DNC circulates Palin memo; ‘God Bless’  —  The Democratic National Committee has been, for days emailing reporters gleefully about Sarah Palin's media blitz, feeding the flames of what officials there see as a distraction for and a threat to the Republican Party.

Obama on terror trials: KSM will die  —  Americans who are troubled by the decision to send alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York for trial will feel better about it when he's put to death, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.  —  During a round of network television …

Conservative cowards  —  American liberals are tough on terrorists and secure in their knowledge that the Sept. 11 conspirators are guilty of mass murder.  American conservatives are timid cowards who fear that the U.S. government can't actually prove that the Sept. 11 killers committed their heinous crimes.

3 Democrats Could Block Health Bill in Senate  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, says he is not sure he is ready to help a Democratic health care proposal clear even the most preliminary hurdle: gaining the 60 votes his party's leaders need to open debate on the measure later this week.

$500 Million and Apology From Goldman  —  How much good will can an apology — and half a billion dollars — buy?  A lot, Goldman Sachs is hoping.  —  After first staunchly defending its outsize profits and pay, and then bristling at calls for restraint in these tough economic times …

Obama Approval Dips Below 50% For First Time, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For U.S. Troops In Afghanistan Drops Below 50%  —  President Barack Obama's job approval rating is 48 - 42 percent, the first time he has slipped below the 50 percent threshold nationally …

Health ‘Reform’ Gets a Failing Grade  —  The changes proposed by Congress will require more draconian measures down the road.  Just look at Massachusetts.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  As the dean of Harvard Medical School I am frequently asked to comment on the health-reform debate.

Go Jodi Go!  Times' Kantor Scores Seven Figures From Little, Brown For Obama Book  —  New York Times Washington correspondent Jodi Kantor has secured a stunning seven-figure book deal this week with Little, Brown to write a volume on the Obamas.  —  The deal was the result of a heated citywide auction …

Obama: I'd Fire Afghan Decision Leakers  —  Also Tells Chip Reid Afghan Decision Still Weeks Off; Speaks About Sarah Palin, and Toll Office Taking on Him … Reid reports the president said it's still several weeks before he makes a decision on how many more troops to send to Afghanistan.

CNN Poll: Does the GOP want ideologically pure candidates?  —  Washington (CNN) - A new national poll suggests that the Democrats may be the party of pragmatism and Republicans may be the party of ideological purity.  —  The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey's release on Tuesday comes …

Washington Sketch: Republican senators do an about-face on judicial filibusters  —  In their quest to thwart President Obama, Republicans do not fear the hobgoblin of consistency.  —  For much of this decade, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, now the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee …

What They Really Believe  —  If you follow the debate around the energy/climate bills working through Congress you will notice that the drill-baby-drill opponents of this legislation are now making two claims.  One is that the globe has been cooling lately, not warming …

The AIG report  —  At one level, there's not much news in the SIGTARP (YHTMAAAIYP) report on the AIG bailout: officials asked bankers to take a haircut, bankers said Ni!, and that was that.  But the report has renewed the debate over whether officials could have extracted something.  I say yes.

Innumerate Al — By: John Derbyshire  —  Al Gore on Conan O'Brien's show the other day: … [Me] The geothermal gradient is usually quoted as 25-50 degrees Celsius per mile of depth in normal terrain (not, e.g., in the crater of Kilauea).  Two kilometers down, therefore …

Holder tells senators ‘We need not cower in the face of this enemy’  —  Holder vowed that the U.S. would not surrender to fear or politics in seeking justice against the alleged Sept. 11 plotters in federal court.  —  “We need not cower in the face of this enemy,” Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee at a packed hearing.

Obama's China trip stands in stark contrast to those of past presidents  —  The U.S. tone toward Beijing is now much more conciliatory  —  BEIJING — President Obama has emerged from his first trip to China with no big breakthroughs on important issues, such as Iran's nuclear program or China's currency.

Dems alarmed as independents bolt  —  Mounting evidence that independent voters have soured on the Democrats is prompting a debate among party officials about what rhetorical and substantive changes are needed to halt the damage.  —  Following serious setbacks with independents …

Al Qaeda's Civil Liberties Union  —  A look at the other terrorists embraced by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's ACLU lawyers.  —  “I'll talk to you guys after I get to New York and see my lawyer.”  —  That, according to former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, is what September 11 …

Forgive Us Our Debts  —  I've gotten more personal email about my article on Dave Ramsey than any other piece I've written for the magazine, and several of you have asked me to blog about it here.  I chose to write about him for a few reasons.  First, I find him totally fascinating.

Washington Times editor files EEOC complaint  —  Disclosing his dismissal, Miniter says paper forced him to attend religious event  —  The former editorial page editor of the Washington Times has filed a discrimination complaint against the paper, saying he was “coerced” …

Union blocks teacher bonuses  —  Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston's best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics in a puzzling move that gets a failing grade from education experts.  —  The Boston Teachers Union staunchly opposes a performance bonus plan …

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 …