Now That's Rich  —  We need to pinch pennies these days.  Don't you know we have a budget deficit?  For months that has been the word from Republicans and conservative Democrats, who have rejected every suggestion that we do more to avoid deep cuts in public services and help the ailing economy.

Far from Ground Zero, other plans for mosques run into vehement opposition  —  MURFREESBORO, TENN. — For more than 30 years, the Muslim community in this Nashville suburb has worshipped quietly in a variety of makeshift spaces — a one-bedroom apartment, an office behind a Lube Express …

Poll numbers in 1994, a bad year for Democrats, don't bode well for them in 2010  —  Is it deja vu all over again for Democrats?  —  Some neutral observers and senior strategists within the party have begun to believe that the national political environment is not only similar to what they saw in 1994 …

Was Mike Huckabee Ready To Sell His Endorsement to Rick Scott for $250,000?  —  I have spoken with a reliable source telling me that a little over a week ago, Mike Huckabee approached the Rick Scott campaign and made overtures that his endorsement could be had for $250,000 dollars.

10 things Obama must do in 10 weeks  —  (CNN) — President Obama is facing criticism that his message has gone off track at a crucial time for his party and administration.  With the midterm elections just 10 weeks away, the president's approval ratings are at their lowest.

Dems urge Obama to take a stand  —  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs's recent complaint about the ingratitude of the “professional left” is a small symptom of a larger problem for President Barack Obama: He has left wide swaths of the Democratic Party uncertain of his core beliefs.

Real Estate's Gold Rush Seems Gone for Good  —  Housing will eventually recover from its great swoon.  But many real estate experts now believe that home ownership will never again yield rewards like those enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century, when houses not only provided shelter but also a plump nest egg.

True stories of bloggers who secretly feed on partisan cash  —  Katie Couric once described bloggers as journalists who gnaw at new information “like piranhas in a pool.”  But increasingly, many bloggers are also secretly feeding on cash from political campaigns, in a form of partisan payola …

The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.  —  David H. Koch in 1996.  He and his brother Charles are lifelong libertarians and have quietly given more than a hundred million dollars to right-wing causes.  —  KEYWORDS … On May 17th, a black-tie audience …

Taliban-hired snipers believed to have killed British soldiers killed by air strikes  —  Four foreign snipers hired by the Taliban, thought to be responsible for the deaths of ten British soldiers, have been hunted down and killed.  —  The mercenaries were found by British special forces …

Pakistanis Tell of Motive in Taliban Leader's Arrest  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — When American and Pakistani agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's operational commander, in the chaotic port city of Karachi last January, both countries hailed the arrest as a breakthrough …

SPIN METER: Republicans hot, cold on Constitution  —  WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia won his seat in Congress campaigning as a strict defender of the Constitution.  He carries a copy in his pocket and is particularly fond of invoking the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

The creeping threat of backdoor privatization  —  It has come to this: Parents are now being asked to send their children to school with their own toilet paper.  And not just toilet paper, but all sorts of basic items that schools themselves used to provide for kids.

Why Statism Is the Wrong Frame  —  Matt Yglesias writes: … Awhile back, when I reviewed Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin, I argued that its fatal flaw was its author's insistence on the straw man that today's liberals are fundamentally driven by Statism, whereas actually what motivates …

Harman Ready to Become ‘Institution Builder’ at Newsweek  —  As founder of the stereo-equipment company that bears his name, Sidney Harman turned a $5,000 investment into what is now a $3-billion-a-year business.  Now, at 92 years old, he is attempting what may be an even more difficult feat: reviving Newsweek.

Uninsured Slow To Sign Up For Coverage  —  HACKENSACK, N.J. - Just two people in New Jersey will begin receiving coverage Monday under new plans created by federal health care reforms.  —  NJ Protect plans are available to those who have been without insurance for at least six months …

College Dropout Factories  —  It was money—or the lack of it—that determined where Nestor Curiel chose to go to college.  The third of six children in an immigrant Mexican family, Nestor grew up in Blue Island, a gritty working-class suburb near Chicago's South Side.

Moving targets, US housing edition  —  If at first you don't succeed . . . move the goal-posts.  —  In the grand tradition of stimulus policy gone wrong, that seems to be just what the US Treasury has done in relation to its Hamp mortgage modification programme.