Howard Heckled

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Changing Their Tune

Republicans' efforts to limit judicial filibusters are being roundly condemned by Senate Democrats, including Iowa's Tom Harkin, who believes it would set a, "dangerous precedent," and Connecticut's Joe Lieberman, who says requiring fewer than 60 votes to break a filibuster would, "mark a complete break with Senate rules and traditions and remove the check on [the president's] power."

But in 1995, Lieberman and Harkin introduced legislation to allow just a simple majority to break any kind of filibuster, a bill that 19 Democrats voted for. The bill was overwhelmingly defeated, but nine of those Democrats who supported it are still serving and now condemning Republicans' efforts.

Lieberman and Harkin insist times are now different, with Harkin saying, "more and more I'm afraid of any majority running roughshod over the minority."

Memories of Mistreatment

Democrats have released a letter from a woman who says she remembers being verbally abused by U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton more than 20 years ago. But it turns out this isn't the first time Lynne Finney remembered mistreatment from long ago.

On her Web site, Finney talks about how she, "recovered memories ... of having been abused by her father," which prompted her to earn a masters degree in clinical social work and become a psychotherapist, "in order to heal herself and others."

The Web site says that during her recovery, she, "began to have spiritual experiences that opened her to new perceptions of reality."

Howard Heckled

The BBC is now admitting it fitted three people with microphones and sent them into a campaign event featuring British Prime Minister candidate Michael Howard, to heckle the Conservative leader.

According to London's Daily Telegraph, the three got into the event by describing themselves as "shoppers." But, once inside, they began screaming, "Michael Howard is a liar" and "You can't trust the Tories."

The Conservative Party has written a letter to the BBC, accusing it of trying to, "generate a false news story and dramatize coverage" and demanding an apology.

The BBC insists it did not direct the hecklers' actions and that it was all part of a "completely legitimate program about the history and art of political heckling."

Compensated for the 'Financial Burden'?

A Scottish woman who had an abortion upon finding out she was pregnant with twins, is now suing Scotland's National Health Service after one of the twins survived, insisting she deserves to be compensated for the "financial burden" of her child.

The woman is seeking 250,000 pounds — or more than $477,000 — claiming, "I have got a child now that I wasn't planning to have, and I believe the hospital should take some responsibility."

The National Health Service, quoted by The Times of London, says its doctors acted appropriately and calls the lawsuit excessive.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report