Report: Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks  —  Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening.  The hold means no nominations …

‘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 …

Franken lays into Ax over health bill  —  Sen. Al Franken ripped into White House senior adviser David Axelrod this week during a tense, closed-door session with Senate Democrats.  —  Five sources who were in the room tell POLITICO that Franken criticized Axelrod for the administration's failure …

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.

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 …

Obama Suggests Possibility That Health Reform May Not Happen  —  Maybe I'm misreading this.  But if you look at the transcript of Obama's remarks at a fundraiser last night, it seems like the President was at least raising the possibility that health reform may not happen.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

New senator Scott Brown sure gets down to Republican business  —  Great.  Here comes one more model prone to sudden acceleration.  —  Another Toyota?  Actually, no. This one is Scott Brown, as of Thursday the junior senator from Massachusetts.  —  Brown, the surprise victor …

Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans  —  WASHINGTON — Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders.

The great peasant revolt of 2010  —  “Iam not an ideologue,” protested President Obama at a gathering with Republican House members last week.  Perhaps, but he does have a tenacious commitment to a set of political convictions.  —  Compare his 2010 State of the Union to his first address to Congress a year earlier.

Socialism Viewed Positively by 36% of Americans  —  Majority of Americans positive on capitalism, entrepreneurs, free enterprise, and small business  —  PRINCETON, NJ — More than one-third of Americans (36%) have a positive image of “socialism,” while 58% have a negative image.