No, this is not an endorsement of Wilson.] Additionally, Noam Chomsky said, “Resistance is feasible even for those who are not heroes by nature, and it is an obligation, I believe, for those who fear the consequences and detest the reality of the attempt to impose American hegemony.” The attempt to impose health hegemony has triggered people to dust off their inner rebel and take a stand.

The Huffington Post reports that Geico has pulled its ads from the Glenn Beck program. The author of the article is bragging about his petition signed by 75,000 people to urge sponsors to pull their ads from Beck’s program. This is typical of liberals and has been done by Wendi C. Thomas of the Commercial Appeal and countless others. They cannot stand that the RIGHT has a platform with which to speak from so they do their best to silence this dissent, while Maher, MooreRespect my rights as I do yours.

My first question is, is the memo authentic? Because this is really explosive: Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma : A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week. The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return.

You know the messiah is tumbling back to earth when HuffPo puts up a investigative post about the collusion between Obama and big Pharma: A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week. The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return.

Gates Hints At US Buildup In Afghanistan — AFP WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has left open the possibility of sending more forces to Afghanistan but warned of stretched military resources. With about 132,000 troops in Iraq, Gates said there were constraints as to how many extra troops could be sent to Afghanistan at least until after Iraq’s elections in January. “I would say also that the availability of forces is still a challenge,” he told a news conference on Thursday.

Recall that campaign? Okay, we never believed it, but still…A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week.  Huffington Post….but hey, do what you want….you will anyway.