Why Palin Quit  —  Death by a Thousand FOIAs  —  People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor.  The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives …

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!

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.

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 …

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 …

Health Deals Could Harbor Hidden Costs  —  WASHINGTON — The deals, trumpeted loudly by the White House, would each help pay for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system.  —  First, it was a broad consortium of health industry groups — doctors, hospitals, drug makers and insurers …

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.

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 …

The Obama justice system  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  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 …

In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Set Limits?  —  The question came from a Colorado neurologist.  “Mr. President,” he said at a recent forum, “what can you do to convince the American public that there actually are limits to what we can pay for with our American health-care system?

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.

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.

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 …

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

Bank Lobbyist's Freudian Slip: 'We're Not For Any Regulation'  —  Today, Scott Talbott, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at The Financial Services Roundtable (one of the financial services industry's main lobbying arms) appeared on C-Span to discuss the Obama administration's proposal …

Report: States aren't using stimulus funds as intended  —  WASHINGTON — Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators.

If You Don't Hate the Cap and Trade Bill, Let Me Show You Section 304.  —  I bet you thought that if you bought a house, you actually own it and can, with reasonable exceptions, do with it what you want.  You probably think that if you want to live in a log cabin, with wood stoves that belch smoke …

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.

What happened to those bad bank assets?  So far, nothing  —  WASHINGTON — In March, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a Public-Private Investment Program in which the government and private firms would bid together to purchase toxic assets from banks, freeing them to increase lending and help revive the economy.

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.