Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends Insurance Mandate as a Tax  —  WASHINGTON — When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax.  But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend …

Republican lawmakers gird for rowdy tea party  —  So who wants to join Rand Paul's “tea-party” caucus?  —  “I don't know about that,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) replied with a nervous laugh.  “I'm not sure I should be participating in this story.”  —  Republican lawmakers see plenty …

Obama's the “most” racial president  —  While President Obama has touted himself as a post-racial president, he has built a record demonstrating precisely the opposite.  Is it Obama's bitterness, or is the incessant playing of the race card by him and many of his supporters merely calculated political exploitation — or both?

A nice new shopping mall opened today in Gaza: Will the media report on it?  —  [Please link to and credit this website if writing on this.]  —  Will the Western media show these images?  —  All notes below by Tom Gross  —  Please scroll down below for photos of the new shopping mall that opened today in Gaza.

Biden: GOP forced smaller stimulus  —  Vice President Joe Biden said that the Recovery Act was undersized because the White House shrunk the economic stimulus package to win Republican votes in Congress to pass it.  —  “I think it would have been bigger,” he told ABC's Jake Tapper in an interview airing Sunday.

Muslims Riot, Mayhem in France, Fire On Police UPDATE: After Islamic Cleric's Fiery Speech  —  Mayhem in Grenoble (Photo: AFP) (hat tip woolie)  —  The imprimatur of an Islamic cleric: … UPDATE: The police were fired on by automatic gunfire, a fact that strangely was only reported on by al jazeera.

Margaret Thatcher's family are ‘appalled’ at Meryl Streep film  —  Film about Margaret Thatcher's life, which is expected to star Meryl Streep, shows the former prime minister as a dementia-sufferer looking back at her life with sadness.  —  Tim Walker.  —  Although the prospect …

McDonnell wants to show Virginia the way out of liquor business  —  RICHMOND — For months, aides to Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell have been meeting behind closed doors with alcohol retailers and wholesalers, public safety officials and faith-based groups to come up with a way to fulfill …

Cash crisis in NHS leaves patients lying on operating tables  —  A cash crisis in the NHS has left patients lying on the operating table before doctors realised vital equipment had not been ordered, according to a leaked report.  —  Women in labour have been forced to wait while epidural equipment …

Biden Owes $219,000 for Campaign Violations  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden for President campaign committee owes the Treasury more than $219,000 because it accepted excessive campaign contributions and understated the value of a trip taken on a private plane in the 2008 campaign, the Federal Election Commission said in a new report.

The Day The Controversy Over The New Black Panther Case Fell Apart.  —  So, a number of things have happened in the past few hours that should really discredit the entire conservative conspiracy theory behind the New Black Panther Party case.  —  Earlier today, I reported that J. Christian Adams …

Hayworth: Obama wants ‘no enforcement of the law’ on immigration  —  Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that the Obama administration supports “no enforcement” of immigration law as he defended Arizona's controversial statute that gives police new powers to question people they suspect are in the country illegally.

What Germany Knows About Debt  —  IN many countries, including the United States, there are calls for the government to spend more to jump-start the economy, and to avoid the temptation to cut back as debts mount.  —  Germany, however, has decided to cast its lot with fiscal prudence.

Obama's Anti-Business Policies Are Our Economic Katrina  —  His gratuitous and overstated demonization of business is exactly the wrong approach  —  The growing divide and tension between the Obama administration and the business world is a cause for national concern.