Q & A: ‘Joe the Plumber’  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher was launched into the public arena after Senator John McCain used him as an example of an average American during a presidential debate last fall.  “Joe the Plumber” quickly became a celebrity because he questioned then-candidate Barack Obama …

Hatch: W.H. may reveal name this week  —  After talking to President Barack Obama on the phone today, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch says he believes the White House will move swiftly on its Supreme Court nominee, perhaps making an announcement by the end of this week.

US Soldiers in Afghanistan Told to “Hunt People for Jesus... So We Get Them into the Kingdom” (Video)  —  Military officials at Bagram are caught on tape urging US soldiers to evangelize in the Muslim country.  —  New video evidence has surfaced showing that US military forces in Afghanistan …

Obama official Kareem Dale confirms White House's love for MSNBC  —  For some inexplicable reason having to do with who knows what, a widespread impression has grown among many politics fans that MSNBC and its crowd of talkers — including Chris “Thrill Up My Leg” Matthews, Norah …

Criminal charges filed against ACORN, two employees  —  Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller announced Monday that voter registration fraud charges have been filed against an organization that works with low-income people and two of its employees in its Las Vegas office.

When Reporters Rise For The President  —  Some people noticed that many reporters rose from their seats last Friday when President Obama unexpectedly entered the White House briefing room, but the same courtesy was not always extended in the past when President Bush would make an appearance.

James Carville: If GOP Abandoned Christian Right, “Their Party Would Crumble”  —  Democratic strategist James Carville warned on Monday that if the Republican Party were to abandon its decades-old alliance with the Christian Right, it would only cement major losses in party identification and vote totals for the GOP.

More Americans Losing Health Insurance Every Day  —  Analysis of Health Coverage Losses During the Recession  —  Workers at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Iowa report a sharp rise in the number of women who need help paying for care in recent months.  —  Interactive Map: Working Adults Are Losing Their Health Insurance

Emanuel: Thwarting Iran hinges on Israeli-Palestinian talks  —  Article's topics: Rahm Emanuel, Iran, AIPAC  —  Thwarting Iran's nuclear program is conditional on progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Obama criticism shuts down conversation  —  Parties were more fun when George W. Bush was president.  You could debate, argue even, praise and condemn, throw darts and laurels and solve the world's problems over a bottle of wine.  —  No more.  At least not in my circles.

Justices Agree to Take Up Sentencing for Young Offenders  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether the reasoning that led it to strike down the death penalty for juvenile offenders four years ago should also apply to sentences of life without the possibility of parole.

I Like Gloats!  —  The MSM is sick.  John Edwards runs an entire presidential campaign based in large part on his character as shown by his loyalty to his brave, ill wife—when in reality he's cheating on her, practically setting up a second family—and the press doesn't care (or, rather …

MONSTERS, INC.  —  Amid the blizzard of economic data that the government puts out every week, last Tuesday's report analyzing G.D.P. industry by industry got little notice.  But it contained one very interesting piece of data: in 2008, for the first time in sixteen years, the finance and insurance industry shrank.

More Banks Will Need Capital  —  Stress Tests Identify About Ten; Wells, BofA, Citigroup Face Order to Refill Coffers  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. is expected to direct about 10 of the 19 banks undergoing government stress tests to boost their capital, according to several people familiar with the matter …

Chace Crawford to Attend White House Correspondents Dinner  —  Mr. Crawford is going to Washington!  —  Usmagazine.com has exclusively learned that Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford has been invited to be the guest of the Fox News Channel at Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C.

Michele Bachmann: Obama Led Spending “Orgy,” Government “Spent Its Wad” (VIDEO)  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann is on a roll.  Less than a week after suggesting a link between the swine flu outbreak and Democratic control of the U.S. government, the Minnesota Republican penetrated a heretofore unseen zone …

Ammo hard to find as gun owners stock up  —  AURORA, Colorado (CNN) — Gun shops across the country are reporting a run on ammunition, a phenomenon apparently driven by fear that the Obama administration will increase taxes on bullets or enact new gun-control measures.

Amazon Plans Kindle for Textbooks  —  Amazon.comInc. on Wednesday plans to unveil a new version of its Kindle e-book reader with a larger screen and other features designed to appeal to periodical and academic textbook publishers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Libertarian Democraphobia  —  If you're a new-school classical liberal (neoclassical liberal?) like me, you like democracy just fine.  This puts you somewhere between (a) modern liberals in the post-Rawlsian vein who tend toward not-actually-very-liberal Rousseuvian romanticism about democracy and …

As Foreclosures Surge ...  The Obama administration sat by last week as 12 Senate Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to block a vote on an amendment that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify troubled mortgages.  —  Senator Obama campaigned on the provision.

Palin will work with Nat'l Council  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin plans to work with a new Republican group, the National Council for a New America, a spokeswoman said.  —  Palin “looks forward to doing all she can to bring about positive change many desire and deserve, across Alaska and our great nation …

What George Will missed: The decrepit state of the California GOP  —  George Will's latest column on the sagging economy of California and the upcoming slate of massive tax-hike initiatives on the ballot only scratches the surface of what's rotten in the formerly Golden State.  —  The state GOP is a basket case.