The “Kennedy Court,” only more so  —  Analysis  —  If it has been so that the Supreme Court could properly be called the “Kennedy Court,” because of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's grip on a tie-breaking vote much of the time, that may well be even more so when the Justices open a new Term next October.

President of Poland Killed in Plane Crash in Russia  —  MOSCOW - A plane carrying the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, and dozens of the country's top political and military leaders crashed in a heavy fog in western Russia on Saturday morning, killing everyone aboard.

Base stirred by Palin, but not sure she's ready yet  —  NEW ORLEANS - Sarah Palin dominated a sleepy Southern Republican Leadership Conference here Friday, stealing a show that had largely been ceded to her by other Republicans of national stature.  —  When Palin was introduced …

Grayson crashes local GOP meeting, tells Orange mayoral critic “take a walk”  —  U.S. Rep Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, walked in on an Orange County Republican Executive Committee meeting Thursday night at a Perkins restaurant and got into a confrontation with county mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer …

15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America  —  The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.  Cliché, sure, but it's also more true than at any time since the Gilded Age.  —  The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low.

Tax day: $160-billion relief, and counting  —  More than $160 billion in tax relief has been granted to families and businesses under the American Recovery and Reinvetment Act signed into law last year, Presdent Barack Obama announced today with a radio address near the eve of Tax Day.

Pick a politician for the Supreme Court  —  My first thought on hearing that Justice Stevens was retiring was that it'd be nice to see him replaced by a legislator with legal training rather than another lawyer.  As Matt Yglesias writes, “this is one of these things that pundits …

Afghanistan and the Decline of American Power  —  President Karzai's anti-American shift is a statement about the standing of the Obama administration in the region.  —  President Obama's “war of necessity” in Afghanistan increasingly has to it the mark of a military campaign disconnected from a bigger political strategy.

URGENT: Stop CNN From Airing Deficit Propaganda  —  This weekend, CNN is giving four hours of free airtime to the leading propagandist fanning the flames of deficit hysteria, Pete Peterson, along with his lackeys.  Bloggers and online activists are joining today to promote this action:

McMahon warned steroid doctor of investigation  —  In December 1989, as federal investigators were zeroing in on a Pennsylvania doctor who would soon be convicted of selling steroids to professional wrestlers, Linda McMahon sent a confidential memo to a fellow executive at Titan Sports …

Kyrgyzstan president left only $80m  —  • Bakiyev ‘plundered state and favoured family’  —  • Otunbayeva says Russia recognises new regime  —  The head of Kyrgyzstan's new interim government yesterday revealed that her country was broke and said that the former president …

Obama Questions Palin's Nuclear Wisdom  —  He simply doesn't know when to shut up: … Palin's view of nuclear weapons was shaped by her stint as the commander in chief of the Alaskan National Guard, our first line of defense against Soviet nuclear weapons.