Robert Byrd, Respected Voice of the Senate, Dies at 92  —  Robert C. Byrd, who used his record tenure as a United States senator to fight for the primacy of the legislative branch of government and to build a modern West Virginia with vast amounts of federal money, died early on Monday.  He was 92.

Gun rights extended by Supreme Court  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court held Monday that the Constitution's Second Amendment restrains government's ability to significantly limit “the right to keep and bear arms,” advancing a recent trend by the John Roberts-led bench to embrace gun rights.

After Slamming ‘Activist’ Judges, Sessions Criticizes Kagan As Insufficiently Activist  —  Confirmation hearings are set to begin today on the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court.  Yesterday, appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Senate Judiciary …

The Third Depression  —  Recessions are common; depressions are rare.  As far as I can tell, there were only two eras in economic history that were widely described as “depressions” at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of 1873 and the years of mass unemployment …

Post fallout  —  Jeffrey Goldberg last week quoted an anonymous friend at the Post trashing “these bloggers” the Post brought on board, who “trade on the name” of the Post when they're not “reporters.”  —  Greg Sargent fires back across the newsroom:  —  Time for those who are anonymously dissing …

Sex complaint against Gore is detailed, credible; Could this be Gore's real ‘Inconvenient Truth’?  —  The allegation that Al Gore sexually assaulted a woman in a Portland, Ore., hotel room nearly four years ago has dealt a serious blow to the former vice president's story that he and wife Tipper simply …

Hubris and Humility: David Weigel Comes Clean on Washington Post, the D.C. Bubble, & the ‘Journolist’  —  In the first (and still best) “Austin Powers” film, a United Nations representative makes a faux pas and calls the film's villain “Mr. Evil.”  —  “It's Dr. Evil,” he huffs.

U.S. Sen. race: Greene's finances subject of SLED investigation  —  State agency wants to know how U.S. Senate candidate could afford filing fee  —  SLED and the 5th Circuit solicitor's office are investigating the finances of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene to see whether …

An Invitation for Glenn Greenwald  —  It turns out that the left-wing commentator Glenn Greenwald doesn't like me (who knew?).  In a rather long posting, he accuses me of many different sins, mainly, though not exclusively, having to do with my early support for the Iraq war, and for my reporting from pre-invasion Iraqi Kuridstan.

Brown outpolls Kerry, Obama  —  US Senator Scott Brown, who only months ago was a little-known figure even within the tiny band of Republicans in the state Senate, not only catapulted to national stature with his upset US Senate victory, but is today the most popular officeholder in Massachusetts, according to a Boston Globe poll.

Rand Paul refuses to say how old the earth is  —  I attended a fancy Christian Homeschool Educators of Kentucky (CHEK) conference on Friday, where Liberty Christ himself showed up to give a sermon and answer (and dodge) a few questions.  —  Here is the question and answer session:

Al Franken Caught Sleeping During Kagan Testimony  —  If you had the pleasure of watching Kagan's [paint dry] testimony today, you would second Franken's sentiment.  Killing us with her cadence.  Ahhhhh!

Obama's Unbelievable Winning Streak  —  Blogs and Stories  —  So he hasn't plugged the leak, and his poll numbers are sagging.  Truth is, Obama has exceeded in 18 months what Clinton and Carter achieved in a combined 12 years.  —  I know this is supposed to be Barack Obama's summer of discontent.

Blagojevich Considered Oprah for Senator  —  As if she weren't powerful enough, Rod Blagojevich seriously considered asking Chicago heavyweight Oprah Winfrey to take over the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.  —  “Nobody would assail this pick,” he says in tapes recorded on Nov. 21, 2008.