Joe The Plumber Slurs Gay People: I Would Never Let “Queers” Near My Children  —  Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, sat down for an lengthy interview with Christianity Today to discuss his views on the future of the Republican party.  Wurzelbacher took the opportunity to speak out against gay marriage, which he says is wrong.

Obama official Kareem Dale confirms White House's love for MSNBC  —  (UPDATED: A second video has been added below.)  —  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 …

We Can't Subsidize the Banks Forever  —  Government has to show it can handle major insolvencies.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The results of the government's stress tests on banks, to be released in a few days, will not mark the beginning of the end of the financial crisis.

Porous Border With Pakistan Could Hinder U.S. Troops  —  PESHAWAR, Pakistan — President Obama is pouring more than 20,000 new troops into Afghanistan this year for a fighting season that the United States military has called a make-or-break test of the allied campaign in Afghanistan.

Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contracts  —  Millions in Work Came Without Competition  —  The headquarters of Murtech, in a low-slung, bland building in a Glen Burnie business park, has its blinds drawn tight and few signs of life.  On several days of visits, a handful of cars sit in the parking lot …

Ridge May Run for Specter's Senate Seat  —  Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge (R) is seriously considering a 2010 bid for the Senate seat held by Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter and will make his decision in the next two weeks, according to several sources familiar with his thinking.

Obama Rebuffed on Funds to Close Guantanamo  —  WASHINGTON — Top House Democrats raised tensions with the White House on a key foreign policy goal, rebuffing a request for funding to begin closing the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  —  President Barack Obama has sought $80 million …

Our Genius President: ‘Happy Cuatro de Cinco!’  —  I like to note these little incidents when they happen, not because I think it makes Obama an idiot because he occasionally stumbles over his words, but because his somewhat overblown reputation as the most cerebral, eloquent …

For GOP, it's Coleman or bust  —  Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's shocking decision last week to become a Democrat has upped the ante in the never-ending Minnesota Senate race, providing a strong incentive for Republicans to hold out until every last appeal is exhausted.

Establishment Clause Violation for Public High School Teacher To Call Creationism “Superstitious Nonsense”: So holds C.F. v. Capistrano Unified School Dist., decided Friday.  I understand the logic of the case — the Court has repeatedly said that the government's disapproving of religion …

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.

Named and shamed: the 16 barred from UK  —  Sixteen people banned from entering the UK were “named and shamed” by the Home Office today.  —  Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she decided to make public the names of 16 people banned since October so others could better understand what sort …

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 …

How I Survived John's Affair  —  On May 3, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards acknowledged that a federal investigation had been opened into whether his campaign improperly gave money to a woman with whom Edwards had an extramarital affair.  Edwards has denied any wrongdoing by his campaign.

Congress Poised To Launch 9/11-Styled Commission On Financial Crisis  —  The House of Representatives came to agreement on Monday afternoon on the establishment of a 9/11-styled commission that would be independent of Congress and granted the power of subpoena to investigate the origins of the financial crisis.