No endorsement in U.S. Senate race  —  Californians are left with a deeply unsatisfying choice for the U.S. Senate this year.  The incumbent, Democrat Barbara Boxer, has failed to distinguish herself during her 18 years in office.  There is no reason to believe that another six-year term …

Ann Coulter At Homocon: 'Marriage Is Not A Civil Right.  You're Not Black.'  —  Ann Coulter doesn't mince words.  And even when speaking to a gay conservative organization, GOProud, at their inaugural Homocon party on Saturday night, she apparently wasn't willing to start.

UN to appoint Earth contact for aliens  —  THE United Nations was set today to appoint an obscure Malaysian astrophysicist to act as EarthÂ's first contact for any aliens that may come visiting.  —  Mazlan Othman, the head of the UN's little-known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa) …

Boehner: Tax cuts punt ‘most irresponsible thing I have seen’  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called Congress' expected adjournment before acting on the Bush-era tax cuts the “most irresponsible thing that I have seen since I have been in Washington, D.C.  —  “And I've been here a while,” he added.

Paladino's wife tells of son's loss, hubby's affair & ‘get over it’ policy  —  Tweet  —  BUFFALO — It was just about a year ago, hours after the death of her son in a car crash, that Cathy Paladino's husband told her he was the father of a 10-year-old girl with another woman …

The Erik Scott Shooting: Update 3  —  Since the second update, many interesting developments have come to light and many questions have been answered, or at least, more informed suppositions can reasonably be made.  However, complete and accurate original source videos and audio and transcripts …

What the Rich Don't Need  —  WANT to give affluent households a present worth $700 billion over the next decade?  In a period of high unemployment and fiscal austerity, this idea may seem laughable.  Amazingly, though, it is getting traction in Washington.

Is the ‘Pledge to America’ a worthy successor to the ‘Contract With America’?  —  The men and women were so angry that they were actually spitting on me as they barked out their complaints — “sickening government spending” and “lobbyist legislation” and “repulsive corruption” and the “whole stinking mess.”

Mr. President, I feel hope-less  —  Tweet … The day President Obama announced he was running for the White House was the happiest day in our household.  On that day, Feb. 10, 2007, I became a volunteer for the campaign.  —  I knocked on doors in my neighborhood of Kensington, Brooklyn.

Exchequer vs. Economist  —  Some fellow at The Economist has taken me to task for my description of socialism and communism: “The difference between communism and socialism: Under communism, politics begins with a gun in your face; under socialism, politics ends with a gun in your face.”

Bill Clinton campaigning for Barney Frank  —  TAUNTON - Former President Bill Clinton stumped for U.S. Rep. Barney Frank while the Democrat's rival Republican Sean Bialet held a competing rally of his own on the city's common this afternoon, as the race for the 4th Congressional District seat heated up.

Their Moon Shot and Ours  —  China is doing moon shots.  Yes, that's plural.  When I say “moon shots” I mean big, multibillion-dollar, 25-year-horizon, game-changing investments.  China has at least four going now: one is building a network of ultramodern airports; another is building a web …

U.S. military training adjusts its aim  —  Another counterinsurgency mission like Iraq or Afghanistan is considered unlikely.  Army paratroopers are now training for ‘full-spectrum operations,’ for the first time in years.  —  Reporting from Ft. Bragg, N.C. — Their parachutes were rigged.

A'jad monster's ball  —  Tweet  —  It was a strange week for the loony strongman from Iran.  —  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's six nights in New York featured a secret sit-down with militant minister Louis Farrakhan, heckling in a hotel bar, and a fear of being rubbed out that bordered on paranoia.

Conservative Democrat wants Skelton over Pelosi as speaker  —  If Rep. Gene Taylor had his way, Rep. Ike Skelton would replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker next year.  —  Taylor told The Hill that he'd like to see Skelton, a Missouri Democrat and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee …

Poll finds Perry has the numbers, but White has a shot  —  wslater@dallasnews.com  —  AUSTIN - Rick Perry has a solid but not insurmountable lead over Democrat Bill White in a new poll that indicates the Republican governor has yet to win over a majority of Texas voters.

Rove Returns, With Team, Planning G.O.P. Push  —  WASHINGTON — In 2004, the Republican master strategist Karl Rove led weekly sessions at his Washington residence where, over big plates of his butter-smothered “eggies” and bacon slabs, he planned the re-election of President George W. Bush …

Candidate trips on birther issue  —  Tim Walberg, the former GOP congressman running to win back his Michigan seat from freshman Democratic Rep. Mark Schauer, says he doesn't know whether President Obama was born in America or if he is a Muslim.  —  Asked on a local call-in radio show whether …