Palin resigns, blasts press, ‘starlets’  —  FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin resigned here Sunday with a blast at the media that reflected the frustrations that led her to leave office a year-and-a-half before her term expired.  But speaking in a style that her fans see as plain talk …

Pelosi unpopular?  'I don't care'  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of the most despised political figures in the country.  —  And, frankly, she doesn't give a damn.  —  “No, I don't care,” Pelosi told POLITICO last Thursday, laughing heartily as she walked beneath the Capitol dome and plunged into a crowd of tourists.

An Incoherent Truth  —  Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats — mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995.  And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want.

GOP headache: The birther issue  —  So far, Hoekstra hasn't faced any such questions.  —  “When you're in a state with 15.2 percent unemployment,” he said, “most people have other things on their mind than this.”  —  But as if to illustrate the touchiness of the subject, Hoekstra quickly added: “Not that this isn't important.”

The Washington Post endorses Abu Ghraib scapegoating for torture  —  (updated below)  —  The Washington Post Editorial Page — keeper of all establishment Washington wisdom — today advocates that low-level CIA interrogators who went beyond John Yoo's torture guidelines, and only them …

US Senator mistakenly calls India a security threat, apologizes  —  WASHINGTON: Just how bad is the economic pain and job loss in the United States?  Bad enough for an Indophile Senator to get New Delhi and Beijing mixed up in his mind.  ( Watch )  —  A key US Senator who has extensively …

Five Reasons Why ‘Gates-Gate’ Matters  —  This incident was, to put it mildly, exactly what Obama didn't need.  —  The president's decision to weigh in on the arrest of his Harvard law professor friend Henry Louis Gates Jr., who mouthed off to a Cambridge cop threw a grenade …

GOP headache: The birther issue  —  When lawmakers return home for recess in August, they can expect to hear tough questions from constituents on the economy, health care and government spending.  —  But Republicans are preparing for something else: the birthers.

Climate study puts Incas' success down to 400 years of warm weather  —  Supreme military organisation and a flair for agricultural invention are traditionally credited for the rise of the Incas.  However, their success may have owed more to a spell of good weather — a spell that lasted for more than 400 years.

Sorry to State the Obvious, But ...  For all the obvious reasons, I hesitate to even enter this discussion.  But (famous last words) I can't help myself.  —  As you know, high on the list of current right-wing conspiracy theorizing (and sort of a stalking horse for underlying beliefs …

‘Impeach Obama’ bumper stickers spark a shopping mall protest  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While protesters rallied in his support, the owner of a Concord Mills kiosk that sells conservative merchandise said he met with the mall's manager Sunday to see what arrangements can be made for him to remain after his lease expires Friday.

Journalists' own hard luck tales help them tell those of others — Connie Schultz  —  Bloggers like to depict veteran newspaper journalists as has-beens and never-gonna- be's.  They call us “old media,” as if we were dinosaurs wheezing toward extinction.  —  Graves aren't dug yet, but shovels are standing by.

It's Shepard Smith time  —  With his ratings soaring, the Fox News anchor enjoys his moment - and becomes a lightning rod  —  NEW YORK - Commercial break.  The cameras have stopped rolling on the set of “Studio B,” the 3 p.m. newscast on the Fox News Channel.

Pakistani Pledge to Rout Taliban In Tribal Region Is Put on Hold  —  Waziristan Operation Delayed by Refugee Crisis, Focus on India  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Soon after Pakistan launched its offensive against the Taliban this spring, President Asif Ali Zardari declared that the mission …

The hidden hand  —  The wave of publicity for the Birther movement hasn't yet crested, with the dentist who's the movement's leading legal light, Orly Taitz, saying she's taping the Colbert Report tomorrow, and popping up elsewhere in the mainstream media.  —  This isn't necessarily a bad thing …

Finally, Action on Gay Soldiers  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The Daily Beast has learned that the Senate, prompted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold hearings on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”—a first since 1993, despite Obama's campaign promises.  —  After determining she didn't have enough votes …