Jack Kemp, quarterback turned politician, dies  —  WASHINGTON - Jack Kemp, the former pro quarterback who turned fame on the gridiron into a career in national politics and a crusade for lower taxes, has died of cancer at age 73.  —  Family spokeswoman Marci Robinson said Kemp died shortly …

Condi Rice sticks it to the Stanford bleeding hearts  —  Condoleezza Rice, Guantanamo Bay, torture,  —  If ever you needed further proof of the “person of color” America really needs in charge right now, I urge you to watch this fabulous YouTube footage of the magnificent Condoleezza Rice …

GOP chairman Steele calls moderates to party at La Crosse convention  —  By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  La Crosse - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appealed to the political middle Friday to join his party but added that the party itself wouldn't moderate.

Assailin' Palin: Complaints deluge gov.  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's life has changed in a myriad of ways since she became the Republican vice presidential nominee last August, but one aspect of her newfound fame has been more bracing than the others: Since entering the national spotlight …

Lifting the Bush-era veil of secrecy  —  On US torture, we need to find out what happened - and why  —  THE OBAMA administration's decision to release more Bush-era memoranda, which sought to rationalize torture, shows that President Obama is following through on his promise to ban torture …

Depression Scares Are Hardly New  —  WHAT is the chance that the current downturn will morph into another Great Depression?  That question has been preoccupying people for months.  —  The popular mood has a huge impact on the economy, so it's worth noting what many people seem to forget: Depression scares come and go.

Pelosi confronts justice  —  Laws apply to lawmakers, too  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is working to buffer lawmakers from federal investigators.  This is a bad idea.  Special legal protections for politicians encourage unethical conduct.  —  Irvin B. Nathan, general counsel of the House …

YouTube is no substitute for knocking on doors  —  Ministers need to engage more, and hear the public's anger first-hand  —  When Gordon Brown leads Labour into the next general election, our campaign must rest on three pillars: we need to fight on a platform of practical policy …

As a Professor, Obama Held Pragmatic Views on Court  —  Many American presidents have been lawyers, but almost none have come to office with Barack Obama's knowledge of the Supreme Court.  Before he was 30, he was editing articles by eminent legal scholars on the court's decisions.

Ethics Update  —  As he has done before in the spirit of transparency, Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, asked us to pass along this update on the President's Executive Order on Ethics:  —  Just a quick post to advise that we granted …