A gaffetastic new Miss USA  —  She nearly tripped over her gown.  —  She called birth control a “controlled substance.”  —  She argued that contraceptives should be covered by health insurers because they are “expensive” — and then said you could get them for “free” from your OB/GYN's office.

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment  —  In 2003, several prominent Jewish philanthropists hired Republican pollster Frank Luntz to explain why American Jewish college students were not more vigorously rebutting campus criticism of Israel.  In response, he unwittingly produced …

Specter-Sestak Dem Primary Down To The Wire, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Onorato Leads Dem Governor Primary  —  The Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary goes down to the wire with U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak taking 42 percent of likely primary voters to Sen. Arlen Specter's 41 percent …

Court: Sexually Dangerous Can Be Kept in Prison  —  Supreme Court says federal officials can indefinitely hold sexually dangerous prisoners  —  The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal officials can indefinitely hold inmates considered “sexually dangerous” after their prison terms are complete.

Obama's terms for financial overhaul remain mostly intact  —  The Senate this week could hand President Obama his second major legislative victory of the year, both on administration priorities that seemed in doubt not long ago.  —  Passage of a 1,400-page bill to overhaul …

Answer the lesbian question, Ms Legal Eagle  —  The nominee to be the next justice of the Supreme Court has no opinion on anything.  Well, that's not entirely true.  She did believe in providing free coffee for students when she was dean of Harvard Law School.

Newt Gingrich says President Obama is Nazi-Commie “threat to our way of life.”  —  Will Howard Kurtz ask Chris Wallace why FOX News decided to make Newt Gingrich's new book their number one segment of the day?  Then they followed it up by interviewing Laura Bush and proceeded into their wingnut panel discussion.

Too Far?  Family Guy's Vietnam Veterans Memorial ‘Joke’  —  It's not a secret that Family Guy is famous for its offensiveness and tendency to cross the politically correct line.  That said, I suspect they may be called upon to issue some sort of apology after tonight's episode (not that they will …

Uranium Offer by Iran May Hinder Efforts on Sanctions  —  CAIRO — Iran announced an agreement on Monday to ship some of its nuclear fuel to Turkey in a deal that could offer a short-term solution to its nuclear standoff with the West, or prove to be a tactic aimed at derailing efforts to bring new sanctions against Tehran.

Class Warfare: Hundreds Protest Outside Bankers' Houses In DC  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Huge raucous crowds converged outside bank employees' houses on Sunday afternoon to demand banks stop lobbying against Wall Street reform.  —  “Bank of America: bad for America!” …

The amazing campaign ads of Alabama  —  Alabama Republicans have, for reasons that I don't understand but which I hope a reader will explain, produced a raft of strange and memorable television ads this cycle: Young Boozer's broadside; ‘This is Alabama.  We speak English’; the scornful attack on an accused evolutionist.

Who is Michael Posner, and why is he apologizing to China?  —  Actually, I phrased the title question wrong.  —  Question: Who the hell is Michael Posner, and why the hell is he apologizing to China?!  —  Answer: Michael Posner is the former head agitator at the transnationalist Human Rights First …

E-mails paint Times Square suspect as frustrated Muslim  —  New York (CNN) — Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square, was frustrated with the state of the Muslim world and sought a way to “fight back.”  —  Two e-mails obtained by CNN help piece together …

Today's orders and opinions  —  The Court issued four opinions today, including two in the long-awaited cases about juvenile imprisonment without parole, Graham and Sullivan v. Florida.  The rulings are:  —  In United States v. Comstock (08-1224), in an opinion by Justice Breyer …

A Conservative's Case for Sarah Palin's Genius  —  I hadn't seen Sarah Palin speak in person since the 2008 elections.  If one just watched or read mainstream media accounts of her paid speeches and appearances since then, including some accounts that have been featured on this site …

Obama doesn't take questions at Freedom of Press Act signing  —  Obama declined to answer questions at bill signing for the Freedom of Press Act.  —  Washington (CNN) - After the signing of the Freedom of Press Act on Monday, President Obama declined to take any questions from the press.

In Europe, Fears of a Deeper Crisis Are Intensifying  —  After a brief respite following the announcement last week of a nearly $1 trillion bailout plan for Europe, fear in the financial markets is building again, this time over worries that the Continent's biggest banks face strains that will hobble European economies.