Should Michelle Cover Up?  —  Journalists are never supposed to start a piece with a scene in a taxi because it signals either laziness about gathering facts or a tendency to embroider facts.  —  Nonetheless, I'm going to.  David Brooks and I were sharing a cab to the British Embassy the other day to meet with Gordon Brown.

Why Rush is Wrong  —  The party of Buckley and Reagan is now bereft and dominated by the politics of Limbaugh.  A conservative's lament.  —  Ron Edmonds / AP  —  Good As Is: Conservatism, Limbaugh told CPAC, ‘is what it is, and it is forever’  —  From the magazine issue dated Mar 16, 2009

Mixed Opinions of a Judge Accused of Misconduct  —  DALLAS — If Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of Texas' highest criminal court, has ever doubted her judgment, she has not shown it.  —  In 1998, Judge Keller wrote the opinion rejecting a new trial for Roy Criner, a mentally retarded man convicted …

Russian media teases Clinton over ‘reset’ button … Russian media has been poking fun at US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she gave her Russian counterpart a “reset” button with an ironic misspelling.  —  Clinton's gift to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at their meeting …

Tea Party on: Taxpayer revolts in Green Bay, Lafayette, Olathe, and Harrisburg; Plus: Live from Fullerton CA... “Recall the Taxinator!  ;” Arnie videotapes/DVDs smashes/shredded  —  Scroll for updates...  The tax-paying rebels are not going away.  —  In Green Bay, Wisconsin …

Ann Coulter and Red Eye Rip Olbermann's Cornell Diploma Embarrassment!  —  It's one of the great smackdowns of all time, and we have the video for your viewing pleasure.  Check it out, check-it-outers:  —  Bonus!  More Keith bashing from the comely Coulter:

New Chairman Boos G.O.P. When He's Not Cheerleading  —  None of the guests seemed to be complaining, yet Michael Steele stood at a Fifth Avenue fund-raiser in New York on Wednesday evening and defended his month-old tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Dreaming of Splitting the Taliban  —  FRIENDS?  FOES?  —  WASHINGTON  —  HERE is a proposition that is bound to cut deep into the national psyche: Should the United States seek to negotiate with some of the same people who gave sanctuary to Osama bin Laden prior to the Sept. 11 attacks?

Obama to bring Cuba in from the cold  —  US companies are queuing up as the president moves to ease restrictions on travel and trade, raising hopes of warmer relations and an end to the embargo  —  President Barack Obama is poised to offer an olive branch to Cuba in an effort to repair the US's tattered reputation in Latin America.

Campaigners will seek arrest of Islamic radical  —  Campaigners from the Centre for Social Cohesion have pledged to seek an arrest warrant for Dr Ibrahim Moussawi, an Islamic extremist, who is due to visit Britain this March.  —  The think-tank said the Home Office would be “beyond hypocrisy” …

‘Shut up about Chavez the killer’ Venezuelan co-star tells Sean Penn  —  The saccharine conventions of showbusiness were thrown out of the window last week, when the Hollywood actress Maria Conchita Alonso was collared by paparazzi and asked if she was pleased about her former co-star Sean Penn's recent Oscar victory.

High-Speed Rail Drives Obama's Transportation Agenda  —  The Northern Lights Express is little more than an idea — a proposal for a 110-mph passenger train between Minneapolis and Duluth, Minn., that has crept along in fits and starts for years.  —  But the slow ride may soon be over.

Yes, We Did Plan for Mumbai-Style Attacks in the U.S.  —  Why the latest assault on Bush antiterror strategy could make us less safe.  —  Suppose al Qaeda branched out from crashing airliners into American cities.  Using small arms, explosives, or biological, chemical or nuclear weapons …