Comedy gold: Kagan pretends to admire Orrin Hatch's gun  —  An all-time classic in the annals of American culture clashes.  Entrenched Ivory Tower academics love the firearms, baby!  —  Like Karl says, noting the double-entendre potential of the pistol, she's killing two storylines here with one stone.

Anti-porn provision sinks Dem jobs bill  —  House Democrats had to scrap their only substantive bill of the week Thursday after Republicans won a procedural vote that substantively altered the legislation with an anti-porn clause.  —  Democrats had labeled their COMPETES Act …

Officials: Pakistan has arrested suspect who says he was accomplice to Times Square bomber  —  The Pakistani government has arrested a suspect with connections to a Pakistani militant group who said he acted as an accomplice to the accused Times Square bomber, U.S. officials said.

Obama: Did what moment required  —  BUFFALO — Emboldened by positive jobs numbers and an uptick in his own polls, President Barack Obama stood squarely behind his economic record Thursday and accused Republicans of doing nothing to contribute to the growth.

Arizona lawmaker laughs at McCain's border fence ad  —  Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) couldn't contain himself Thursday when he saw footage of Sen. John McCain's latest campaign ad.  —  Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) couldn't contain himself Thursday when he saw footage of Sen. John McCain's (R) latest campaign ad.

Sources: Dems Seek To Protect Lincoln By Delaying Action On Wall Street Reform  —  One of the most far-reaching pieces of the Senate's Wall Street reform bill has powerful enemies.  The White House doesn't like it.  FDIC chief Sheila Bair doesn't like it.  Obama adviser Paul Volcker …

Watch Eric Holder squirm  —  There's so much pussyfooting and high-stepping around the term “radical Islam” here that Attorney General Eric Holder has more than earned a spot on the next “Dancing with the Stars.”  Just watch the whole spectacle.  Crikey:  —  While jihadists plot, our Justice Department panders.

Inhofe Says U.S. Soldiers Will Be Unwilling To Fight And Die For Their Gay Comrades  —  In an interview with American Family Association (AFA) radio yesterday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) argued against repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), arguing that basically, members of the U.S. military …

NBC CANCELS ‘LAW & ORDER’ FLAGSHIP: Dick Wolf Furious That Net Reneged On Deal And May Take Show To TNT; Should NBC Reconsider?  —  BREAKING NEWS!  KEEP REFRESHING!  3:30 PM UPDATE!  Here's the latest news on this fast-moving story.  A deal was in place if NBC picked up the Law & Order flagship …

Supporter calls Obama a ‘hottie with a smokin’ little body'  —  President Obama got more than he expected when he stepped out for a bite to eat today.  —  Obama is visiting Buffalo, NY, and made a surprise visit to Duff's Wings, a local landmark a few miles outside the city.

A Hidden History of Evil  —  In the world's collective consciousness, the word “Nazi” is synonymous with evil.  It is widely understood that the Nazis' ideology—nationalism, anti-Semitism, the autarkic ethnic state, the Führer principle—led directly to the furnaces of Auschwitz.

Sestak Surges Against Toomey In November Matchup, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Corbett Has Small Lead In Governor's Race  —  U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who has narrowed the gap against Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary, also is surging …

Lautenberg wants firearms banned from airports  —  Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) introduced a bill Thursday that would make it illegal for people to carry firearms into commercial airports throughout the country.  —  The measure would prohibit people from carrying guns into areas outside …

N.J. gov. sets tone for US  —  In a movie version of this important story of our time, the bold, undaunted officeholder would look much like the boyish, handsome David Cameron — Great Britain's new Conservative prime minister — who called on his countrymen Tuesday to embrace an “age of austerity.”

Barack Obama, Campaign Manager: How The 2008 Playbook Passed Health Care  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Shortly before 11 a.m. on a Sunday in mid-December, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was driving through Washington D.C. when he received a nervous phone call from one of his trusted deputies, Sen. Chuck Schumer.

‘Annie’ left a homeless orphan in newspaper world  —  Through more than 85 years of hardships and challenges — spanning the Great Depression, a world war, foreign cabals, corruption at home, several kidnappings and, well, being an orphan — she somehow always found a way to triumph.

I Don't Like Roger Ebert  —  I love Twitter.  I use it all the time.  When I say use, hear it the way an addict would say it.  I use Twitter.  I'm pretty good at it too.  Not in the sense of having lots of followers, or being really popular, or anyone knowing who I am.

Deep prejudice about the deep south  —  I'm tired of elitist US liberals who ridicule southerners and then profess their love for Nina Simone and crawfish etouffee  —  I am tired of apologising.  I apologised for being Muslim, post-9/11 and more recently for my Pakistani origins.

Same-sex researcher's defamation claim backed  —  A leading religious legal defense group said it is standing with George A. Rekers, the conservative expert on gay behavior who has seen his career implode amid media reports that he took a young gay travel companion to Europe with him.