NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE GOP RANK AND FILE.... It certainly seemed like the proverbial crash-and-burn moment.  Sarah Palin abruptly announced she's quitting after just two and a half years on the job, and did so in a bizarre, rambling speech.  Prominent Republican voices, after they were done cringing …

Can Palin ever come back?  —  A closer look at the words of Obama, Depeche Mode and U2.  Plus: Why do straight actresses make the best lesbo porn?  —  Dear Camille,  —  Just wondering.  Do you still think Sarah Palin is ready for the big stage?  —  James L. Somers  —  Good question!

Unpersons  —  One of the mysteries of the way issues are covered in much of the news media is how certain views get ruled “out of the mainstream” and just don't get covered — even when many well-informed people hold those views.  —  The most notorious example was during the buildup to the Iraq war …

Henry Waxman: GOP ‘rooting against’ USA  —  Waxman: GOP ‘rooting against’ USA  —  Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who has had an eventful couple of weeks to say the least, believes House Republican opposition to climate change legislation and the stimulus indicates they're cheering against the good ol' US of A.

Obama Administration Grant Program De-Emphasizing Job Creation  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  —  When Vice President Joe Biden announced a new $3.3 billion grant program to upgrade the nation's electricity network, the rationale was simple: “This is jobs — jobs,” he said in April.

Pool Boots Kids Who Might “Change the Complexion”  —  Campers sent packing after first visit to swim club  —  More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.  —  “I heard this lady, she was like …

Madigan Declines Senate, Gov Bids  —  Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) will run for re-election to her current post in 2010, according to a Democratic source aware of the decision, ending months of speculation about whether she might make the leap to a Senate or gubernatorial bid.

Socialized Medicine  —  Here's some historical data on female life expectancy in Russia:  —  My understanding is that the post-Soviet collapse had more to do with lifestyle factors (vodka got cheaper) than problems in the health care system.  But the point, broadly speaking …

Introducing the Google Chrome OS  —  It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser.  Already, over 30 million people use it regularly.  We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news …

Democratic Leader Laughs at Idea That House Members Would Actually Read Health-Care Bill Before Voting On It  —  Washington (CNSNews.com) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that the health-care reform bill now pending in Congress would garner very few votes if lawmakers actually …

Under Pressure, Blanche Lincoln Shifts On Public Plan  —  Looks like pressure from the left might be getting results, albeit limited ones, in the case of “centrist” Dem Senator Blanche Lincoln, who has been resisting any commitment to backing a public health care option.

Jeb Bush: The Future of the Republican Party  —  With no obvious candidate to lead the Republican party (and one having just stepped down), some are looking to Jeb Bush.  Which is news to him.  —  Jeb Bush interview, Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida. … I'm waiting for the next iteration.

The Obama justice system  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  Spencer Ackerman yesterday attended a Senate hearing at which the DOD's General Counsel, Jeh Johnson, testified.  As Ackerman highlighted, Johnson actually said that even for those detainees to whom the Obama administration deigns …

The Place of Women on the Court  —  In late February, three weeks after she had an operation for a recurrence of cancer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg went to Barack Obama's first address to Congress.  Given the circumstances, it wasn't an event anyone expected her to attend.

Morgan Stanley Plans to Turn Downgraded Loan CDO Into AAA Bonds  —  Morgan Stanley plans to repackage a downgraded collateralized debt obligation backed by leveraged loans into new securities with AAA ratings in the first transaction of its kind, said two people familiar with the sale.

The Barry Archives Voicemails reveal depths of councilmember's obsession with girlfriend.  —  Listen: Recorded voicemails left by Marion Barry for Donna Watts-Brighthaupt.  (Transcripts)  —  Clip 1:  —  Get the Flash Player to see the podcast player.  —  Clip 2:  —  Clip 3:  —  Clip 4:

In Russia, Obama's Star Power Does Not Translate  —  MOSCOW — Let other capitals go all weak-kneed when President Obama visits.  Moscow has greeted Mr. Obama, who on Tuesday night concluded a two-day Russian-American summit meeting, as if he were just another dignitary passing through.

Mass. challenges federal Defense of Marriage Act  —  Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, has become the first to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, saying Congress intruded into a matter that should be left to individual states.

What The Riots In China Really Mean  —  Ethnic conflict has exposed the Communist Party's vulnerabilities.  —  This week, rioting left scores dead in Urumqi, the capital of China's troubled Xinjiang region.  The latest official death toll is 156, but that number undoubtedly understates the count of those killed.

Risking Israel's ire, US takes 1,350 Palestinian refugees  —  The US is generally reluctant to resettle Palestinians, but these are refugees from Iraq who have been targeted since the invasion.  —  ATLANTA -  —  The State Department confirmed today that as many as 1,350 Iraqi Palestinians …

Rep. Murphy attempts to repeal military ban on gays  —  Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has taken up the mantle as the chief opponent of “Don't ask, don't tell” in Congress, and he's confident the policy banning gays from serving openly in the military will get its first full committee hearing in a decade and a half this session.

G-8 Nations Fail to Agree on Plan to Fight Climate Change  —  L'AQUILA, Italy — The world's major industrial nations and newly emerging powers failed to agree Wednesday on specific cuts in heat-trapping gases by 2050, undercutting an effort to build a global consensus to fight climate change, according to people following the talks.

Obama makes pointed quip on Russian sale of Alaska  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama made a pointed quip Tuesday about Russia's sale of Alaska to the United States in the 19th century.  —  Referring to the long history of Russia-U.S. trade stretching back more than two centuries …

Lights, Camera, Lots of Action.  Forget the Script.  —  The actress known as Savanna Samson once relished preparing for a role.  “I couldn't wait to get my next script,” she said.  —  There's no reason to look at them anymore, she said, because her movies now call almost exclusively for action.

Injury to Insult: Car Defect Victims Out of Luck  —  General Motors and Chrysler Are Rebuilding but Those With Injury, Death Claims May Not Get Their Day in Court  —  A third-degree burn is devastating to anyone, but for Terry Cole, it meant the end of a dream: walking again.