New York Post Chimp Cartoon Compares Stimulus Author To Dead Primate  —  A cartoon likening the author of the stimulus bill, perhaps President Barack Obama, with a rabid chimpanzee graced the pages of the New York Post on Wednesday.  —  The drawing, from famed cartoonist Sean Delonas …

White House: Obama Opposes ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Revival  —  A White House spokesman tells FOXNews.com President Obama opposes any move to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine.  —  FOXNews.com  —  President Obama opposes any move to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, a spokesman told FOXNews.com Wednesday.

Holder: ‘Nation of cowards’ on race  —  Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that despite advances, the United States remains “a nation of cowards” on issues involving race.  —  “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial …

Report: Hitchens beaten by pro-Syrian thugs in Beirut?  Update: “I was on the ground and getting it in the head”  —  Look on the bright side: This'll make for one hell of a Slate column once he gets back.  —  I can only assume they didn't recognize him, as the opportunity to scalp …

Patrick Fitzgerald, 50 others, still serving  —  With all the controversy surrounding the Bush administration's firings of several U.S. attorneys, the question for the Obama administration became: What now?  —  And with all the muck that the hard-charging Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald …

Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes  —  Prof. Marshall Grossman has come to expect complaints whenever he returns graded papers in his English classes at the University of Maryland.  —  “Many students come in with the conviction that they've worked hard and deserve a higher mark,” Professor Grossman said.

Palin owes tax on per diem, state says  —  EXPENSES: Governor received meal money while living in Wasilla.  —  ldemer@adn.com  —  Gov. Sarah Palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials.

ND House Passes Abortion Ban  —  North Dakota's House of Representatives has passed a bill effectively outlawing abortion.  —  The House voted 51-41 this afternoon to declare that a fertilized egg has all the rights of any person.  —  That means a fetus could not be legally aborted without the procedure being considered murder.

Kansas Governor Is Top Choice for Secretary of Health  —  WASHINGTON —Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, an early Obama ally with a record of working across party lines, has emerged as the president's top choice for secretary of health and human services, advisers said Wednesday.

Obama has new flag frenzy  —  White House embraces a backdrop of red, white and blue  —  Oh, say - can you see?  Look.  It's President Obama, and he's surrounded by American flags.  —  They're on the dais in star-spangled glory.  They're at the town-hall meeting and the news conference, in bold folds of red, white and blue.

Obama Unveils $75 Billion Plan to Fight Home Foreclosures  —  MESA, Ariz. — President Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to help as many as nine million American homeowners refinance their mortgages or avert foreclosure, saying that it would shore up housing prices, stabilize neighborhoods …

CA Lt. Gov. Garamendi: GOP an infection ‘spreading across the nation’ : Updated  —  The Republicans in the California legislature are trying to close down the entire state.  As everyone across America watches with awe how f*&ked up these idiot Republican politicians are acting …

KNOWLEDGE MAY BE POWER, BUT INFORMATION IS PROFIT.  —  Doc-blogger Kevin Pho — no liberal, and no fan of government action — writes in defense of federally-funded comparative effectiveness research.  “Physicians need an authoritative source of unbiased data, untainted by the influence …

More scenes from Mesa: “I need a beachfront condo, Mr. President!”  —  I love this.  At the Mesa AZ protest against President Obama today, KFYI listeners brought signs telling Santa Obama what they wanted from the savior-based economy.  Hats off to KFYI's Bruce Jacobs and J.D. Hayworth.

Sam Donaldson: Media to End Kid Gloves With Obama  —  President Barack Obama has yet to get his feet on the ground.  George H. W. Bush is underrated, while John F. Kennedy is overrated.  Ronald Reagan did indeed help to end the Cold War.  And while he may have been a crook …

Earmark Scandal Breaking  —  There's a potentially big story brewing on Capitol Hill... Apparently 104 members of Congress of both parties — 42 Republicans and 62 Democrats — secured earmarks for a lobbying firm linked to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) in a single bill.

GOP governors consider turning down stimulus money  —  BATON ROUGE, La. - A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment.

Blue dog Democrats oppose card check  —  According to Arkansas opponents of the federal Employee Free Choice Act, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have a tough time getting moderate Blue Dog Democrats to support the union-backed legislation more commonly known as card check.

‘I was wrong about disengagement’  —  President Shimon Peres said Wednesday that he erred in supporting Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.  —  “What will happen in the future, we shall not repeat the wrongs we did in leaving Gaza,” Peres said in a question …

The Beltway Media *is* out of touch  —  The Politico's Jonathan Martin is a bit annoyed: … Ha ha ha.  Get it?  Pointing out that the Beltway media is completely disconnected from the rest of the country isn't, well, pointing out that the Beltway media is completely disconnected from the rest of the country.