Sarah Palin gets in dustup with teacher  —  Sarah Palin was involved in a short argument over the weekend with an Alaska teacher over her decision to leave her post as governor of Alaska.  AP  —  Sarah Palin was involved in a brief argument over the weekend with an Alaska teacher …

The Marriage Ideal  —  Here are some commonplace arguments against gay marriage: Marriage is an ancient institution that has always been defined as the union of one man and one woman, and we meddle with that definition at our peril.  Lifelong heterosexual monogamy is natural; gay relationships are not.

GQ Exclusive: Rand Paul's Kooky College Days (Hint: There's a Secret Society Involved)  —  When the Lexington Herald-Leader reported last week that Rand Paul was, in effect, a college dropout, it looked like the 2010 midterms might feature yet another fabulist.

Why I'm Not Hiring  —  When you add it all up, it costs $74,000 to put $44,000 in Sally's pocket and to give her $12,000 in benefits.  —  With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off.  I think it's going to be later—much later.

Why Michelle Obama Vacationed in Spain: To Be With Grieving Friend  —  Michelle Obama returned to Washington on Sunday from five days on Spain's Mediterranean coast, taking a mother-daughter trip with Sasha, 9, that stirred controversy.  A White House source told me, however …

Flight Attendant Pops Emergency Chute, Escapes Plane at JFK … A jetBlue flight attendant upset because a passenger refused to apologize after accidentally striking him with luggage, allegedly spewed obscenities over the PA system, then activated and slid down a plane's emergency chute …

Ryan Rips Krugman: ‘Intellectually Lazy’ and ‘Bizarre’ Attack  —  Talking late this afternoon with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Republican congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin blasted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman for his “intellectualy lazy” attack on Ryan's fiscal “Roadmap.”

Tea Party Infiltration Done Wrong  —  It's rarely convincing when Tea Party activists brush off attacks on the movement by claiming that the bad apples at their rallies are really agents provocateurs.  That's just too convenient.  Sometimes, the people who make you look bad actually are part of your movement.

Obama to GOP: I'm pretty good at politicking, remember?  —  (CNN) — President Barack Obama warned Republicans on Monday that he is back in campaign mode.  —  In a fundraising speech in Austin, Texas, Obama complained that while his administration has been governing the country since January 2009 …

Ed Rendell: Many Republicans ‘are nuts’  —  Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday said that Republican desires to repeal the 14th Amendment are “cuckoo” and prove that many in the GOP “are nuts.”  —  Asked during an MSNBC interview about many Republicans' calls to repeal the portion …

A joint policy proposal for an open Internet  —  Posted by Alan Davidson, Google director of public policy and Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy, and communications  —  The original architects of the Internet got the big things right.

Horrible Obama-Smashing Carnival Game Wows Jersey Shore Patrons  —  Last week, a fair near Allentown, Pennsylvania grabbed some attention for its “Alien Attack” shooting-gallery game, where one could shoot at Barack Obama's likeness.  The game was pulled.  But there's still a similar game on the Jersey Shore boardwalk!

Greg Gutfeld: I'm raising money to build a Muslim gay bar next to the Ground Zero mosque  —  Andy Levy assures me that he's quite serious.  Media narrative on the GZ mosque: Shining beacon of liberal values bursting through the overcast skies of American intolerance.

America Goes Dark  —  The lights are going out all over America — literally.  Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.

Gates announces major job cuts as Pentagon looks to cut spending  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday dozens of cuts to senior military and contractor positions and the elimination of a major military command.  —  The moves are part of an effort to streamline Pentagon spending.

SOAK THE VERY, VERY RICH  —  The fight on Capitol Hill over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts is about many things: deficit reduction, economic stimulus, supply-side ideology.  But at its core is a simple question: who counts as rich?  The Obama Administration's answer is that you're rich …

Sen. Tim Johnson hospitalized with fever  —  Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) was hospitalized over the weekend with a fever, his office said Monday.  —  Johnson was admitted to a Sioux Falls hospital on Sunday for a fever possibly due to an adverse reaction to an antibiotic, and is in stable condition.

The Golden State's War on Itself  —  California has long been a destination for those seeking a better place to live.  For most of its history, the state enacted sensible policies that created one of the wealthiest and most innovative economies in human history.