Joe the Plumber is here, and he ain't happy  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher of Ohio, aka Joe the Plumber, arrived in Sderot at noon Sunday to show local and foreign reporters how to do it right.  —  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” he told foreign reporters.  —  “You should be patriotic …

Obama's Cheney Dilemma  —  Cheney pushed for expanded presidential powers.  Now that he's leaving, what will come of his efforts?  The new president won't have to wait long to tip his hand.  —  From the magazine issue dated Jan 19, 2009  —  Dick Cheney, who will step down as vice president on Jan. 20 …

Bush Lead During Weakest Economy in Decades  —  Eight-Year Period Is Weakest in Decades  —  President Bush has presided over the weakest eight-year span for the U.S. economy in decades, according to an analysis of key data, and economists across the ideological spectrum increasingly view …

Bush: I Personally Authorized Torture Of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed  —  In an interview with Brit Hume that aired today on Fox News Sunday, President Bush admitted that he personally authorized the torture of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.  He said he personally asked “what tools” …

Sources: Voinovich to retire from Senate  —  From CNN's Dana Bash, Ed Henry and Mark Preston  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sources close to Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, tell CNN he will announce Monday he is retiring from the Senate.  —  The 72-year-old senator and former Ohio governor …

New Yorkers for Hamas  —  I was in New York this afternoon with the TigerHawk Teenager for a college interview.  Walking down 7th Avenue toward Penn Station, we happened across a large pro-Hamas demonstration that stretched for four blocks or so along the east side of the avenue.

Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age  —  The earth is now on the brink of entering another Ice Age, according to a large and compelling body of evidence from within the field of climate science.  Many sources of data which provide our knowledge base of long-term climate change indicate that the warm …

Hail to the Faux Chief We Have Chosen as Rehearsal Stand-In  —  No, that's not the Obamas, but their spots were filled, dutifully, for an inauguration rehearsal Sunday in Washington.  Page A10.  More Photos >  —  WASHINGTON — Politics and governance in Washington can sometimes seem …

Say No To...  Along with the emancipation of women, sexual liberation has become very much a part of politics around the world.  To the conservatives, both these issues challenge ‘family values’.  —  But what if there were no families?  What if we say no to reproduction?

Iran warns Hamas not to accept Egyptian truce proposal  —  Iran is exerting heavy pressure on Hamas not to accept the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, an Egyptian government official said on Sunday.  —  The official told The Jerusalem Post by phone that two senior Iranian officials …

Big changes to Obama stimulus plan  —  President-elect Barack Obama tried Sunday to shore up support in Congress for his ambitious economic policies, with his top advisers offering concessions on his economic-stimulus proposal and preparing to detail conditions for how the incoming administration …

GERMAN “POLICE” JOIN JEW-HATING MUSLIM MOB  —  Only one word comes to mind as I read and watch this: UNBELIEVABLE.  —  Wow.  In Germany.  Wow.  —  I read this story at the excellent Gaza war-posting blog, “Muqata,” and I was just able to dig up the vid on YouTube...It is obviously the same episode.

History's Verdict  —  IN the wake of the Abu Ghraib revelations, the White House counsel, Alberto Gonzales, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005 that “we care very much about finding out what happened and holding people accountable.”  —  There is now ample reason to believe …

The Embrace  —  Jim Henley offers a provocative thought: … There's something to that.  According to the perverse rules of our post-9/11 discourse, willingness to verbally endorse the idea of having other people torture strangers counts as a form of courageous “toughness” akin to, you know, actually doing something brave.