Thou Shall Not Mock Obama's Mustard  —  My post the other day, MSNBC Hides Obama's Dijon Mustard (aka Dijongate), has hit a nerve unlike anything else I have written.  —  The post concerned the lunch trip of Obama and Biden to a burger shop to get a “Hell Burger.”

Obama To Fire His First Gay Arabic Linguist  —  Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him.  Why?  Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.

Intelligence Report: Pelosi Briefed on Use of Interrogation Tactics in Sept. '02  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, according to a report prepared …

More Sotomayor  —  Rosen responds to his critics.  —  I've just returned from London to find that my piece on Sonia Sotomayor has provoked an energetic response in the blogosphere.  —  RELATED CONTENT  —  Just (5/7/09): The Upside Of Nominating A Lesbian To The Court

BREAKING NEWS: Ridge won't run for Senate  —  After much speculation, former Gov. Tom Ridge today announced that he would not seek the GOP nomination for Senate next year.  —  In a statement, Ridge said he had been heartened by the support and encouragement he received from within the party …

Cheney to GOP: ‘It would be a mistake for us to moderate’  —  Dick Cheney did an interview today with Scott Hennen, a North Dakota radio host, whose staff sent over a transcript (after the jump), defending the Bush administration and advising the Republican Party to stay with its roots.

Republicans in Distress: Is the Party Over?  —  These days, Republicans have the desperate aura of an endangered species.  They lost Congress, then the White House; more recently, they lost a slam-dunk House election in a conservative New York district, then Senator Arlen Specter.

Presenting ... The GOP's New “Keep Terrorists Out Of America Act”!  —  A House GOP staffer sends over a summary of the “Keep Terrorists Out Of America Act,” which the GOP leadership plans to unveil later today at a press conference, in keeping with the stepped-up national security attacks on Obama I noted here yesterday.

Obama Tells Journalists To Stress “Significant” Nature Of Budget Cuts  —  In remarks on his administration's proposed $17 billion in cuts from the 2010 budget this morning, President Obama was somewhat on the defensive against charges that his cuts don't amount to much considering that next year's total budget amounts to $3.4 trillion.

Newspaper Narcissism  —  Our pursuit of glory led us away from readers  —  American journalism is in trouble, and the problem is not just financial.  My profession is in distress because for more than a decade it has been chasing the false idols of fame and fortune.

Friedman Resigns as Chairman of New York Fed  —  Stephen Friedman, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, abruptly resigned on Thursday, days after questions arose about his ties to Goldman Sachs.  —  Mr. Friedman was chairman of the New York Fed at the same time he was a member of Goldman's board.

Teenage Bomb Threat Suspect Was Internet Prank-Call Star  —  A 16-year-old North Carolina boy arrested for allegedly making a bomb threat against Purdue University had a secret identity as a superstar in an unusual online subculture — one dedicated to making prank phone calls for a live internet audience, his mother admitted Thursday.

The GOP Doesn't Understand Sex  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Bristol Palin's new abstinence campaign shines a light on the Republican Party's unhealthy attitude about sex and desire.  —  The first time I ever heard about oral sex was during the Lewinsky scandal.

Obama is Spock: It's quite logical  —  “Star Trek” is a cultural comet.  From its tiny, ancient core — a mere 79 episodes, airing before we set foot on the moon — a seemingly infinite tail has grown, its glow still bright after 43 years.  The original series (featuring James T. Kirk …

Government to condemn land for Flight 93 memorial  —  PITTSBURGH - One man inherited property that his grandfather bought during the Depression.  A Lutheran pastor owns a cottage where he planned to retire with his wife.  Two others own businesses.  —  But they and other property owners …

Election 2010: Texas Republican Primary  —  Texas Governor's Primary A Toss-Up  —  Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison find themselves essentially tied in an early look at their 2010 Primary battle.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey shows …

In Pakistan, ‘Great Rage, Great Fear’  —  Refugees Fleeing Swat Valley Tell of Taliban Crimes, Abuses  —  Hajji Karim and his extended family of 70 were camped in a dirt-floor stable 10 miles outside Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.  It was as far as they could get from the Swat Valley …

Naked in the Naked Public Square  —  We both worried when Miss California showed up at a press conference for our friends at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).  It was hard to believe the gay-marriage proponents would let this brave young woman get away with her free exercise of free speech without some serious retribution.

Free cars for poor fuel road rage  —  Gov. Deval Patrick's free wheels for welfare recipients program is revving up despite the stalled economy, as the keys to donated cars loaded with state-funded insurance, repairs and even AAA membership are handed out to get them to work.

Fresh GOP Infighting: First Shots Fired In 2012 Primary?  —  Uh oh — looks like the 2012 GOP primary, or at least a preview of it, is getting underway.  —  In a fresh round of GOP infighting over the soul of the battered party, Mike Huckabee just took a shot at a host of potential primary rivals …

Cheese war ends.  Everyone wins.  —  Our long international nightmare is over.  The U.S. and EU have reached an agreement to end the world's most entertaining trade dispute, which began with George W. Bush's lame-duck decision to raise import duties on Roquefort cheese: