The Mask Slips  —  I haven't read much Karl Marx since the early 1980s, when I taught political philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.  Still, it didn't take me long this weekend to find my copy of “The Marx-Engels Reader,” edited by Robert C. Tucker — a book that was assigned …

Megyn Kelly, Fox News's Fast-Rising Anchor  —  NEW YORK — It's just after 10:30 Monday morning on “America's Newsroom,” and Megyn Kelly has bounced from riots in Paris to storms in the Midwest, from a truck-and-train collision to a strange interview about the 1969 Manson family murders with the sister of slain actress Sharon Tate.

Yes We Can: Wonkette Goes Solo  —  So, anything happening in the media news today?  Wait, WHAT?  Yes it's true: Wonkette is bravely leaving the Gawker Media nest, along with Gawker's music and travel sites.  Why on Earth is a beloved publication such as Wonkette taking this plunge …

CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL  —  Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  BROWN: Good evening, everybody, to our viewers in the United States and around the world.  Welcome to Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.

CLINTON KEEPS SPOTLIGHT ON OBAMA  —  From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones  —  PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Hillary Clinton spent a fourth day hitting Obama for comments about small town America that she characterized as elitist, out of touch and problematic for the Democratic Party, but this time some in the crowd …

Israel snubs Carter and declines security help  —  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's secret service has declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders have shunned him, U.S. sources close to the matter said on Monday.

YOU BITTER?  —  I've gotten asked by a lot of readers what I make of this whole “bitter” controversy.  So a few thoughts.  —  In cases such as this I think it is always crucial to distinguish in our own minds between what we find offensive and what we've been conditioned to believe that others will find offensive.

Despite Tough Times, Ultrarich Keep Spending  —  Who said anything about a recession?  Sometime between the government bailout of Bear Stearns and the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that America lost 80,000 jobs in March, Lee Tachman spent roughly $50,000 last month on a four-day jaunt to Miami for himself and three close friends.

Michelle Obama to Appear on The Colbert Report  —  After you're done writing off your last pointed tip bolo knife purchase (whoever said being a Laotian hitman would come back to bite you at tax time?) be sure to catch Michelle Obama's tax night (April 15) appearance on The Colbert Report …

Iraqis aren't stupid — and they're watching us  —  Last month, Vets for Freedom visited the Twin Cities to talk about their experience in Iraq — and got rewarded by being booted from a local high school.  Michael Honeycutt and I, along with hundreds of people from our community …

Bush prepares global warming initiative  —  President Bush is poised to change course and announce as early as this week that he wants Congress to pass a bill to combat global warming, and will lay out principles for what that should include.  —  Specifics of the policy are still being fiercely debated …

A Libertarian Surge?  —  Bob Barr will be dry-eyed if his candidacy is to John McCain what Ralph Nader's was to Al Gore in 2000.  —  Compact and Feisty Bob Barr, 59, probably will seek and get the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, which convenes in Denver on Memorial Day weekend.