Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past  —  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's vitriolic attacks on the Jewish world hide an astonishing secret, evidence uncovered by The Daily Telegraph shows.  —  A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots.

A DECISION THAT LOOKS EVEN WORSE IN RETROSPECT.... In February, when the debate over the economic stimulus package was at its height, a handful of “centrist” Senate Republicans said they'd block a vote on recovery efforts unless the majority agreed to slash over $100 billion from the bill.

CONSERVATIVES' OLYMPIC GLEE CONTINUES.... It seems likely that conservative delight over the International Olympic Committee awarding the 2016 games to Rio will fade rather quickly.  There's just not much to keep their joy going — the United States sought the Olympics, made it to the final round, but came up short.

The Coming Failure On Iran  —  The Obama administration's positive tone following its first diplomatic encounter with Iran covers a deep and growing gloom in Washington and European capitals.  Seven hours of palaver in Geneva haven't altered an emerging conclusion: None of the steps the West …

The Olympic Spirit  —  I didn't think it was a good idea for Obama to go to Copenhagen given the intense policy questions he as to address right now.  It seemed a trivial matter to me compared to two wars, healthcare, the Iran question and the fiscal and economic crisis.

Obama's Anzio  —  I'm late on this, due to festschrifting.  But another bad employment report yesterday.  I'm feeling pretty bleak about this.  —  And the worst of it is that it was more or less predictable.  I went back to my first blog post — January 6, 2009 — worrying that the Obama economic plan was too cautious.

The Conscience of a Capitalist  —  The Whole Foods founder talks about his Journal health-care op-ed that spawned a boycott, how he deals with unions, and why he thinks CEOs are overpaid.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  “I honestly don't know why the article became such a lightning rod,” …

Roland Burris: “You know who is to blame for us losing the Olympics?  Bush.”  —  Wow, what a stretch.  Can I blame Bush, too?  I'm having a HEINOUS hair day and it's all Bush's fault.

Garofalo: Led by Limbaugh, ‘Tea-Baggers’ a ‘White Power Movement’ Motivated by ‘Racism’  —  “Actress/activist” Janeane Garofalo used another media appearance to smear anti-Obama protesters as racists, this time, Friday night on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, insisting “it's obvious to anybody …

Generals Shouldn't Disagree Publicly With the Commander in Chief  —  The president, the Constitution tells us, is the commander in chief.  But is it true?  —  In a speech in London on Thursday, Gen. Stanley McChrystal publicly intervened in the debate over Afghanistan.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt On Newspapers & Journalism  —  Is Google a newspaper killer?  Not by a long shot, says Google CEO Eric Schmidt.  Nor does he want it to be.  In a long interview about his company's relationship with newspapers and the print journalism industry, Schmidt made it clear he wants established players to survive.

Internet Finally Discovers Glenn Beck Photoshoot Video, Freaks Out  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Your interwebs are blowing up today at a YouTube clip that documents a Glenn Beck photo shoot, where the Fox News host has a substance, presumably Vicks VapoRub, applied to his face …

Too Rich to Worry?  Not in This Downturn  —  IT turns out the other half — or at least the tiny slice who live at the top of the wealth pyramid — are not sleeping any better than the rest of America.  —  At a closed-door meeting of advisers to family offices — which serve families …