Paul Raises More Than $3.5 Million  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $3.5 million in 20 hours.  —  Paul, the Texas congressman with a Libertarian tilt and an out-of-Iraq pitch …

Urgent: Letter from Intelligence, Military, Diplomatic, and Law Enforcement Professionals  —  PREFACE:  —  A group of distinguished intelligence and military officers, diplomats, and law enforcement professionals delivered an urgent message this morning to the chairman and the ranking minority member …

Rosie O'Donnell in Talks to Join MSNBC  —  Rosie O'Donnell, who abruptly left "The View" on ABC last spring after drawing attention and ratings for her opinions on everything from the Iraq war to her co-hosts, is in serious discussions to return to television atop a new soapbox …

Supermodel 'rejects dollar pay'  —  The world's richest model has reportedly reacted in her own way to the sliding value of the US dollar - by refusing to be paid in the currency.  —  Gisele Bündchen is said to be keen to avoid the US currency because of uncertainty over its strength.

First They Came for Hillary Clinton...  It is widely assumed, on both Left and Right, that Hillary Clinton and her campaign made a grave error by responding to the criticism of her performance in last Tuesday's Democratic debate by complaining of a "pile-on."  Bill Kristol, for one, called it a "foolish overreaction."

White House Tells Musharraf: Never 'Restrict Constitutional Freedoms' To Fight Terror  —  During today's White House press briefing, spokeswoman Dana Perino condemned Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of "emergency rule" in Pakistan.  She said that the administration is "deeply disappointed" …

Stephen Colbert Drops Presidential Bid … NEW YORK (AP) - Stephen Colbert has dropped his bid for the White House.  —  His announcement came after the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council voted last week to keep the host of "The Colbert Report" off the state's primary ballot.  The vote was 13-3.

Thompson advisor steps down  —  Philip J. Martin, a key fundraiser for the GOP presidential candidate, has a record for selling drugs.  The campaign says it will no longer use his jet for travel.  —  BEDFORD, N.H. — A top fundraiser with a criminal record for selling drugs resigned from the campaign of presidential hopeful Fred.

Romney scores a big conservative endorsement  —  Score another touchdown for Mitt Romney in the Republican struggle for the party's conservative family values base.  —  The former Massachusetts governor has just received the endorsement of Paul Weyrich, an influential conservative leader …

Limbaugh Attacks!  —  Rush Limbaugh went after a young HS graduate on his radio show because she broke down and cried talking about the environment and Global Warming.  —  via email: … Download (40) |  Play (42)  —  The Gavel has the video of her testimony. … (Read the rest of this story...)

GUILIANI'S FLIP-FLOP ON HEALTH INSURANCE FOR KIDS.  —  In his campaign for president, Rudolph Giuliani keeps suggesting that his experience as a prostate cancer survivor makes him uniquely qualified to evaluate the American health care system.  To judge from his recent pronouncements …

Special Comment: George Bush's Criminal Conspiracy of Torture  —  In his latest fire-breathing Special Comment Keith tears into President Bush for firing a true patriot that spoke out against torture, while cowardly and simultaneously ordering others to commit the very same heinous crime.

Can the Democrats Own Prosperity?  —  And can they exorcise the ghost of Jimmy Carter?  —  In America, politics is usually like the weather, changing from day to day in ways that are often capricious, rarely meaningful, but always useful as fodder for unproductive conversation.

Democrats wake up to being the party of the rich  —  Alegislative proposal that was once on the fast track is suddenly dead.  The Senate will not consider a plan to extract billions in extra taxes from megamillionaire hedge fund managers.  —  The decision by Senate majority leader Harry Reid …