Uncivil War: Conservatives to challenge a dozen GOP candidates  —  In what could be a nightmare scenario for Republican Party officials, conservative activists are gearing up to challenge leading GOP candidates in more than a dozen key House and Senate races in 2010.

Reid reassures left Lieberman on board  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman has reached a private understanding with Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not block a final vote on healthcare reform, according to two sources briefed on the matter.  —  The unpredictable Democrat-turned-Independent …

VIDEO** Terrified Voter says NJ Dems Using Gangbangers for GOTV  —  How would you like to be a New Jersey police officer and look out your window and see several known criminals, including a man you arrested several weeks ago and another who had just been released from prison for shooting a cop?

Gore's Dual Role: Advocate and Investor  —  WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Al Gore thought he had spotted a winner last year when a small California firm sought financing for an energy-saving technology from the venture capital firm where Mr. Gore is a partner.

CNN Poll: 54 percent approve of Obama  —  Washington (CNN) — One year after he won a historical presidential election, a slight majority of Americans approve of the job Barack Obama's doing in the White House.  —  Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation …

Palin sowed confusion on Election Night, new book claims  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Tensions within John McCain's presidential campaign boiled over on Election Night last November when Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, repeatedly ignored directions from senior staffers who told her she would not be delivering her own concession speech.

Turnout high in Maine  —  Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap told me just now that turnout there is far exceeding his projections — news that would be good news for backers of same-sex marriage.  —  “We're seeing heavy and very steady turnout,” he said, attributing the surprise to the contested vote on a …

The myth of Fox News' ratings spike  —  Fact: The breathless claim that Fox News' ratings recently spiked thanks to the White House's public critique is bogus hype — hype that Fox News and the Beltway press have relentlessly pushed.  —  It's just not true.

Bear kills militants in Kashmir cave  —  A bear killed two militants after discovering them in its den in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.  —  Two other militants escaped, one of them badly wounded, after the attack in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar.

Police Called To NY-23 Polling Sites  —  It's getting ugly out there.  —  I just got off the phone with former state Democratic Chairwoman June O'Neill, who informed me the police had been called to at least two polling sites in St. Lawrence County due to overzealous electioneering …

Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatments  —  A little-noticed measure would put Christian Science healing sessions on the same footing as clinical medicine.  Critics say it violates the separation of church and state.  —  Reporting from Washington - Backed …

Why I Am Not a Zionist  —  Last week I was disinvited from my second Jewish conference in two months for poems I'd written in solidarity with Palestinians, poems that make an unapologetic call for justice.  Subsequently I, and the poet I was to read with at the conference, wrote a response to being censored.

Allen v. Roig-Franzia: From the Beginning  —  When one man hauls off and punches another in the face, the conflict often has a long-tailed provenance.  Such appears to be the case with Washington Post Style section staffers Manuel Roig-Franzia and Henry Allen.

45% for Obama, 49% Against - If Election Were Held Right Now  —  Americans are a little less enthusiastic about the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama this time around.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of adults say they would be at least somewhat likely …

[video] Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck  —  An honors student died in the crash today, leaving the nation to wonder why the grisly experience of burning alive was not reserved for Glenn Beck.

Reconstruction for the USA  —  Ryan Avent asks what would happen if for just one year we spent as much on infrastructure investments as we do on the Department of Defense: … Ryan's link was to my post comparing America's 2007 defense spending to other countries:

Should Signers of Anti-Gay Rights Petition Be Exposed?  —  Posted by Brian Montopoli Voters in Washington state will decide today on a referendum that could effectively roll back legislation passed in May to extend domestic partnership rights and responsibilities to gay and lesbian couples similar …

Obama One Year Later: The Audacity of Winning vs. The Timidity of Governing  —  I had arranged to meet David Plouffe on Saturday afternoon at a Starbucks on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington.  The night before, a copy of his new book, The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons …

Racial disparity: All active ethics probes focus on black lawmakers  —  The House ethics committee is currently investigating seven African-American lawmakers — more than 15 percent of the total in the House.  And an eighth black member, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) …

Houston Tea Party rally draws more than 10,000  —  More than 10,000 people turned out Monday night for a North Houston Tea Party Patriots gathering to protest proposed health care reform and what they called big government spending and overzealous government leadership, according to preliminary attendance figures.

DNC's “Organizing for America” is asking Maine voters to help NJ race, not Maine's own anti-gay ballot measure  —  There's an update to this post here.  —  Correction: The nation, minus the Democratic Party.  —  Joe wrote last night about how the DNC's “Organizing for America” organization …

Eco-employee wins bid to appeal  —  A man has been told he can take his employer to tribunal on the grounds he was unfairly dismissed because of his views on climate change.  —  Tim Nicholson, 42, of Oxford, was made redundant in 2008 by Grainger Plc in Didcot, as head of sustainability.