Howard Dean: “Mosque” should move  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  Certain things are disappointing and surprising even for the most hardened cynics.  Hearing Howard Dean — the former liberal standard-bearer — join Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin by saying the following is definitely one of them:

In Defining Obama, Misperceptions Stick  —  WASHINGTON — Americans need only stand in line at the grocery checkout counter to glimpse the conspiracy theories percolating about President Obama.  “Birthplace Cover-Up,” screams the current issue of the racy tabloid Globe.  “Obama's Secret Life Exposed!”

Final U.S. combat brigade pulls out of Iraq  —  Lt. Col. Mark Bieger huddled his infantrymen in a darkened parking lot minutes before they were to depart Baghdad for the last time.  —  “This is a historic mission!” he bellowed, struggling to be heard over the zoom of fighter jets …

NRSC: ‘The Next Time Democrats Call You Extreme, Show Them This Video.’  —  You see it here first, folks: the new web video from the NRSC about just whose views are “extreme” around here.  —  Their closing sequence, showcasing that the so-called extreme candidates are either leading or in dead heats …

Mosque a long shot to be built  —  When President Barack Obama turned the battle over a planned New York Islamic center into a national debate over religious freedom, he unwittingly allied himself and his party with an ill-planned, long-shot development project described by one of its most prominent allies as “amateur hour.”

Did Sarah Palin really say that? … - Bogus Trends: Kiddie Porn, Sextortion, and Chinese Hymenoplasty- The Incredible Jazz Photography of Herman Leonard- Was Hurricane Katrina Good for the Environment?  - A Wonderful, Enigmatic Poem About a Badger- Puny, Decadent …

Blagojevich Jury Holdout Remaining Silent  —  Jurors Say One Woman Kept Them From Convicting On Senate Seat Scheme  —  CHICAGO (CBS) ― Jurors who handed down a single guilty verdict against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich have said there was one hold out who kept them from convicting Blagojevich …

The Coup of 2011  —  It occurred to me today that there's at least some chance that in January of 2011 the US Senate will have 49 Democrats, Joe Lieberman, Charlie Crist, and 49 Republicans.  Which is to say that Lieberman & Crist could form a two-man caucus, hold the balance of power, and drive organization of the Senate.

Ann Coulter to WorldNetDaily Editor: 'He's a swine' and ‘publicity whore’  —  Conservative pundit Ann Coulter responded today to the announcement that WorldNetDaily was dropping her as a speaker for one of their events, calling WorldNetDaily Editor Joseph Farah a “publicity whore” and a “swine.”

Condemning mosque, Gingrich echoed Mussolini  —  A regular correspondent wondered why Newt Gingrich's recent declaration on the planned downtown mosque sounded so familiar, and found this:  —  Gingrich:  —  There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia.

More Disapprove Than Approve of Obama Mosque Remarks  —  PRINCETON, NJ — More Americans disapprove than approve of President Barack Obama's recent comments concerning the planned construction of a mosque near where the Sept. 11 terror attacks occurred in New York City, but 4 in 10 do not have an opinion on the matter.

The Great American Bond Bubble  —  If 10-year interest rates, which are now 2.8%, rise to 4% as they did last spring, bondholders will suffer a capital loss more than three times the current yield.  —  Ten years ago we experienced the biggest bubble in U.S. stock market history …

America, the Decent  —  My views on the mosque are pretty well aired out now.  I think it's a bad idea to build right there (though not the end of the world), and — as I argue today — if Bloomberg and Obama had more talent and statesmanship this mess never would have come to pass in the first place.

What Is It About 20-Somethings?  —  ROW 1, left to right: Annie Ling, Jen Davis, Latoya Ruby Frazier, Elizabeth Weinberg.  ROW 2: Dru Donovan (1,2,4); Marvin Orellana (3).  ROW 3: David Wright, Latoya Ruby Frazier, Jen Davis, Annie Ling.  —  Why are so many people in their 20s taking so long to grow up?

Obvious Failure of Stimulus Becomes Obvious Even To Economists  —  Where do Keynesians go now that even public radio is talking about the failure of one of history's costliest Keynesian stimulus efforts?  —  At City Journal, Guy Sorman notes how quickly the managed-market winds have shifted.

Conservative Elites, Cont'd: Being in on the Joke  —  Apropos my earlier post about conservative elites and the Park 51 controversy, I want to address the general relationship between certain influential figures in the conservative movement — Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Andrew Breitbart …