Obtained: In Letter To Pelosi, 41 House Dems Pledge To Vote Against Bill With Anti-Abortion Amendment  —  In a move that will intensify the coming war over how to treat abortion in the health care bill, more than three dozen House Dems have signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi firmly pledging …

Officials: U.S. Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda  —  Army Major in Fort Hood Massacre Used ‘Electronic Means’ to Connect with Terrorists  —  U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda …

Obama: ‘This is a Health Care Bill, Not an Abortion Bill’  —  President Says Still More Work to be Done on Legislation Passed by House  —  President Obama said today that Congress needs to change abortion-related language in the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives this weekend.

Pfizer abandons site of infamous Kelo eminent domain taking  —  The private homes that New London, Conn., took away from Suzette Kelo and her neighbors have been torn down.  Their former site is a wasteland of fields of weeds, a monument to the power of eminent domain.

Collapse Feared for Palestinian Authority if Abbas Resigns  —  RAMALLAH, West Bank — The prospect that the Palestinian Authority, the government in the West Bank, might fall apart loomed on Monday, as those close to its president, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he intended to resign and forecast that others would follow.

Paranoia Strikes Deep  —  Last Thursday there was a rally outside the U.S. Capitol to protest pending health care legislation, featuring the kinds of things we've grown accustomed to, including large signs showing piles of bodies at Dachau with the caption “National Socialist Healthcare.”

Steele: White Republicans are scared of me  —  Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele, who is known for making controversial statements, on Sunday said that white Republicans are afraid of him.  —  Steele also took aim at some in his own party last week as well …

Rell Will Not Seek Re-Election  —  Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced Monday at 5 p.m. that she will not seek re-election as governor in 2010.  —  “After much soul-searching, and discussion with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election next year,” Rell said in her Capitol office during …

Shake-up at WashTimes; three executives out  —  The Washington Times has announced major changes at the paper this morning, with three top executives gone in the process.  —  Those removed Monday morning include Thomas P. McDevitt (president and publisher), Keith Cooperrider (chief financial officer), and Dong Moon Joo (chairman).

Lieberman will filibuster health-care reform ‘as a matter of conscience’  —  Joe Lieberman went on Fox News last weekend to give viewers some insight into his thinking on health-care reform. … I've sent a couple of requests over to Lieberman's office for an interview, and haven't had much luck.

The GOP's women problem  —  Conservatives say they pushed Dede Scozzafava out of the House race in New York's 23rd District a week ago because of her left-of-Republican social views — and not because she is a woman.  —  But the growing schism between the Republican Party's ascendant right wing …

Blaming the President for Unemployment  —  I often enjoy Charles Blow's By the Numbers blog at the New York Times, but I think this op-ed from last Friday was a little over the top: … What exactly is he supposed to do to create all these jobs?  Use the book proceeds to buy a Dairy Queen franchise?

Economists Seek to Fix a Defect in Data That Overstates the Nation's Vigor  —  WASHINGTON — A widening gap between data and reality is distorting the government's picture of the country's economic health, overstating growth and productivity in ways that could affect the political debate on issues like trade, wages and job creation.

Fred Hiatt on stepping closer to universal health care — and bankruptcy  —  The House passage of health-care reform Saturday night should be a moment of celebration.  In a country as wealthy as America, no one should have to go without medical care.  As in other developed nations …

China's Race Problem  —  Is racism universal?  Since the end of the colonial era, the rising powers of the developing world have been quick to condemn Western racism.  Ethnocentrism and color prejudice can be found in virtually all human societies, going back centuries if not thousands of years.

CO-Gov: Penry to exit race  —  Colorado state Sen. Josh Penry (R) plans to end his gubernatorial campaign and endorse former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), according to two sources familiar with his thinking.  —  Penry's decision to opt out of the race is a stunner as many national Republicans …

Creigh Deeds' Defeat Offers National Lessons.  —  Jonathan Martin has written a smart post-mortem of Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds' failed gubernatorial campaign.  It comes down to the fact that Deeds waffled between running away from being a Democrat and running with the president …

Westboro Baptist Church Organizes Homophobic Anti-Obama Protest Outside Sasha And Malia's School  —  Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church is a hate group that goes around the country staging anti-gay rallies at some of the most inappropriate places (e.g. the funerals of former White House …