Liberal Revolt on Health Care Stings White House  —  WASHINGTON — In the great health care debate of 2009, President Obama has cast himself as a cold-eyed pragmatist, willing to compromise in exchange for votes.  Now ideology — an uprising on the Democratic left — is smacking the pragmatic president in the face.

Obama: ‘Time for talk is over’  —  COPENHAGEN — A visibly angry Barack Obama threw down the gauntlet at China and other developing nations Friday, declaring that the time has come to “not to talk but to act” on climate change.  —  Emerging from a multinational meeting boycotted …

DeMint promises to delay health bill, force Christmas Eve vote  —  Sen. Jim DeMint said Thursday he is prepared to use every procedural tool to delay a vote on the Democratic healthcare legislation.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning to schedule votes around the clock …

Franken shuts down Lieberman on Senate floor  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Al Franken took the unusual step Thursday of shutting down Sen. Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor.  —  Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, currently is the target of liberal wrath over his opposition …

The Hardest Call  —  The first reason to support the Senate health care bill is that it would provide insurance to 30 million more Americans.  —  The second reason to support the bill is that its authors took the deficit issue seriously.  Compared with, say, the prescription drug benefit …

Pass the Bill  —  A message to progressives: By all means, hang Senator Joe Lieberman in effigy.  Declare that you're disappointed in and/or disgusted with President Obama.  Demand a change in Senate rules that, combined with the Republican strategy of total obstructionism, are in the process of making America ungovernable.

Palin cuts vacation short  —  Sarah Palin announced Thursday night that she ended a Hawaii vacation early because of the ruckus raised after she blacked out “McCain” on her sun visor in an effort to elude paparazzi.  —  After the former Alaska governor was photographed on the beach earlier this week …

Is the European police state going global?  —  From The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley in Copenhagen  —  Today the gloves came off and the true purpose of the “global warming” scare became nakedly visible.  Ugo Chavez, the Socialist president of Venezuela, blamed “global warming” …

Specter, Toomey Deadlocked In Pennsylvania Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Gets Good Score On War, Bad Marks For Health Care  —  Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter and Republican challenger Pat Toomey are deadlocked 44 - 44 percent in Pennsylvania's marquee 2010 U.S. Senate race …

Ohio's Traficant contemplates return to Congress  —  CLEVELAND — Former Rep. James Traficant, who was recently released from prison after serving seven years for corruption, said Thursday that he is “proud of being an ex-con” and may try to return to Congress.

The 10 Worst Predictions for 2009  —  Ten pundits and politicians whose prognostications for this year completely missed the mark. … —Rahm Emanuel on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, April 19, 2009  —  The bill the White House chief of staff was optimistically referring to …

Rare gender identity defect hits Gaza families  —  Editor's Note: Watch Connect the World tonight 9pm GMT, 4pm ET.  —  Gaza City (CNN) — Two Palestinian teenagers stroll amid the mounds of rubble left by last year's Israeli military offensive, listening to the tinny beat of a Turkish pop song playing on a cell phone.

Hurry Up and Wait  —  A woman whose name I didn't recognize left a message on my office telephone a few weeks ago.  Identifying herself as a member of Congress, but without telling me what she wanted, she asked me to call her at a private number, not the 225 prefix for telephones in the House of Representatives office buildings.

Homeowners often rejected under Obama's loan plan  —  WASHINGTON — Ten months after the Obama administration began pressing lenders to do more to prevent foreclosures, many struggling homeowners are holding up their end of the bargain but still find themselves rejected …

Muslims Say F.B.I. Tactics Sow Anger and Fear  —  The anxiety and anger have been building all year.  In March, a national coalition of Islamic organizations warned that it would cease cooperating with the F.B.I. unless the agency stopped infiltrating mosques and using “agents provocateurs to trap unsuspecting Muslim youth.”