An apology, and a pledge  —  I have struggled with how best to convey my regret in letting so many down, and in that regard I realize this column does not do justice to the process of saying “I am sorry.”  A hand-written note or phone call would ultimately be more appropriate …

Morning Joe  —  I think this Michael Hirsch piece on Joe Stiglitz somewhat misses the point.  —  Yes, Joe should be playing a bigger role — he's an insanely great economist, in ways you can't really appreciate unless you're deep into the field.  I'd say that he's more his generation's Paul Samuelson …

Hooker who worked for Kristin Davis says Eliot Spitzer wasn't her only governor  —  Another gubernatorial sex scandal may be looming.  Even as South Carolina's Mark Sanford waits to see whether his wife, Jenny, forgives his romp in the pampas, a New York call girl could plunge one of America's …

‘I wed Iranian girls before execution’  —  Article's topics: Basiji, Ali Khamenei  —  In a shocking and unprecedented interview, directly exposing the inhumanity of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's religious regime in Iran, a serving member of the paramilitary Basiji militia has told this reporter …

'We won't halt J'lem housing project'  —  Article's topics: United Stated, East Jerusalem, Michael Oren, Shepherd's Hotel, Irwin Moskowitz  —  Jerusalem is the “unified capital of Israel and the capital of the Jewish people, and sovereignty over it is indisputable,” …

If we could get millions of Americans to march on Washington, what would we do?  —  Here is our recourse as declared by our Founding Fathers: … It cannot be denied that the central government has become destructive of our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness and our rights to live free.

ORSZAG SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT.... Fox News' Chris Wallace asked OMB Director Peter Orszag this morning if the administration will be “rationing” health care by establishing a commission of doctors and medical experts to oversee medical practices.  Orszag, thankfully, called this a “canard” and pointed to the status quo.

The (Political) Stakes in Health Reform  —  An excellent point from Mark Kleiman.  In 1993, we had a new president elected on a promise of providing access to high-quality affordable health care to all Americans.  In 1994, that promise went down in flames.

JOE BIDEN'S TERRIBLE TRUTHS  —  HIS "GAFFES" REVEAL WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS REALLY THINKING  —  It takes years of yoga to learn the posture necessary for speaking clearly with all your feet in your mouth.  But for some the skill comes naturally, which brings us to Joe Biden.

One Giant Leap to Nowhere  —  WELL, let's see now ... That was a small step for Neil Armstrong, a giant leap for mankind and a real knee in the groin for NASA.  —  The American space program, the greatest, grandest, most Promethean — O.K. if I add “godlike”? — quest in the history of the world …

US names soldier in Taliban video  —  The video appears as broadcast from the internet source  —  The US military has identified a man shown on a Taliban video as an American soldier captured in Afghanistan.  —  He was named as Pte Bowe Bergdahl, 23, from Ketchum, Idaho.

Inspector General Fired by President Obama Files Lawsuit to Be Reinstated*  —  Gerald Walpin, the former Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service whom President Obama took the unusual step of firing last month, filed a lawsuit against the CNCS on Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

A Challenge to Climate Change Skeptics  —  John Hinderaker at the popular conservative blog PowerLine reports that it's been cold, cold, cold in his home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota, going to far as to compare it with “The Year Without a Summer”, 1816, when global temperatures were abnormally low …

Wizened Watergate Awaits Highest Bidder at Auction Tuesday  —  The Watergate Hotel lost its luster years ago, its marble floors, rich colors and grand interiors dusted over with age.  Its 251 rooms have stood empty since 2007, and for a year its debt-ridden owners have been trying to unload it.

They Got Some ‘Splainin’ to Do  —  AS political theater, the Sonia Sotomayor hearings tanked faster than the 2008 Fred Thompson presidential campaign.  They boasted no drama to rival the Clarence-Anita slapdown, the Bork hissy fits or the tearful exodus of Samuel Alito's wife.

Leahy on Sotomayor: ‘Stop the racial politics’  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor should be judged on the merits of her 17-year judicial record and the week of confirmation hearings that just ended rather …