Half Dozen Republican Senators To Blast Obama Intel Pick Over Israel Views  —  Okay, Senate Republicans are officially ratcheting up their war against Chas Freeman, who is taking heavy fire from the pro-Israel lobby and the neocons as Obama's pick to head the National Intelligence Council.

Beck: Stem-cell research will lead directly to the search for a new ‘master race.’  —  On his radio show today, conservative talker Glenn Beck commented on President Obama overturning the ban on federally funded stem-cell research.  Beck argued that funding stem-cell research would lead directly …

Charlie Gasparino Talks to Fallen Wall Street Titan Jimmy Cayne  —  Blogs and Stories  —  As the pundit begins a series of national debates this week, Meghan McCain says that having her as the face of the Republican Party is a recipe for disaster.  —  It is no secret that being a Republican …

Cramer Takes on the White House, Frank Rich and Jon Stewart  —  Suddenly, bloggers, opinion people, columnists and, yes, pundits who haven't paid attention to anything I have been saying or writing for the past 18 months are all over me.  Suddenly, I find myself in the center of a firestorm …

GOP Rep: “Our Goal Is To Bring Down Approval Numbers” For Dems  —  GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, a key player in helping craft the Republican message, has offered an unusually blunt description of the Republican strategy right now.  —  McHenry's description is buried in this new article from National Journal (sub. only):

Don't Rely on Bush's Signing Statements, Obama Orders  —  WASHINGTON — Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama on Monday ordered executive officials to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr …

THE LEADER OF THE PARTY.... Last week, in response to an awkwardly-worded Rasmussen poll about Rush Limbaugh, I argued it would be more interesting to ask self-identified Republicans who they consider to be the leader of their party.  My sort-of prediction, “I suspect Sarah Palin would have done fairly well …

WHAT'S BEHIND BARACK'S BRIT SNIT  —  PRESIDENT Obama's first hosting of a foreign leader, the UK's Gordon Brown, was a diplomatic disaster.  —  Obama failed to hold a joint Rose Garden press conference, the usual protocol when a US president and a British prime minister first meet …

The 10 Major Newspapers That Will Either Fold or Go Digital Next  —  A San Francisco Chronicle newspaper vendor  —  Over the past few weeks, the U.S. newspaper industry has entered a new period of decline.  The parent of the papers in Philadelphia declared bankruptcy, as did the Journal Register chain.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the f-bomb  —  Let me begin by noting that this post is not about Rush Limbaugh.  —  You're welcome.  —  Now, just to be clear, Mr Limbaugh will appear in the post — and as a character he will be prominently featured — but this post is no more about Rush than …

Wikipedia Scrubs Dear Leader's Page Clean of Critical Entries  —  Wikipedia scrubs Obama's entry clean of any critical information that may taint your view of Dear Leader.  —  Communist tyrany Joseph Stalin routinely air-brushed his enemies out of photographs.

Gaza  —  Some have not forgotten: … And yet this assault on top of a blockade, carried out with an “iron fist” as the US was in transition from one president to another was backed by a resolution carried by unanimous consent in the Senate, and with only 5 votes against in the House.

Rush whacks Newt  —  Rush Limbaugh responded to Newt Gingrich's shot at him with a broadside at the former speaker on today's show.  —  “I'm frankly getting tired of talking about Newt.  I mean, it's a pointless exercise,” Limbaugh said of Gingrich's dismissal of him on “Meet the Press.”

Court rules against minority districts  —  Dividing 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that federal voting rights law does not require the creation of a new legislative district when that would include a racial minority group that has less than 50 percent of the population, as a remedy when minority voters' rights have been diluted.

How much of Citigroup could the FDIC actually take over?  —  FDIC chairman Sheila Bair doesn't think a full government takeover of Citigroup and other multinational financial institutions is practical or even possible.  Here are her reasons, as summarized by Pete Davis:

Specter Says Nation on ‘Brink of a Depression’  —  Specter sees ‘reasonable chance’ stimulus law can help  —  The nation is on the “brink of a depression,” but there's a “reasonable chance” that the $787 billion economic stimulus package will help ease the situation, Sen. Arlen Specter said Monday.

Connecticut moving to regulate the Catholic Church?  —  According to the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause, the government has no business dictating to religious organizations how they should structure themselves.  In Connecticut, though, some lawmakers seem to have skipped over the Constitution.

America Is Becoming Less Christian, Less Religious  —  American Religious Identification Survey Finds Major Denominations Losing Members  —  America is still a predominantly Christian nation, but it's becoming both less Christian and less religious, according to the results of the new American Religious Identification Survey.

Some Myths About Banks  —  Nationalization would undermine confidence in the financial system.  —  The story of our economic crisis mirrors every great market bubble in history.  Clearly, banks were key participants, but they were not alone.  Mortgage lenders, borrowers, regulators …

US Recession Could Last Up to 36 Months: Roubini  —  The man who predicted the current financial crisis said the US recession could drag on for years without drastic action.  —  Among his solutions: fix the housing market by breaking “every mortgage contract.”