Another Name on President Obama's Supreme Court Short List  —  Last Friday we told you that President Obama's short list of possible nominees to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court contains fewer than 10 names.  —  We told you that 7th circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diane Wood …

1994 Republican Rout Is Casting Shadow in 2010  —  WASHINGTON — The year was 1994.  Congressional Democrats were battered after a failed fight to pass a health care bill.  It was the first midterm election for a new Democratic president, Bill Clinton.  By overwhelming numbers …

DAVID GREGORY'S SENSE OF FACT-CHECKING.... The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz noted this morning that NBC's “Meet the Press,” still the most watched Sunday public affair show, is poised to undergo some cosmetic changes.  It will not, however, follow ABC's lead on the fact-checking front.

The political case for immigration reform  —  I'd say it's pretty unlikely that comprehensive immigration reform happens this year.  But then, who cares what I think?  Harry Reid is in charge of the Senate, and he says he's got 56 votes, and it's gonna happen.

Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again  —  As a retired clinical psychologist, Clark Martin was well acquainted with traditional treatments for depression, but his own case seemed untreatable as he struggled through chemotherapy and other grueling regimens for kidney cancer.  Counseling seemed futile to him.

Zazi, Al Qaeda pals planned rush-hour attack on Grand Central, Times Square subway stations  —  Chilling new details about the foiled Al Qaeda plot to blow up the city's busiest subways have emerged as a fourth suspect was quietly arrested in Pakistan, the Daily News has learned.

Bishop ‘blames Jews’ for abuse row  —  A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse.

An Angry Progressive's Picture Is Worth A Thousand “Angry, Right-Wing” Words  —  I want to commend Boston's progressive Left for the outstanding job they're doing fighting the hate-mongering of Sarah Palin and the Tea Partiers in advance of Wednesday's rally on Boston Common.

U.S. Troops Fire on Bus in Afghanistan, Killing Civilians  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — American troops raked a large passenger bus with gunfire near the southern city of Kandahar on Monday morning, killing as many as five civilians and wounding 18, Afghan authorities and survivors said.

Tea Party Rallies Remain a Cauldron for Conspiracy Theories  —  The Tea Party Express has toured state after state trying to kick up a debate about constitutional rights and cast doubt on the legality of the recently passed health care overhaul, all with an eye toward the 2010 elections.

AFL-CIO For Hanabusa In HI  —  National Dems may be quietly backing ex-Rep. Ed Case (D), but their allies in labor are behind state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D), giving the party more headaches as it races to keep a vulnerable open House seat in a May special election.

The Better Pope  —  The world didn't always agree with Pope John Paul II, but it always seemed to love him.  Handsome and charismatic, with an actor's flair and a statesman's confidence, he transformed the papacy from an Italian anachronism into a globe-trotting phenomenon.

Op-Ed Columnist: Bank Failures: Why Georgia?  —  As we look for ways to prevent future financial crises, many questions should be asked.  Here's one you may not have heard: What's the matter with Georgia?  —  I'm not sure how many people know that Georgia leads the nation in bank failures …

Romney wades into Hawaii special election, raises $1.5 million for PAC  —  1. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will throw his support behind Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou in advance of the May 22 special election, an endorsement that will draw further national attention to the increasingly competitive contest.

GAO: Postal Service business ‘not viable’  —  Happy Monday!  The U.S. Postal Service's current business model “is not viable” and the mail agency should make deeper job and wage cuts, hire more part-time staff and consider outsourcing operations, according to a draft of a government audit acquired by The Federal Eye.

Poll Finds Pessimism Among Print and Broadcast Journalists  —  Most newspaper and broadcast news editors think American journalism is in decline, and about half believe that their employers will go out of business if they do not find new sources of revenue, according to a survey to be released on Monday.

So How's the Economy Doing, Anyway?  —  Business Week's Mike Dorning thinks the economy is on the mend: … Floyd Norris of the New York Times agrees that a lot of people are being too pessimistic: … There's a lot to this.  But just off the top of my head, here are the things that gnaw at me when I hear stuff like this:

SEIU EXECUTIVE VP: WHITE UNION MEMBERS ARE ‘SO F****** RABIDLY RACIST’  —  “Black people get scared.”