We all know that journalists (including some at highly-regarded newspapers) often makes things up, but rarely have we witnessed such a mix of misinformation, disinformation and innuendo passed off as fact, as we have in recent days in the reports dealing with the death of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud Mabhouh. (Some of this admittedly can be attributed to the complete failure of the Israeli government – whether or not Israel had anything to do with the matter – to provide an effective response to the media.)

The New York-based American Jewish Committee blasted the BBC on Sunday for airing an accusation that Jews around the world assist in supposed Mossad assassinations. The AJC said in a statement that it was “dismayed that a guest on BBC Radio 4 was allowed to state unchallenged” that the Mossad relies on Jews for assassination plots. “This baseless accusation crosses every red line between legitimate public discussion and bigoted fear-mongering,” said AJC executive director David Harris. “In less than a minute, the BBC has cast a shadow on the lives of Jews worldwide.”

Yesterday, Mark Levin wrote: “I don’t need lectures from Beck, who was nowhere to be found, about big-spending Republicans. But this is not about me, or Beck, or Beck’s past drunkenness (which he endlessly wears as some kind of badge of honor). It is about preserving our society for our children and grandchildren. Beck spent precious little time aiming fire at Obama-Pelosi-Reid in his speech, and it is they who are destroying our country.”

Check in with Critical Condition for the latest commentary on Obamacare, the big TV pow-wow and reconciliation.

OK, let’s stipulate that, like all good Red Sox [team stats] fans, Ben Affleck hates the Yankees . So why is the Cambridge homey attached to direct – and possibly star in – “The Trade,” a flick about a pair of Bronx Bomber hurlers???? Well, that would be because the flick is about the biggest Yankees sex scandal of all time. No, not A-Rod and the stripper – swinging ’70s playboys Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich who, one fine day, decided to trade wives! And get this, Ben’s rumored co-star in the tawdry tale that became a national scandal is none other than his homeboy Matt Damon.

Markos Moulitsas stays classy.

Bret Baier of Fox News reports, “Statement from the Office of former VP Cheney: Former VP Cheney is in GW Hospital after experiencing chest pains. His doctors are evaluating the situation and he is resting comfortably.”

Florida RINO Charlie Crist, Governor, Senate candidate and Obama hugger extraordinaire, has one foot in the political grave, and he keeps throwing banana peels in front of the other one. “He says he does not regret accepting the stimulus money. ‘I can’t apologize for it all,’ he said, ‘It was the right thing to do. We needed the money and 87,000 jobs in our state. And you know, I was raised to respect the Presidency of the United States.’”

You might be thinking this is a casual greeting or, when mingled with a head nod and a smirk, quite possibly the worst attempt at initiating a conversation with a girl. Look through your average college student’s text message outbox, however, between the waning hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. (or maybe later based on last call at your local bars) and you’ll see this line peppered throughout, plagued with spelling mistakes and errant punctuation.

The Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) gathering this weekend included some odd moments, some odd speakers, and some odd outcomes. But it also included some fine moments and impressive speeches — especially one fantastic address by columnist George Will.

After months of what sure looks like political gridlock in the nation’s capitol despite voters having handed majority control of all three political institutions to Democrats back in 2008, almost three-out-of-four Americans today say “Washington right now is broken.” Even more amazingly, one out of four Americans still haven’t been fully convinced that the nation’s capitol is broken.

Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan immigrant who was a key player in what the federal authorities have said was one of the most serious threats to the United States since the 9/11 attacks, is expected to plead guilty to terrorism charges this afternoon, a law enforcement official said. Mr. Zazi is scheduled to appear before Judge Raymond J. Dearie at Federal District Court in Brooklyn at 2:30 p.m. to plead guilty conspiracy to detonate bombs in the United States, according to the official.

Here’s Bill Bennett from Sunday on Glenn Beck’s CPAC speech: “. . .To say the GOP and the Democrats are no different, to say the GOP needs to hit a recovery-program-type bottom and hang its head in remorse, is to delay our own country’s recovery from the problems the Democratic left is inflicting. The stakes are too important to go through that kind of exercise, which will ultimately go nowhere anyway — because it’s already happened. The first task of a serious political analyst is to see things as they are. There is a difference between morning and night. There is a difference between drunk and sober. And there is a difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. To ignore these differences, or propagate the myth that they don’t exist, is not only discouraging, it is dangerous.”

Over the past year the House and the Senate have been working on an effort to provide health insurance reform that lowers costs, guarantees choices, and enhances quality health care for all Americans. Building on that year-long effort, the President has now put forth a proposal that incorporates the work the House and the Senate have done and adds additional ideas from Republican members of Congress. The President has long said he is open to any good ideas for reforming our health care system, and he looks forward to discussing ideas for further improvements from Republicans and Democrats at an open, bipartisan meeting on Thursday.

In July of this year, the American people were mostly undecided about Obamacare: equal numbers opposed and supported the health care bills that the White House was shepherding through Congress. But then August happened and informed Americans turned out at townhalls across the country to express their strong disapproval of Obamacare. The larger American public noticed and and pluralities of the American people began to oppose Obamacare. The White House concluded they had a “communications problem” so they scheduled a prime time speech in front of a rare Joint Session of Congress. But the President’s speech arrogantly dismissed the concerns of the American people and after a brief uptick in support (from the low 40s to the mid 40s), opposition to the President’s plan grew.

SEOUL — “I am fool.” That. . .comes from Oh Kil-nam, a South Korean economist who moved to North Korea a quarter-century ago, dragging along his unhappy wife and two teenage daughters. He then defected to the West, leaving his family stranded in a country his wife had called “a living hell.”

. . . The move has met with some criticism. In a statement, Brian Wise, executive director of Military Families United said, “You cannot end a war simply by changing its name. Despite the Administration’s efforts to spin realities on the ground, their efforts do not change the situation at hand in Iraq. Operational military decisions should not be made for purposes of public relations, as the Secretary of Defense cites, but should be made in the best interests of our nation, the troops on the ground and their families back home.”

A contractor who pleaded guilty in an ongoing corruption probe in Detroit has told investigators that he handed as much as $100,000 in bribes to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002, according to interviews and sworn documents reviewed by the Free Press.

WASHINGTON — President Obama will propose on Monday giving the federal government new power to block excessive rate increases by health insurance companies, as he rolls out comprehensive legislation to revamp the nation’s health care system, White House officials said. The president’s legislation aims to bridge differences between the bills adopted by the House and Senate late last year, and to frame his debate with Republicans over health policy at a televised “summit” meeting on Thursday. By focusing on the effort to tighten regulation of insurance costs, a new element not included in either the House or Senate bills, Mr. Obama is seizing on outrage over recent premium increases of up to 39 percent announced by Anthem Blue Cross of California and moving to portray the Democrats’ health overhaul as a way to protect Americans from predatory insurers.

. . . The three Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies from Michigan, Rhode Island, and Oregon might be good examples for the administration’s argument that something needs to be done to control health care costs. But it’s unclear that they’re the bext examples of avaricious, profit-hungry insurance predators. Because they are all not for profit, and heavily regulated by their state governments.