Rep. John Murtha dies at 77  —  Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, a Vietnam veteran who staunchly supported military spending and became a master of pork-barrel politics, died today at Virginia Hospital Center following gallbladder surgery last month.  —  Elected to Congress in 1974 …

Gibbs Responds to Boehner, Cantor  —  White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just responded to a letter sent today from House Republican Leader John Boehner and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor regarding the proposed bipartisan health care summit:  —  The President is adamant that we seize …

Meghan McCain Calls Out Tea Party For Racism, On ‘The View’ (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Racism in the “tea party” is a why young people are turned off by the movement, according to Meghan McCain.  —  McCain weighed in on recent rhetoric from the group's first convention when she guest hosted “The View” Monday.

Shelby releases holds on Obama nominees  —  Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has released his controversial “holds” on more than 70 pending presidential nominations, his office said Monday night.  —  Senators, usually from the minority party, often use the legislative tactic …

Fox News: Palin's ‘Telepalmer’ Notes Were A Clever Plot To Call Attention To Obama's Teleprompter  —  As ThinkProgress reported on Saturday night, paid Fox News contributor Sarah Palin was caught using “hand"-written notes during a Q & A session at the National Tea Party Convention this weekend.

‘Miss Me Yet?’  Billboard With Photo Of Bush Is Real; Not An Internet Trick  —  Internet chatter had led to speculation that it might be an urban myth — nothing more than clever digital trickery spreading via the Web.  —  But our friend Bob Collins at Minnesota Public Radio assures us he's seen it with his own eyes:

Apple Says it Will Lower Prices if iPad Doesn't Sell  —  Remember the kerfuffle over the original iPhone?  Apple charged luxe prices for the first few months, and then after it had wrung every possible dollar out of the early adopters, dropped the cost to capture more price-sensitive users.

75% Are Angry At Government's Current Policies  —  Voters are madder than ever at the current policies of the federal government.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 75% of likely voters now say they are at least somewhat angry at the government's current policies …

Times Paterson ‘Exposé’ Will Be ‘PG-13, Not XXX’  —  For days now, buzz has been building that the New York Times was prepping an explosive exposé that would lead to Governor Paterson's swift resignation.  The blog hysteria peaked over the weekend, when Business Insider reported …

Fairness Doctrine  —  Yes, let's talk about those Republican ideas for health care.  —  The idea that Republicans haven't had a chance to present their ideas on health care reform is a bit mind-boggling.  Five separate congressional committees had hearings; each chamber had floor debates.

NOAA: Blizzard Rearranges Climate Change Announcement  —  As D.C. continued to dig out from Snowmageddon and is keeping an eye on another storm system, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was busy making a climate change announcement.  —  NOAA, part of the Department of Commerce …

COLLINS STILL CAN'T ADMIT HER MISTAKE.... For reasons that are still unclear, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has decided to take a leadership role in going after the Obama administration's handling of the attempted Abdulmutallab attack.  So far, this hasn't gone especially well.

Washington Post actively sought out “liberals are condescending” piece  —  Well, this is interesting.  Remember that “Why are liberals so condescending” piece by Gerard Alexander the Washington Post published last week?  Turns out, the author didn't submit the piece the the Post — the Post sought him out:

Obama Approval on Economy Down, on Foreign Affairs Up  —  Obama does best on education, foreign affairs; worst on the economy, healthcare, and the deficit  —  PRINCETON, NJ — At 36%, Americans give President Barack Obama his lowest job approval rating yet on his handling of the economy.

Nelson to oppose Becker for NLRB spot  —  Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D) on Monday announced he would oppose Craig Becker's nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) — a move that could ultimately scuttle Becker's confirmation indefinitely.  —  Senate Democratic leaders needed …

The Progressive Tantrum … His point is that people are inconsistent, so the government just has to ignore them and run a deficit to create jobs.  I have two questions about this:  —  1. Is it really the case that people want the government to create jobs?

Gmail, Too, Seeks to Rival Facebook  —  Google Inc. is taking a swipe at Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. with a new feature that makes it easier for users of Gmail to view media and status updates shared online by their friends.  —  Google could announce the new Gmail feature as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter.

There's something new under the sun  —  I've been racking my brain all morning, but I really can't come up with another example of a president gambling major legislation on a televised, hyped showdown with the leadership of the minority party.  Congressional Democrats have been begging Obama …