As part of the weekend round-up, I'll be briefly going over a few stories that caught my attention as the week was winding down:

Bill Reconciliation is the latest parliamentary maneuver that Obama and Congressional Democrats are using to force their Healthcare agenda through Congress and onto the President's desk.

This is a parliamentary procedure in the Senate that allows a simple majority of senators to modify a law to bring it in line with various federal budget laws. Democrats plan on using it as a way to ram through votes with only 51 Senators, having squandered their supermajority in the Senate and thus their ability to prevent Republicans from filibustering the bill.

This week, the Senate Parliamentarian, the chief rules officer of the United States Senate, reported that Reconciliation can only be used on an existing law. This means something that President has already signed. Of course, that means Congress has to present a bill to the President to sign. And that means that Congressional Democrats need to either: a) have Pelosi pass the Senate version of the Bill, something House Democrats are loathe to do, or b) somehow convince one Republican Senator and 9 Blue Dog Democratic Senators to vote for the House version of the Bill.

Neither of these seem particularly likely, but it does put one more nail into the Healthcare coffin that the Democrats have so conveniently built for themselves.

International hockey results at the Olympics made its way into the White House press room on Friday with Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, showing up wearing a jersey of the Gold Medal-winning Canadian Olympic hockey team:

Source: ESPN.com

During the recent Winter Olympics, Robert Gibbs and his Canadian counterpart (Dimitri Soudas, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's spokesman) made a bet that their respective women's hockey team would win the gold, with the loser showing up at an event in the other's hockey jersey. When the Canadian women's team won, they went double-or-nothing on the men's hockey showdown. As seen above, the Canadian men's hockey team won the Gold.

Also part of the deal, Prime Minister Harper and President Obama pledged to send the winning side a case of beer from the country's oldest brewery. Obama ordered a case of of Yuengling Beer, from Pottsville, PA (America's Oldest Brewery), as well as a case of Molson-Coors (Canada's oldest brewery) to Harper as part of the bet.

NRA approval ratings are higher than Obama's, according to a recent survey, reports the Washington Times. This is not news that the White House will be welcoming, or covering, very much.

Released earlier this week, a Democracy Corps/Third Way national security survey polled voters with numerous questions about the Presidents and concluded that the results were "sobering". They noted:

But this should be a wake-up call for the president and his party that they need to strengthen their standing on the country’s national security challenges, even as they work to create jobs, enact health care reform, and address other vital domestic priorities.

Source: Democracy Corps

Among likely voters, Obama polls at 50.6% while the NRA polls at 54.0%. Overall averages read as Obama 51.3% vs. NRA 53.1%.

While not a massive difference, it does underscore the rise of of activism and energization of those on the right impacting polls in a way that Obama and Democrats in Congress did not enjoy in 2009.

You can download a copy of the survey results from Democracy Corps.

Gategate continues: Inter-branch finger-pointing and blame are being exchanged by the White House and Congress, the result of a White House staffer flub that let in two uninvited guests who managed to get pictures with the President and Vice-President during a state dinner late last year.

While the Secret Service has officially accepted responsibility, Congressional members are fuming at new security procedures that extend the amount of time they need to provide to the Secret Service prior to visiting the Executive Branch, which has been increased to 48 hours prior, as well as a Social Security Number.

You'd think the federal government would have already run background checks on all Congressional members. You know, just to have complete information. Is it really necessary to have them wait like a tourist more than a year into the 111th Congress?

Organic nanotechnology may be the key to future batteries being a fraction of the size they are now. Researchers at MIT have come up with a process using carbon nanotubes to generate electricity and, they hope, lead to a invention of a new, environmentally-friendly battery.

And a much smaller battery with the same amount of juice as modern batteries.

When will the iPhones have these batteries? I want one now: maybe my phone will stay powered for more than a day!

And that's your weekend BINGO.