Nevada tea party candidate facing felony charges  —  LAS VEGAS - A Nevada asphalt contractor who faces a legal challenge to his Tea Party of Nevada candidacy for U.S. Senate was hit Friday with felony theft and bad check charges in Las Vegas that allege he bounced a $5,000 business check last year.

WHY HAS BARACK OBAMA TREATED NETANYAHU SO RUDELY?  “Obama would never treat the president of Equatorial Guinea that way.”  —  Possibly Obama just hates Israel and hates Jews.  That's plausible — certainly nothing in his actions suggests otherwise, really.

Obey, Servants … It's hard to know what to say to something like that.  It's always strange to me to think that police officers have a right to electrocute anyone who doesn't present a direct threat to their person, but this rationale is chilling: … Except it wasn't a lawful order …

The Future of an Illusion  —  A piece of paper will not bring peace to the Middle East  —  Those who cannot remember the past are condemned, it seems, to direct the Middle East policy of the Obama administration.  —  Since the Oslo Accords of 1993, 17 years of efforts under three American presidents …

Maj. Gen. Robert Harding Withdraws as T.S.A. Nominee Under Cloud  —  President Obama's choice to lead the agency that guards United States airports abruptly withdrew his nomination on Friday night amid questions about his work as a defense contractor, the second time the White House has lost a nominee for the critical security post.

Libtalker Calls For Deaths Of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly  —  LIBTALKER: TIME TO DIE  —  Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck Targeted By Hate Rhetoric  —  While mainstream conservative talk hosts are under fire for supposedly inciting (since generally debunked) “violence” …

Hospital wards to shut in secret NHS cuts  —  Tens of thousands of NHS workers would be sacked, hospital units closed and patients denied treatments under secret plans for £20 billion of health cuts.  —  The sick would be urged to stay at home and email doctors rather than visit surgeries …

The Lie of the Liberal Arts Education  —  This will be an especially personal post, but as it brings into sharp relief many of the ideas I've spent years writing about here, I figured it's worth sharing.  —  As many of you know, a few evenings ago I received the following email from one of my old creative writing professors:

Ayad Allawi's bloc wins most seats in Iraqi parliamentary elections  —  BAGHDAD — Nearly three weeks after Iraq's elections, the coalition of former prime minister Ayad Allawi emerged with the most seats in the parliament Friday but fell far short of a majority.

Obama begins tough sell of healthcare and education reform  —  President Barack Obama began the tough job of selling healthcare and student lending reform to a skeptical public in his weekly address.  —  Obama lauded both initiatives, capping a triumphant week in which Democrats passed both measures with zero Republican support.

Demonizing Everyday Americans  —  There appears to be a concerted effort among the political Left and many mainstream media people to demonize and marginalize the expanding citizen-based movement known as the tea party movement.  This effort flows from both a fear of what these tea parties represent …

RNC rejects joint ‘civility’ statement  —  The Republican National Committee has rejected a proposal from its Democratic counterpart to sign a joint “civility” statement, POLITICO has learned.  —  Various members of the DNC — including Chairman Tim Kaine, Executive Director Jen O'Malley Dillon …

Weekly Address: Two Major Reforms on Health Care & Higher Ed  —  The President looks back on a week that saw the passage of two major sets of reforms: one putting Americans in control of their own health care, and one ensuring student loans work for students and families, not as subsidies for bankers and middlemen.

Coburn Pulls The Trigger: Jobless Benefits Extension Blocked By GOP  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) promised that he'd be the next Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) if he had to be.  And last night, he made good on his threat.  —  Coburn is blocking unanimous consent on extension of unemployment benefits, just as Bunning did a few weeks ago.

Major First Amendment Victory: Federal Appeals Court Unanimously Strikes Down Limits on Political Speech  —  Media Contacts:  —  (703) 682-9320  —  (202) 527-2598  —  [First Amendment]  —  Arlington, Va.—Today, the federal courts ruled once again to expand free speech rights by striking …

Pope Had ‘No Knowledge’ of Transfer, Vatican Says  —  ROME — The Vatican on Friday reaffirmed its position that the future Pope Benedict XVI “had no knowledge” of a decision to allow a known pedophile priest to resume pastoral duties when the pope was archbishop in Munich in 1980.