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 …

Obama Proposes Saving $17 Billion by Cutting Programs  —  President Barack Obama urged Congress to cut almost $17 billion in programs, including tax breaks for oil and gas companies, while seeking an $81 billion increase for his domestic agenda.  —  In a 1,374-page document released today …

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.

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 …

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.

Leahy Blocks Democrats' Deal to Give Specter Judiciary Subcommittee Chair  —  Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois has volunteered to give up his chairmanship of the crime subcommittee to GOP-turned-Dem Sen. Arlen Specter, but Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy says not so fast.  —  FOXNews.com

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.”

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.

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

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 …

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.

The ‘Free Choice’ Act Is Anything But  —  George Meany and binding arbitration.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The recent news that Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter has become a member of the Democratic caucus has given new life to legislation that many thought had been put to rest for this Congress …

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 …

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.

Franken schools heckler  —  Politicians and stand-up comedians both get plenty of hecklers.  And it looks like Al Franken, as both a comedian and the still-disputed senator from Minnesota, is getting his fair share these days.  —  On Tuesday night, at Bobby Van's on 15th Street near the White House …

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.

U.S. Says Ailing Banks Need $75 Billion  —  Federal regulators told the country's 19 largest banks that they must raise $75 billion in extra capital by November, a more upbeat verdict on the health of the financial system than the industry had feared just two months ago.

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.