Obama and Gates Gut the Military  —  The secretary's new budget will leave us weaker to pay for the president's domestic programs.  —  On Monday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a significant reordering of U.S. defense programs.  His recommendations should not go unchallenged.

U.S. Crew in Standoff With Pirates Off Somalia Coast  —  Hours after pirates commandeered a United States-flagged container ship with 20 American crew members off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, the pirates and crew appeared to be in a standoff, with the ship under control of its crew once again …

Big Liberal Bloggers Tee Off On Progressive Groups For Not Sharing Ad Wealth  —  Some of the leading liberal bloggers are privately furious with the major progressive groups — and in some cases, the Democratic Party committees — for failing to spend money advertising on their sites …

Thoughts on Bill O'Reilly and Squeaky the Chicago Mouse  —  Dear Bill: Thanks for including the Chicago Sun-Times on your exclusive list of newspapers on your “Hall of Shame.”  To be in an O'Reilly Hall of Fame would be a cruel blow to any newspaper.  It would place us in the favor of a man …

Levi Johnston: My Family's Not White Trash  —  Tells Maggie Rodriguez Palins Spreading Lies About Him; He Seeks To Set Record Straight  —  Page 1 of 2  —  (CBS) Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in last year's presidential race, is a new grandmother.

Keith Olbermann's scathing criticism of Obama's secrecy/immunity claims  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  Several weeks ago, I noted that unlike the Right — which turned itself into a virtual cult of uncritical reverence for George W. Bush especially during the first several years …

White House: No bow to Saudi  —  The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.  —  “It wasn't a bow.  He grasped his hand with two hands …

Why Coleman Should Drop Out  —  If he keeps up the fight, he is likely to lose, unnecessarily deprive Minnesota of a second senator, end his political career seen as a sore loser, and hurt his party in a state that is eager for this fight to be over.  His team has talked enough …

Rick Warren on the Newsweek ‘End of Christian America’ article, Pt. 1  —  HH: Special hour of the Hugh Hewitt Show, my old and dear friend, Rick Warren, is in studio with us, America's pastor.  He's the author of The Purpose Driven Life.  He is the founding pastor 30 years ago at Saddleback Valley Community Church.

AP Newsbreak: Obama looks at climate engineering … WASHINGTON (AP) - The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.  —  John Holdren told The Associated Press …

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies  —  Robert Moran monitors an electric grid in Dallas.  Such infrastructure grids across the country are vulnerable to cyberattacks.  —  WASHINGTON — Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs …

Obama team readying for confrontation with Netanyahu  —  In an unprecedented move, the Obama administration is readying for a possible confrontation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by briefing Democratic congressmen on the peace process and the positions of the new government in Israel regarding a two-state solution.

Mitt Romney sells Utah ski house … SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Race-car driver and money manager Hal Prewitt bought Mitt Romney's ski house at Deer Valley Resort for “a little less” than the asking price of $5.25 million, his agent said  —  Tuesday.  —  “It's beautiful.

Turkish anchor wears blackface to report on Obama's visit.  —  A YouTube video has popped up of a Turkish anchor wearing dark face paint when reporting on President Obama's recent visit to the country.  Jonathan Turley has a rough translation of what the anchor is saying: … Watch it:

Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world  —  1. What is fragile should break early while it is still small.  Nothing should ever become too big to fail.  Evolution in economic life helps those with the maximum amount of hidden risks - and hence the most fragile - become the biggest.

Anti-terrorism expert tapped for fifth administration  —  Rand Beers, the longtime anti-terrorism expert who has served four presidents, will be nominated to take up a key post in a fifth administration as one of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) top deputies.

U.S. to Join Iran Talks Over Nuclear Program  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Wednesday that the United States for the first time would participate regularly with other global powers in negotiations with the Iranian government about its nuclear program.

U.S. to Offer Aid to Life Insurers  —  Firms Face Capital Crunch; How Much They Will Get From TARP Remains Unclear  —  The Treasury Department has decided to extend bailout funds to a number of struggling life-insurance companies, helping an industry that is a lynchpin of the U.S. financial system …

Why We Need the New York Times  —  For many years, I was a devoted reader of the New York Times.  An unusually devoted one.  —  I picked up the habit from David O'Brien, an actor who played my father on a soap opera I appeared on over 25 years ago.  It was my first professional job …

Human Rights Campaign Exposes National Organization for Marriage's Fake Ad for Fake Problems  —  Right-wing group does not have truth on its side, so it hires actors to spew lies; Audition reel uncovered online  —  WASHINGTON -The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay …