John McCain: The Reason For All Of This  —  Richard Coen convenes a meeting: … The WSJ and TWS have long ago lost any intellectual credibility.  They use sophism to maintain power.  Their cynicism and/or denial mechanisms are deeper than most mortals can imagine.

Rush Interviews Governor Sarah Palin  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: We are going to open this hour with a rare personal interview, a rare guest.  It doesn't happen much on this program, but we are happy to have with us former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, whose book, Going Rogue …

National Debt Now Tops $12 Trillion  —  Posted by Mark Knoller It's another record-high for the U.S. National Debt which today topped the $12-trillion mark.  Divided evenly among the U.S. population, it amounts to $38,974.34 for every man, woman and child.  —  Technically, the debt hit …

Audit The Fed Effort Under Threat In House  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A bipartisan effort to force transparency on the Federal Reserve is suddenly in jeopardy after a House Financial Services Committee member introduced an amendment that would let the multi-trillion dollar organization …

Stupak: I have votes to defeat health bill  —  Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) pledged this morning to defeat healthcare reform if his abortion amendment is taken out, saying 10 to 20 pro-life Democrats would vote against a bill with weaker language.  —  “They're not going to take it out,” …

Palin on Nidal Hasan: “Profile Away”  —  I spoke to Governor Palin by phone this afternoon.  Lots of interesting material, but to me the most interesting takeaways were the following:  —  1) I asked about Palin's upcoming visit to Ft. Hood.  “We had planned on that before the tragedy struck,” she said.

Fox News: Fair And Balanced?  —  A report suggests yes.  —  Fox News has become embroiled in a nasty controversy over its ill treatment of President Obama.  But are the charges true?  —  What if I told you that Fox gave Obama his worst press and John McCain his best press of any network during last year's presidential election?

Police Officer Uses Taser On 10-Year-Old Girl  —  OZARK, Ark. — Ozark police said they were called to a home where a mother asked for help with her unruly child, but the 10-year-old's father said he's outraged at the force police used against his daughter.  —  “I would like to say Ozark police Tased this little girl right here.

Feds to women in their 40s: Skip the mammogram; Update: Meet the task force  —  What a difference six months — and a health-care overhaul proposal — can make!  Just six months ago, the U.S Preventive Services Task Force, which works within the Department of Health and Human Services as a …

“Hit the Bitch”?  —  Trigger warning.  —  A Danish advocacy group encourages you to “hit the bitch” as a way to end domestic violence.  Basically, you go online and take a swing at a woman speaking.  There are ratings for how “pussy” or “gangsta” you are — every time you slap the woman, you get more “gangsta.”

Mukasey: Rep. Moran Has ‘Lost Touch With Reality’ And Should ‘Get Professional Help’ From Major Nidal Hasan  —  Last week, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) came out in strong support of Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to prosecute the five 9/11 defendants in U.S. federal court …

Under Friendly Veneer, China Pushes Back on Obama  —  BEIJING — President Obama made a big effort Tuesday at presenting his first visit to China as a step forward in America's evolving relationship with its fastest rising competitor.  But what emerged after six hours of meetings, two dinners …

Chance of Great Depression Now 5%...  For 2 1/4 years now I have been saying that there is no chance of a repeat of the Great Depression or anything like it—that we know what to do and how to do it and will do it if things turn south.  —  I don't think I can say that anymore.

Bowing to Mao  —  A reader sends over this video clip of President Richard M. Nixon's historic visit to China, which includes, at 1:24, a rather deep bow to Mao Zedong.  —  David Sanger also recalls the flap over a George H. W. Bush bow in what really does seem, by historical standards, like a non-story, if a recurrent one.