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 …

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.

GOPer Collins Opposes House Dems  —  ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: Here's a wrinkle in the abortion debate: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of the few Republicans considered to be a strong supporter of abortion rights, said today she opposes the language inserted in the House health reform bill …

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 …

Despite ban, Holder to speak to CAIR-linked group  —  Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to give a keynote speech next week to a Michigan group which includes the local branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations even though the FBI has formally severed contacts with the controversial Muslim civil rights organization.

Obama's Afghan Plan: About 40K More Troops  —  CBS Exclusive: Sources Say Force Will Grow to 100,000 - Nearly Filling Gen. McChrystal's Request; Long-Term Stay Planned  —  (CBS) Tonight, after months of conferences with top advisors, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for Afghanistan.

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 …

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.”

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?

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.

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 …

Constant Comment  —  How Kathleen Parker became America's most-read woman columnist.  —  Save the Males , Kathleen Parker's 2008 polemic on sexual permissiveness and libertinism, contains the following euphemisms for vagina: “inner sanctum,” “familiars,” “you know what,” “very private parlor …

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.

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 …

Obama has lost sight of the centre  —  Barack Obama and the Democrats want you to know they had a good week.  Last Tuesday Republicans threw away a New York congressional seat they had held for a century, preferring to fight each other than win an easy contest.  Excellent, say Democrats.