Exclusive: Hot Air Acquired By Salem Communications  —  CPAC hasn't even officially started and already its making news.  Mediaite has learned that leading center-right web site Hot Air has been acquired by Salem Communications for an undisclosed sum.  Sources close to the deal claim that Michelle Malkin …

Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century  —  We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding.  Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law.  They sought to secure national independence …

Another Liberal Crackup  —  The real reason Evan Bayh wants out of Washington.  —  The political retirement of Evan Bayh, at age 54, is being portrayed by various sages as a result of too much partisanship, or the Senate's dysfunction, or even the systemic breakdown of American governance.

Palin: Tea Partiers “Have to Pick a Party”  —  In Arkansas, Former Alaska Governor Heaps Praise on Movement, But Says U.S. Has A Two-Party System  —  (CBS) In front of a crowd of Republican Party activists and the tea-party movement's rank and file here on Tuesday night …

Poll: Large majority opposes Supreme Court's decision on campaign financing  —  Americans of both parties overwhelmingly oppose a Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations and unions to spend as much as they want on political campaigns, and most favor new limits on such spending, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success  —  Imagine if, one year ago, Congress had passed a stimulus bill that really worked.  —  Let's say this bill had started spending money within a matter of weeks and had rapidly helped the economy.  Let's also imagine it was large enough …

2009- Global Warming Causes Foggy Days in San Francisco... 2010- Global Warming Causes Fog-less Days in San Francisco  —  You just can't make this stuff up.  —  Global warming blamed on foggier days in San Francisco:  —  SFGate reported this seven months ago:

IT IS ‘BROKEN,’ BUT WHO BROKE IT?.... Again, this is the right sentiment, but it's incomplete. … Right.  The system in Washington is “broken.”  Every effort does require an inexplicable “supermajority.”  The entire policymaking process is “dysfunctional.”

The Democratic Agenda  —  The vast majority of opposition to health care and allowing gays to serve openly in the military is coming from people who already say there's no chance they'll vote Democratic this fall.  That's an indication of minimal fallout for Congressional Democrats by acting on these issues.

Dodd: Changing filibuster rules would be ‘foolish’  —  Diluting the Senate's filibuster rules would be “foolish,” Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) suggested Wednesday.  —  Dodd, who has served in the Senate since 1981 and is the sixth most senior Democrat in the chamber, rejected some colleagues' efforts …

Amy Bishop was charged with assault in 2002 IHOP dispute  —  In March, 2002, Bishop walked into an International House of Pancakes in Peabody with her family, asked for a booster seat for one of her children, and learned the last seat had gone to another mother.

Democrats mark the anniversary of the stimulus with GOP ‘hypocrites’ video  —  Democrats wished Republicans a “happy anniversary” of sorts with a Web video marking the stimulus act's first year in law.  —  In their latest salvo against Republicans who voted against the $787 billion American Recovery …

Four More Dem Senators Join Push For Vote On Public Option  —  Yesterday four Dem Senators made a big splash by signing a letter pushing Dem leaders to pass the public option via reconciliation, suggesting the provision may have a faint pulse.  —  Now four more Dem Senators have added …

Plan Would Let Students Start College After 10th Grade  —  Dozens of public high schools in eight states will introduce a program next year allowing 10th graders who pass a battery of tests to get a diploma two years early and immediately enroll in community college.

Party Gridlock in Washington Feeds Fear of a Debt Crisis  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Evan Bayh's comments this week about a dysfunctional Congress reflected a complaint being directed at Washington with increasing frequency, and there is broad agreement among critics about Exhibit A …

Dems' blues: States reverting to red  —  The electoral map candidate Barack Obama remade in 2008 appears to be retreating into its familiar patterns.  —  Obama broke the decisive role Ohio and Florida seemed to play in presidential elections, by moving from trench warfare engagement …

Goldman Sachs, Greece Didn't Disclose Swap, Investors ‘Fooled’  —  Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managed $15 billion of bond sales for Greece after arranging a currency swap that allowed the government to hide the extent of its deficit.  —  No mention was made of the swap …

Paterson Aide's Quick Rise Draws Scrutiny  —  David W. Johnson has worked for Gov. David A. Paterson for much of his adult life.  He began as a young, ambitious intern from Harlem when Mr. Paterson was a state legislator.  He rose to be Mr. Paterson's driver, serving as a kind of protector and scheduler.

The Accidental Plagiarist  —  Five days ago, Robert Thomson, the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, wrote a letter to The Times' executive editor, Bill Keller, about “apparent plagiarism” on The Times' DealBook blog, in a post by Zachery Kouwe, a 31-year-old business reporter.