‘Tea Party’ Fireworks: Speaker Rips McCain, Obama, ‘Cult of Multiculturalism’  —  Ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo Suggests ‘Civics, Literacy Test’ Would Have Foiled Obama's Election; High-Priced National ‘Tea Party’ Convention Stirs Debate Among Factions  —  The opening-night speaker …

What is a ‘hold’?  —  The news of the day, as I mentioned earlier, is that Richard Shelby has decided to place a hold on everything that eats, breathes or moves unless Alabama gets a couple billion more in pork.  Before we take a step further on this, it's worth noting that Shelby is doing exactly …

Why are liberals so condescending?  —  Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots.  But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct …

Palin e-mails reveal a powerful ‘first dude’  —  Nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that the first gentleman, Todd Palin, exchanged with state officials draw a picture of his influence on policy in the Sarah Palin administration.  Other e-mails are still being withheld by the state of Alaska.

'I'm Not Saying Your Mother's a Whore': How Fox News Censored Jon Stewart's Showdown with Bill O'Reilly  —  Fox News has generously placed the full, unedited conversation between Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart online, so we can see precisely how unfairly and deviously Fox edited the interview in order to weaken Stewart's case: A lot!

Patrick Kennedy: Scott Brown's candidacy ‘a joke’  —  Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) election has been shown to be “a joke,” the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Thursday.  —  Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) castigated Brown for having pushed to be sworn in ahead of schedule …

Palin to Post: I'm not ripping Rush  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is criticizing a report on a Washington Post blog claiming that she is going after conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh.  —  On Thursday the Washington Post blog “The Plum Line” posted an item under the headline …

Fiscal Scare Tactics  —  These days it's hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a news program without encountering stern warnings about the federal budget deficit.  The deficit threatens economic recovery, we're told; it puts American economic stability at risk; it will undermine our influence in the world.

FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited  —  The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.

Harold Ford Superstar  —  U.S. Senate wannabe's tour rider anticipates swarms of adoring fans  —  Like Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, Harold Ford, Jr. has a tour rider.  The former Tennessee congressman, who is now trying to carpetbag his way to a Senate seat in New York, banks about $20,000 …

Cornyn: No thanks to Obama Q & amp; A  —  Senate Republicans don't have much of an appetite to give President Barack Obama their version of question-and-answer time - not after seeing how Obama handled House Republicans last week.  —  “We're always happy to hear from the president …

This pretty much covers what we know so far about the vehicular assault on my person  —  Big thanks to Scott, Liz, and Neil.  —  As I mentioned yesterday, one of the people standing over me as I lay in the street with a broken knee asked if there was anybody he could contact for me, and I gave him the number of the Daily Caller.

Americans Reject Keynesian Economics  —  Richard Nixon once said, “We're all Keynesians now.”  But that was a long time ago, and it's certainly not the case anymore (if it ever was).  —  While influential 20th Century economist John Maynard Keynes would say it's best to increase deficit spending …

GOP Chairman Steele: ‘after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money’  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and potential Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. agreed Thursday that Americans want action now on health care reform, but disagreed about how to achieve it.

Ollie North On What Happens If Gays Are Allowed To Serve Openly In Military: ‘NAMBLA Members’ Are Next  —  Last night, Oliver North, the retired U.S. Marine Corps officer-turned-Fox News contributor, appeared on Hannity's America to condemn the administration's decision to overturn “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

Queens girl Alexa Gonzalez hauled out of school in handcuffs after getting caught doodling on desk  —  A 12-year-old Queens girl was hauled out of school in handcuffs for an artless offense - doodling her name on her desk in erasable marker, the Daily News has learned.

Students At Jesuit School Shut Down Basketball Game Over LGBT Rights  —  As the band played Hot Stuff, students at John Carroll University occupied center court during a basketball game to protest the school's decision to exclude LGBT people from its non-discrimination policy.  —  Subscribe to Joe.My.God.

A Big Mess In Illinois  —  Well, the incumbent Democratic governor won his primary in Illinois, which more often than not is a good thing for the incumbent's party in a major race.  Except...  His new running mate—the candidate for lieutenant governor—has admitted he was on anabolic steroids in 2005 …

Geithner: Much Lower Risk of Double-Dip Recession Now Than Any Other Time In Last Year  —  We interviewed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today for an exclusive interview to air on THIS WEEK Sunday.  —  We talked about the new unemployment numbers; the shortcomings of various administration proposals …

Senator Franken Rips Into Comcast CEO Brian Roberts  —  Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBC President Jeff Zucker testified in front of House and Senate subcommittees Thursday as regulators decide whether to allow the proposed merger of the two media giants.  Comcast is the largest cable TV …

J. Thompson: Fox's Wallace owes Palin an apology  —  Jeri Thompson blasted Fox News host Chris Wallace on the Fred Thompson show today, calling his joke that he hoped Sarah Palin would sit on his lap during an interview with him “inappropriate” and “insipid,” and demanding “action from Fox.

Obama attends CIA Khost memorial  —  As Washington scurried to prepare for a couple feet of snow, Barack Obama made a morning visit to the CIA to attend a memorial for the seven CIA officers killed by a Jordanian double agent in Khost Afghanistan late last year, Salon's Mike Madden reported for the White House press pool: