Binyamin Netanyahu humiliated after Barack Obama ‘dumped him for dinner’  —  Giles Whittell, Washington, and James Hider, Jerusalem  —  For a head of state to visit the White House and not pose for photographers is rare.  For a key ally to be left to his own devices while the President withdraws …

Frum thinks critique of GOP led to boot — 2 big bipartisan bashes — Chris Matthews, cornered — HHS Secretary is vastly more powerful — Jackie Calmes to White House beat — Kimberly Dozier to AP  —  FIRST LOOK: Valerie Jarrett is Jake Tapper's exclusive guest Sunday as he begins four months of interim-hosting of “This Week.”

Maddow takes full-page ad in Boston to say she's still not running  —  An ad slated for the Boston Globe.  (Click for full jpg or pdf.)  —  People in Massachusetts picking up their morning papers today may spot an open letter from Rachel Maddow.  The full-page ad explains that she's …

Going to Extreme  —  I admit it: I had fun watching right-wingers go wild as health reform finally became law.  But a few days later, it doesn't seem quite as entertaining — and not just because of the wave of vandalism and threats aimed at Democratic lawmakers.

Bullet that hit Cantor office was randomly fired  —  RICHMOND — A bullet that hit a window in Republican U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor's office building was fired randomly into the air, police said Thursday.  —  Cantor announced at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday that a shot had been fired into his Richmond campaign office.

Tea Party Advocates Who Scorn Socialism Want a Government Job  —  Tea Party activists, who are becoming a force in U.S. politics, want the federal government out of their lives except when it comes to creating jobs.  —  More than 90 percent of Tea Party backers interviewed …

Obama Seals Arms Control Deal With Russia  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama finalized a new arms control treaty with Russia on Friday that will pare back the still-formidable cold war nuclear arsenals of each country.  The agreement brings to fruition one of the president's signature foreign policy objectives …

Say Goodbye to Mitt Romney  —  Mitt Romney had his chance, and he blew it.  —  He was given the opportunity to establish himself as the Leader of the Republican Party on what has become the defining issue between the nation's two major political parties, and, in the process …

JPMorgan, Lehman, UBS Named as Conspirators in Muni Bid-Rigging  —  JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and UBS AG were among more than a dozen Wall Street firms involved in a conspiracy to pay below-market interest rates to U.S. state and local governments on investments …

Beneath the Obama agenda, the Obama agenda  —  Last night, the House of Representatives passed the reconciliation fixes.  “And oh, by the way,” writes Jon Cohn, “they managed to completely revamp the student loan program along the way.  At any other time in recent memory, that would have been a huge accomplishment all its own.

Harsanyi: Masters of distraction  —  The mob is furious.  And while it hollers on about “killing” bills, Republicans stoke the fury by calling on citizens to “target” races in “battleground” states.  —  Get it?  “Target.”  The violent intentions are palpable.

THE LIMITS OF AN EXTREME IDEOLOGY.... The Washington Post ran a profile of Mike Vanderboegh, a 57-year-old former militiaman from Alabama, who disapproves of the new Affordable Care Act.  Vanderboegh, who describes himself as a “Christian libertarian” and has been part of various clandestine militia groups …

Pope Was Told Pedophile Priest Would Get Transfer  —  MUNICH — The future Pope Benedict XVI was kept more closely apprised of a sexual abuse case in Germany than previous church statements have suggested, raising fresh questions about his handling of a scandal unfolding under his direct supervision …

CBO report: Debt will rise to 90% of GDP  —  President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation's economic output by 2020 …

South Korean ship sinking, North attack suspected: report  —  SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean naval vessel with more than 100 aboard was sinking on Friday in waters near North Korea and Seoul was investigating whether it was hit in a torpedo attack by the North, South Korean media said.

Personal Income Drops Across U.S.  —  Personal income in 42 states fell in 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday.  —  Nevada's 4.8% plunge was the steepest, as construction and tourism industries took a beating.  Also hit hard: Wyoming, where incomes fell 3.9%.

What do conservatives believe about health care?  —  Conservative strategist Patrick Ruffini has a searching and skeptical post on his party's approach to health-care reform.  “On health care, I have no idea what our basic guiding principle is,” he writes.  “Seriously, I don't.”

Modes of Dissent  —  The most surprising thing about David Frum's apparent parting of ways with the American Enterprise Institute is the extremely mild nature of Frum's heterodoxy.  What he's been doing for the past week has been to primarily offer a tactical critique of congressional Republicans' approach to health reform.

Student Loan Reform  —  It's a sign of how enormous an achievement the Affordable Care Act is that the passage in last night's reconciliation fix package of the long-awaiting reform to student lending practices has become a kind of forgotten afterthought.  But this is a big deal on its own terms.

2,000 House staffers make six figures  —  Nearly 2,000 House of Representative staffers pulled down six-figure salaries in 2009, including 43 staffers who earned the maximum $172,500 — or more than three times the median U.S. household income.  —  Starting salaries on Capitol Hill are still low …

PBS Now Offering Teachers Indoctrination Materials on Nationalized Healthcare  —  Yes We Can...  The Obama Administration wants to make sure that tomorrow's leaders are fully indoctrinated into the leftist philosophy of living.  Part of that indoctrination now includes lesson plans offered …