White House Disavows Report That It Disdains Gay Critics, Bloggers As “Internet Left Fringe”  —  The White House is strongly denying a report making the rounds that it views gay critics and bloggers as part of an “Internet left fringe,” with a senior adviser asserting to me that this sentiment …

Heckuva Job, Barack  —  This was Barack Obama's chance.  —  Here was an opportunity to cut himself free, in a stroke, from the baggage that's weighed his presidency down — the implausible expectations, the utopian dreams, the messianic hoo-ha.  —  Here was a place to draw …

The Insurance Industry's Deceptive Report  —  In the hallowed tradition of the tobacco and energy industries, the health insurance industry has commissioned a report (pdf) projecting doom and despair for those who seek to reform its business practices.  The report was farmed …

An institutional economics prize  —  Congratulations to Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson.  What a day for them!  —  The way to think about this prize is that it's an award for institutional economics, or maybe more specifically New Institutional Economics.

It's a Fork, It's a Spoon, It's a ... Weapon?  —  NEWARK, Del. — Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy.  But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother's fiancé by his side to vouch for him.

Hillary Clinton says she won't run for president again  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday she would not run for president again, and brushed off suggestions that she is being marginalized in the Obama White House.  —  Clinton, who lost the Democratic …

WaPo Page A1 breaking news: Conservatives are horrible ogres, Part 99,999  —  The Sunday edition of the Washington Post featured a massive, front-page article by Ann Gerhart decrying the “incivility” of conservatives.  “The nation's political discourse seems sour, angry, even dangerous,” Gerhart frets.

Sharpton to NFL: Block Limbaugh  —  Rev. Al Sharpton pleaded with the National Football League on Monday to deny conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh the opportunity to buy the St. Louis Rams franchise.  —  In a letter sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Sharpton wrote that he was …

Counterintuitive counterinsurgency  —  An illegitimate election in Afghanistan does not mean legitimate American military and political goals can't be met.  —  As the Obama administration debates whether to stick with the counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan, opponents point …

Schwarzenegger signs gay rights bills  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.  —  In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday …

Kenyan police arrest American heading for Somalia  —  * Man was trying to enter area controlled by insurgents  —  * Arrested U.S. national told police he is a Muslim  —  An American man has been arrested in northern Kenya while trying to enter an area of Somalia controlled by Islamist insurgents, police and residents said on Monday.