California voters exercise their power — and that's the problem  —  Residents relish their role in the lawmaking process, but they share the blame for the state's severe dysfunction.  —  Californians are well known for periodic voter revolts, but on Tuesday they did more than just lash …

A Small Man  —  This blog has had many differences with Joe Klein of Time magazine, whom I once considered a very friendly acquaintance before he accused me and those who argued for an aggressive policy in Iraq and with Iran of being war criminals and began spouting anti-Semitic conspiracy nonsense that …

Powell to Rush, Cheney: Room For Me Among ‘Emerging’ Republican Party  —  Colin Powell issued a sharp rebuke Tuesday night to Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney for trying to exclude him from the backbiting Republican Party.  —  Before some 1,500 business leaders in Boston …

Democrats on Capitol Hill Rebel Against President Obama's Guantanamo Bay Plan  —  Lawmakers Reject Funding To Shut Down Detainee Center At Gitmo, Want Obama To Present A Plan For How The White House Plans To Close The Facility  —  The U.S. Senate today voted overwhelmingly to block funding …

Judge Wood Goes to Washington  —  Just two days after Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's sudden appearance in Washington set off a flurry of speculation about Supreme Court interviews, here's something that actually could be significant:  —  Federal Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood …

Advocates of Gun Rights Are Poised for a Victory  —  WASHINGTON — Advocates of gun rights are poised to win a Congressional victory that eluded them under a Republican president.  —  To the frustration and discouragement of many Democrats, House and Senate lawmakers and aides …

Why Pelosi Should Step Down  —  The case against Nancy Pelosi remaining Speaker of the House is as simple as it is devastating:  —  The person who is No. 2 in line to be commander in chief can't have contempt for the men and women who protect our nation.  America can't afford it.

Clinton: Iran can't have nuclear arms capability  —  WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that a nuclear-armed Iran is “going to spark an arms race” in the Middle East.  —  In an appearance before a Senate Appropriations panel, Clinton reiterated …

RNC showdown over ‘socialist’ resolution may be avoided  —  OXON HILL, Maryland (CNN) — Members of the Republican National Committee appear to have reached a compromise that would let GOP leaders avoid a possible dispute over a controversial resolution that calls on Democrats to re-name their party the “Democrat Socialist party.”

Obama v. Cheney Heats Up  —  So, the White House announced today that President Obama will deliver a “major” speech on antiterrorism policy tomorrow.  The timing isn't entirely clear, but MSNBC reports that it will be “about an hour” after former Vice President Dick Cheney delivers an address …

Bristol Palin Exposes Her Sometimes Isolated Life  —  Bristol Palin's pretty, lightly freckled face was nowhere to be seen on the overhead screen as images from her high-school senior slideshow - photos from the prom and a Class of 2009 portrait set against the Alaska snow - played during May 14's Wasilla High commencement ceremony.

Feinstein: California prisons are ‘eminently capable of holding’ Guantanamo detainees.  —  Since President Obama announced his goal to shut down the Guantanamo prison, conservatives have fearmongered that it would mean terrorists would be coming to Americans' “backyards.”

ADIOS, NEW YORK  —  TAXED OUT OF THE STATE  —  I LOVE New York.  But how much should it cost to call New York home?  Decades of out-of-control budgets, spending hikes and relentless borrowing have made New York simply too expensive.  —  Politicians like to talk about incentives …

Clinton-era hard drive missing from archives  —  A massive amount of sensitive, national security-related information from the Clinton administration has gone missing from the national archives.  —  The Inspector General of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) …

America's Richest Givers Hold Secret Meeting  —  Oprah, Gates, Buffett Gather in NY to Compare Notes About Charity, Economy  —  Under a cloak of secrecy, some of the world's wealthiest people gathered in an unprecedented meeting early this month in New York City possibly to coordinate strategies …

Cheney Grabs a Third Term  —  Dick and Rummy are at Cafe Milano in Georgetown, holding court.  The maître d' fawns.  Waiters hover.  Tourists snap pics on their digital cameras.  Cable chatterers stop by to ingratiate themselves.  —  It isn't so much that Dick and Rummy are back.

Arms Sent by U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands  —  KABUL — Insurgents in Afghanistan, fighting from some of the poorest and most remote regions on earth, have managed for years to maintain an intensive guerrilla war against materially superior American and Afghan forces.

Major Mexican drug cartel suspects arrested, officials say  —  MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) — A top Mexican drug cartel suspect has been arrested along with 12 accomplices, including five women, federal authorities said.  —  Rodolfo Lopez Ibarra, known as El Nito and believed to be a top lieutenant …

The GOP's Health-Care Alternative  —  We can cover more people by making the current insurance tax subsidy more fair.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Republican congressional leaders are finally offering a clear alternative to the health-reform plans being developed by the White House and Democrats in Congress.