Most back stricter financial reform, advantage Obama  —  About two-thirds of Americans support stricter regulations on the way banks and other financial institutions conduct their business, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.  —  Majorities also back two main components …

The Revolution Will Be Commercialized  —  Sarah Palin is already president of right-wing America—and it's a position with a very big salary.  —  On the morning of July 3, 2009, a national holiday, Sarah Palin placed a call to her communications director and told her that she wanted to hold …

‘Nobody wins’ on immigration reform  —  The Arizona Legislature's passage of a new hard-line anti-immigration law may force both Democrats and Republicans into a place they don't want to be: dealing with the contentious, no-win issue of immigration reform in the midst of an election year.

Not Even in South Park?  —  Two months before 9/11, Comedy Central aired an episode of “South Park” entitled “Super Best Friends,” in which the cartoon show's foul-mouthed urchins sought assistance from an unusual team of superheroes.  These particular superfriends were all religious figures …

Op-Ed Columnist: Berating the Rating Agencies  —  Let's hear it for the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.  Its work on the financial crisis is increasingly looking like the 21st-century version of the Pecora hearings, which helped usher in New Deal-era financial regulation.

Even Tancredo worries AZ immigration law may go too far: People shouldn't be pulled over for how they look.  —  Former Colorado Republican congressman Tom Tancredo is known as a far-right ideologue when it comes to immigration, with fellow Republican Dick Armey lamenting that Tancredo is “alienating” Latinos from the GOP.

AMBITION AND SUCCESS ARE NOT OFTEN PUNISHED.... Today, a tri-partisan climate/energy bill was supposed to be unveiled after months of efforts.  The package — crafted by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — faced an uphill climb …

Deal Near on Derivatives  —  Berkshire Presses Lawmakers to Roll Back Proposed Curbs, Avoiding Potential Hit  —  WASHINGTON—Democrats took a step toward their goal of overhauling financial regulation, reaching a tentative deal to set restrictions on trading in exotic financial instruments known as derivatives.

Obama video kicks off '10 election effort  —  President Barack Obama made a personal appeal to Democrats on Monday to work to keep Democrats in office in this fall's midterm elections.  —  In a new web video this morning, the president announced the beginning of his “Vote 2010” initiative.

Thousands Protest Obama's Stance On Israel  —  NEW YORK (WPIX) - Thousands of Jews gathered outside the Israeli Consulate Sunday to protest President Obama's position towards Israel.  —  Organizers said the event supports “Israel's right to build and live in its own country,” …

How do you measure ‘epistemic closure’?  —  “Epistemic closure,” Julian Sanchez writes, is the toxic result of “confirmation bias plus a sufficiently large array of multimedia conservative outlets to constitute a complete media counterculture, plus an overbroad ideological justification …

National Security Adviser Jones: Jews Are Greedy Merchants  —  As the National Security Adviser, General James Jones is not known as a friend of the Jewish State.  It was Jones who put together the team of Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski to meet with the President and advise him to impose a solution on Israel.

The Quiet Coup  —  The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States.  One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs …

McCain unsure Arizona law is legal  —  John McCain — who has spoken supportively of his state's crackdown on illegal immigrants — appeared torn on the issue at a town hall meeting Saturday:  —  Although McCain had sounded a note of support for the bill, calling it a “good tool” …

Economists say recovery looks stronger than expected  —  The recovery is shaping up to be stronger than expected and there is little risk the economy will slip back into a recession, according to USA TODAY's quarterly survey of 46 leading economists.  —  Yet most still say the rebound …

The Cushy Life of the Rightwinger  —  If you're a connoisseur of people pointing out that Jonah Goldberg isn't a very intelligent man while simultaneously being too polite to come out and say so directly, I'd highly recommend this post from Conor Friedersdorf.