Obama Bypassing Congress to Appoint Chief of Medicare and Medicaid  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama will bypass Congress and appoint Dr. Donald M. Berwick, a health policy expert, to run Medicare and Medicaid, the White House said Tuesday.  —  Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director …

Levi Johnston Apologizes to Palin Family for ‘Youthful Indiscretion’  —  Levi Johnston isn't just getting past his differences with Bristol Palin - he's also hoping to make amends with her famous mom.  —  “Last year, after Bristol and I broke up, I was unhappy and a little angry.

Obama Job Approval Rating Down to 38% Among Independents  —  Overall job ratings for the president continue to be below majority level  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Thirty-eight percent of independents approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, the first time independent approval of Obama …

Lambda Legal and ACLU Ready Lawsuit Following Veto of HB 444  —  “THIS WAS A SAD SURRENDER TO POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT BUSINESS AND FAMILY INTERESTS.”  —  National Marriage Project Director  —  “We're still ready to do what's necessary so our clients can protect their loved ones.”

America's most unlikely politician  —  Last month, an unknown, unemployed former soldier astonished America by becoming the Democratic nominee for South Carolina's upcoming senate election.  How on earth did he do it?  —  The journey to the home of one of the most enigmatic figures to emerge …

Democrats digging harder than ever for dirt on Republicans  —  The Democratic Party is moving faster and more aggressively than in previous election years to dig up unflattering details about Republican challengers.  In House races from New Jersey to Ohio to California …

Darrell Issa Emerges as Obama's Annoyer-in-Chief  —  WASHINGTON — As a sign of the pride Representative Darrell Issa takes in annoying the Obama administration, consider his account of a recent exchange with Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman and now the White House chief of staff.

U.A.E. diplomat mulls hit on Iran's nukes  —  Prefers strike to armed foe  —  ASPEN, Colo. |  The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States said Tuesday that the benefits of bombing Iran's nuclear program outweigh the short-term costs such an attack would impose.

Video: The nice young man Eric Holder let off the hook  —  When Attorney General Eric Holder suddenly reversed course and had the DoJ dismiss the voter-intimidation case against two New Black Panther Party activists stemming from an incident in 2008 in Philadelphia, many questioned why the DoJ would quit a case it had already won.

Perfect — Eric Holder's DOJ crony leading SB1070 challenge is member of the “Gitmo 9”, who represented terrorists in court  —  The White House is so laser-focused on the environmental tragedy in the Gulf* that the Obama Justice Department today filed suit against Arizona.

Gulf Oil Spill: Scientists Beg For A Chance To Take Basic Measurements  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A group of independent scientists, frustrated and dumbfounded by the continued lack of the most basic data about the 77-day-old BP oil disaster, has put together a crash project intended …

A Case Study in Teacher Bailouts  —  Milwaukee shows that unions will keep resisting concessions if Washington rides to the rescue.  —  Milwaukee  —  The Obama administration is pressuring Congress to spend $23 billion to rehire the more than 100,000 teachers who have been laid off across the country.

The Least Dangerous Branch  —  Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist that the judiciary would be the least dangerous branch of government.  He based this on the third branch lacking “the power of the executive branch and the political passions of the legislature.”

Mayberry Machiavellis: Obama Political Team Handcuffing Recovery  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Under the leadership of President George W. Bush, science, empirical evidence and expert advice struggled to be heard above the din of politics.  It's one thing to prioritize politics over good policy …

Judge revises expungement order to exclude newspapers  —  Following a meeting with his fellow Centre County judges, the district attorney and defense attorney Joseph Amendola, Judge Thomas King Kistler this morning revised two expungement orders to eliminate the Centre Daily Times and the Daily Collegian.

The NASA (non) feeding frenzy  —  From a Nexis search a few moments ago:  —  Total words about the NASA Muslim outreach program in the New York Times: 0.  —  Total words about the NASA Muslim outreach program in the Washington Post: 0.  —  Total words about the NASA Muslim outreach program on NBC Nightly News: 0.

Federal Government Helped Pay Home Air-Conditioning Bills for Federal Employees, Prisoners and More Than 11,000 Dead People  —  (CNSNews.com) - According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government helped pay the home air conditioning bills for more than 11,000 dead people …

Tanning salons feel burned by 10 percent ‘tan tax’  —  The sun hasn't exactly set on Solar Planet, but anxiety over the fate of the Arlington tanning salon has been running high ever since a “tan tax” took effect Thursday.  —  One of the less publicized measures in the new health-care law …

AP IMPACT: Gulf awash in 27,000 abandoned wells  —  More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades.  No one — not industry, not government — is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows.

There is no ‘free’ lemonade  —  In giving drink away, girls ignore rules of economics — and sum up what's wrong with U.S.  —  This column is a true story — every word of it.  And I think it very appropriate to consider around the Fourth of July, Independence Day spirit.

“The Daily Show's” women: No sexism here!  —  Female staffers defend Jon Stewart — and shrug off challenges other women face in television comedy  —  The ladies of “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” have spoken: Their boss isn't “a sexist prick.”  —  This is apropos of Jezebel's recent allegation …

How New-START will improve our nation's security  —  Even in these polarized times, anyone seeking the presidency should know that the security of the United States is too important to be treated as fodder for political posturing.  Sadly, former governor Mitt Romney failed that test in arguing …

TSA drops policy blocking ‘controversial’ sites  —  Revises ‘acceptable use’ for Internet access after criticism  —  After an uproar from conservative bloggers and free-speech activists, the Transportation Security Administration late Tuesday rescinded a new policy that would have prevented employees …

Healthcare: Democrats up ante  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on healthcare reform, betting that it will do Democrats more good than harm in November's elections.  —  She and her leadership team have seized on new polls that suggest healthcare overhaul's popularity is rising …

Republican budget hawks boost Obama's bipartisan deficit panel  —  A White House commission tasked with winding down trillion-dollar deficits has won a boost from Congress's leading GOP budget hawks, who say it is off to a strong start.  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) and Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.) …