A Palin of Our Own  —  TWO years ago today, Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, introduced the world to his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.  Chosen by Mr. McCain's campaign strategists as a cynical rejoinder to the ill-starred presidential bid of Hillary Clinton …

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson violated rules, steered scholarships to relatives  —  tgillman@dallasnews.com  —  choppe@dallasnews.com  —  Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005 …

Fire at Tenn. Mosque Building Site Ruled Arson  —  Construction Equipment at Site of Planned Islamic Center Torched; Vocal Protests Against Mosque Have Been Ongoing  —  Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.

The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party  —  ANOTHER weekend, another grass-roots demonstration starring Real Americans who are mad as hell and want to take back their country from you-know-who.  Last Sunday the site was Lower Manhattan, where they jeered the “ground zero mosque.”

MOVEMENTS ARE ABOUT SOMETHING REAL.... I tried to keep up on today's festivities at the Lincoln Memorial, but as the dust settles, I find myself confused.  —  For a year and a half, we've seen rallies and town-hall shouting and attack ads and Fox News special reports.

The role of information in American “Islamophobia”  —  One theme in the recent MSM hand-wringing about America's alleged “Islamophobia” is the notion that Americans are giving Muslims a more difficult time now than they did in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

Obama in Big Easy to mark Katrina  —  President Obama traveled Sunday to New Orleans to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Big Easy.  —  At the end of the First Family's weeklong vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Obama was met at the airport by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal …

Miller: U.S. Going Bankrupt, States Need Control  —  Tea Party-Backed Alaskan Challenger Wants Less Federal Money; Must Look at Option to Privatize Social Security  —  (CBS) Tea-Party-backed Joe Miller, who could become the Republican nominee for the Senate if he brings down incumbent Lisa Murkowski …

For Obama, Steep Learning Curve as Chief in War  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama rushed to the Oval Office when word arrived one night that militants with Al Qaeda in Yemen had been located and that the military wanted to support an attack by Yemeni forces.

Why We Need a Second Stimulus  —  OUR national debate about fiscal policy has become skewed, with far too much focus on the deficit and far too little on unemployment.  There is too much worry about the size of government, and too little appreciation for how stimulus spending has helped stabilize …

Man fires pepper spray on protesters outside Marine's funeral  —  (CNN) — A motorist fired pepper spray Saturday at a group of demonstrators and counter-protesters outside a funeral for a U.S. Marine in Omaha, Nebraska, police said.  —  The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. …

THERE IS NO SECRET ‘BIG ECONOMIC INITIATIVE,’ BUT THERE COULD BE.... The lead New York Times editorial today begins, “If President Obama has a big economic initiative up his sleeve, as he hinted recently, now would be a good time to let the rest of us in on it.”

Mosque big owes 224G tax  —  Tweet  —  The mosque developers are tax deadbeats.  —  Sharif El-Gamal, the leading organizer behind the mosque and community center near Ground Zero, owes $224,270.77 in back property tax on the site, city records show.  —  El-Gamal's company …

Election 2010: South Carolina Governor  —  South Carolina Governor: Haley (R) 52%, Sheheen (D) 36%  —  Republican state legislator Nikki Haley now earns 52% of the vote in her bid to be the next governor of South Carolina.  Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen picks up 36% of the vote …