Governor sets date for special Senate election, presses for interim appointment  —  Governor Deval Patrick continued today to press for a change to state law to allow him to appoint an interim replacement for Senator Edward M. Kennedy as he announced that a special election for the seat will be held on Jan. 19.

Chuck Grassley Fundraises Against Health-Care Reform  —  Chuck Grassley is facing a potentially difficult primary challenge in 2010.  As such, he's been working hard to cover his right flank.  That would all be fine except for one thing: As ranking member of the Finance Committee …

Sarah Palin plans first trip to Asia  —  Former Alaska governor set for initial commercial speaking engagement  —  HONG KONG - Former U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, once questioned about her lack of foreign policy experience, will make her first trip to Asia in September.

A Chance to Avoid Defeat in Afghanistan  —  The United States cannot win the war in Afghanistan in the next three months — any form of even limited victory will take years of further effort.  It can, however, easily lose the war.  I did not see any simple paths to victory while serving …

Experts see double-digit Dem losses  —  After an August recess marked by raucoustown halls, troubling polling data and widespread anecdotal evidence of a volatile electorate, the small universe of political analysts who closely follow House races is predicting moderate to heavy Democratic losses in 2010.

As Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees a Profit  —  Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation's biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again.

The Courtship  —  The story behind the Obama-Brooks bromance.  —  In the spring of 2005, New York Times columnist David Brooks arrived at then-Senator Barack Obama's office for a chat.  Brooks, a conservative writer who joined the Times in 2003 from The Weekly Standard, had never met Obama before.

EXCLUSIVE: Carrie Prejean Takes Legal Action Against Miss California USA Officials  —  RANCHO SANTA FE, CA - Carrie Prejean's attorney, Charles S. LiMandri announced today that the former Miss California USA is filing a complaint in the Superior Court of California against Miss California USA …

Why I Am Anti-Republican  —  I got an e-mail from a prominent Republican asking why I am so anti-Republican these days.  Since many of my friends ask the same thing I thought I would share my reply:  —  I think the party got seriously on the wrong track during the George W. Bush years, as I explained in my Impostor book.

A Different Kind of Liberal  —  Only 13 days separated the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics, from the death of her brother Ted last week.  But amid the wall-to-wall coverage and the stream of retrospectives for the senior senator from Massachusetts …

Save the Light Bulb!  —  Compact fluorescents don't produce good quality light.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will effectively phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2012-2014 in favor of compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs.

Ridge backpedals on pressure to raise terror alert level  —  WASHINGTON — Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge, speaking for the first time about accusations made in his new book, says he did not mean to suggest that other top Bush administration officials were playing politics …

Blue Chip, White Cotton: What Underwear Says About the Economy  —  For one answer to the nation's most pressing economic question — when will the recession end? — just take a peek inside the American man's underwear drawer.  —  There may be some new pairs there, judging by recent reports …

Hamas resists Holocaust lessons  —  Gaza's ruling Islamist movement Hamas has resisted suggestions that Palestinian children should be taught about the Holocaust in UN-run schools.  —  The head of its education committee in Gaza, Abdul Rahman el-Jamal, told the BBC that the Holocaust was a “big lie”.

Missing Richard Nixon  —  Many of the retrospectives on Ted Kennedy's life mention his regret that he didn't accept Richard Nixon's offer of a bipartisan health care deal.  The moral some commentators take from that regret is that today's health care reformers should do what Mr. Kennedy balked …

Fewer Newspapers Fight to Open Court Proceedings  —  You don't see newspapers fighting to open court proceedings the way they used to, and people are starting to notice.  —  “The days of powerful newspapers with ample legal budgets appear to be numbered,” wrote a public defender in Georgia …

A ‘Little Judge’ Who Rejects Foreclosures, Brooklyn Style  —  The judge waves you into his chambers in the State Supreme Court building in Brooklyn, past the caveat taped to his wall — “Be sure brain in gear before engaging mouth” — and into his inner office, where foreclosure motions …