TRANSPARENT BIGOTRY.... Following up on an earlier item, at least one high-profile Republican senator announced he doesn't want to see President Obama nominate a gay American for the Supreme Court. … I don't expect much from Thune, but I have to wonder if he realizes how incredibly ridiculous this is.

Governor Signs LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom  —  AUGUSTA - Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.  —  “I have followed closely the debate on this issue.

Meltdown: Specter stands alone  —  Arlen Specter infuriated Senate Republicans when he bolted from their party last week.  Now he's alienated just about everybody in the Senate Democratic caucus, too.  —  Since declaring himself a Democrat last Tuesday, Specter has defied Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …

House bypasses governor's veto to claim Oklahoma's sovereignty  —  Although Gov. Brad Henry vetoed similar legislation 10 days earlier, House members Monday again approved a resolution claiming Oklahoma's sovereignty.  —  Unlike House Joint Resolution 1003, House Concurrent Resolution 1028 does not need the governor's approval.

Limbaugh Responds To Powell: He Needs To ‘Close The Loop And Become A Democrat’  —  On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that he believed the Republican party is in “deep trouble,” “getting smaller,” and being led by polarizing figures like Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Rush Limbaugh.

Poll: Don't investigate torture techniques  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates that most Americans don't want to see an investigation of Bush administration officials who authorized harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists, even though most people think such procedures were forms of torture.

Obama's Brave Burger Run; Even Takes Biden Along (And You Know How Risky That Can Be)  —  All D.C. is a-twitter with yesterday's big burger run by the White House's answer to the Venture Bros.  —  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden jaunted off to an Arlington …

A Cheney Cover-Up?  —  Someone in the White House tried to deep-six Philip Zelikow's anti-torture memo.  Welcome to the latest Bush-era whodunit.  —  Post Comment  —  Who in the George W. Bush White House tried to shred a memo challenging the use of torture?

Pakistan-US Relations Are Upside Down  —  I think the headline “U.S. Presses Visiting Pakistani Leader on Taliban Threat” pretty much sums up what's gone wrong in the US-Pakistan relationship.  The Pakistani Taliban are waging a war whose aim is to overthrow the government of Pakistan.

A Complicated Question  —  I had dinner once with John and Elizabeth Edwards, when he first burst onto the national scene.  —  Looking across the booth at her grinning, boyish husband, she told me that it was irritating to be married to someone so comely who looked so much younger.

Stress Tests Separate Strong From Weak  —  Fed Separates Strong From Weak in Stress-Test Results; Six Get Clean Bill of Health, Seven Told to Shore Up Balance Sheets  —  The Federal Reserve directed at least seven of the nation's biggest banks to bolster their capital levels by $67 billion …

Israel's Nuclear Closet, Ctd  —  It seems that the Obama administration is beginning to show it means business.  This reader helps relieve some of my ignorance:  —  There is a very simple reason why we have to pretend that Israel does not possess nuclear weapons- the Non Proliferation Treaty.

Obama Offers D.C. Voucher Program Extension for Existing Students  —  President Obama will seek to extend the controversial D.C. school voucher program until all 1,716 participants have graduated from high school, although no new students will be accepted, according to an administration official …

The Price of the King's Shilling  —  Apparently, the $34 billion figure is good news because BAC has all those preferreds at Treasury that can be converted to common stock, leaving Treasury with $34 billion of common and $11 billion of preferreds.  But Joe Weisenthal asks a good question:

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Limbaugh Mocks Recession During Speech To Wealthy Right-Wing Donors  —  Last night, Rush Limbaugh came to Washington, D.C. to address the President's Club Dinner, a meeting of wealthy donors and supporters of the Heritage Foundation.  The audience included Supreme Court …

Too Much, Magic Bus  —  PajamasTV hasn't really been in the news since it hired Sam “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher to report on the war in Gaza, but it's still kicking.  Some of its most popular content is coming from black conservative comic Alphonzo Rachel, who sometimes appears as “President Zobama.”

Obama's Global Tax Raid  —  President Obama revealed Monday that he's half a supply-sider.  If only someone could explain to him the other half.  We have a tax code, the President said, “that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York.”

Eco-sailors rescued by oil tanker  —  An expedition team which set sail from Plymouth on a 5,000-mile carbon emission-free trip to Greenland have been rescued by an oil tanker.  —  Raoul Surcouf, Richard Spink and skipper Ben Stoddart sent a mayday because they feared for their safety amid winds of 68mph (109km/h).

Obama tones down National Prayer Day observance  —  (CNN) — For the past eight years, the White House recognized the National Day of Prayer with a service in the East Room, but this year, President Obama decided against holding a public ceremony.  —  “Prayer is something that the president does everyday …

Tortured Logic  —  Hit me Bybee, one more time.  —  Remember the Rule of Law?  In the late 1990s, it was all the rage in conservative circles.  Having maneuvered Bill Clinton into a position where he could either lie under oath or suffer massive personal and political embarrassment …

The North Repopulates, Ctd.  —  Mark Steyn replies to Martin Walker:  —  Let's say you have 950,000 ethnic Europeans whose fertility rate is 1.3.  And 50,000 immigrants move in with a fertility rate of 3.5.  You'd have an overall fertility rate increase to 1.41, or almost 10 percent, entirely due to a tiny segment of the population.