FIRST LADY CAMPAIGNS INSIDE POLLING PLACE  —  First lady Michelle Obama appears to have violated Illinois law — when she engaged in political discussion at a polling place!  —  The drama began after Mrs. Obama stopped off at the Martin Luther King Center on the south side of Chicago to cast an early vote.

Judge disses Dems' ‘Alice in Wonderland’ health defense  —  A federal judge in Florida on Thursday said he will allow some of the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the health care law to proceed — and criticized Democrats for making an “Alice in Wonderland” argument to defend the law.

Foreclosure-Gate's Doomsday Scenario  —  The documentation problems surrounding mortgages originated during the housing boom just get uglier and uglier.  One of the most recently surfaced worries is also one of the most serious.  Bank analyst Josh Rosner envisions a doomsday scenario …

Nevada Fight Night fizzles  —  LAS VEGAS - Republican Sharron Angle lashed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the only debate of the Nevada Senate race Thursday night, telling the Democrat to “man up” at one point and questioning how he got wealthy during his years in Congress.

The New Career of a Madman: Johnson Shrieks, “My site gave Geller her ‘break’ on the web”  —  UPDATE: LGF FLASHBACK!  The Guardian's new columnist can't scrub fast enough:  —  It get's better  —  And this — this is rich.  —  Talk about a hot mess.  Chuck Johnson has penned …

California NOW President: ‘Meg Whitman Could Be Described As A Political Whore’  —  Last week, the National Organization for Women and the PAC of the California NOW chapter took heat for their endorsement of state Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) over Meg Whitman (R) in the gubernatorial race …

Christine O'Donnell Tells GOPers: 'I've Got Sean Hannity In My Back Pocket'  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  WASHINGTON — Christine O'Donnell may not be a witch, but she knows how to use scare tactics to raise money, top Republican strategists and officials here tell me.

Armey: Toomey Triggered ‘Conception’ of Tea Party  —  Former Rep. Dick Armey (R.,Tex.), whose Freedom Works organization has helped the Tea Party grow, said Tuesday in Philadelphia that the movement was conceived the moment President George W. Bush endorsed Sen. Arlen Specter (then-R, now D) …

EXCLUSIVE: New Pakistani Taliban Operative Feared Inside U.S. After Times Square Failure  —  Senior U.S. officials are concerned over recent intelligence indicating that the Pakistani Taliban, which orchestrated the failed Times Square bombing, may have successfully placed another operative inside …

Worries over fast-tracked foreclosures send bank stocks plummeting  —  Stocks of major banks declined sharply Thursday amid concern that widespread corner-cutting in the foreclosure process could saddle the financial system with a costly and paralyzing mess.

Election 2010: Alaska Senate  —  Alaska Senate: Miller (R), Murkowski Are Now Nearly Tied  —  Is Lisa Murkowski on the way to writing herself back in to the U.S. Senate?  —  A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Alaska shows Republican Joe Miller with 35% support and Murkowski …

Whitney is ‘Whitey’ on some ballots  —  SPRINGFIELD — The last name of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney is misspelled as “Whitey” on electronic-voting machines in nearly two dozen wards — about half in predominantly African-American areas — and election officials said Wednesday …

Judge rules concealed carry ban unconstitutional  —  A Clark County judge says Wisconsin's ban on carrying concealed weapons is unconstitutional.  In the case, authorities charged a Sauk City man with carrying a concealed weapon, after he admitted he had a knife in his waistband.  He never threatened anyone.

World powers propose nuclear talks with Iran in November  —  World powers have proposed meeting with Iran in November to discuss its nuclear program, the top international negotiator said Thursday.  —  A spokesperson for European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said she has proposed …

Postcard From Palestine  —  This article appeared in the November 1, 2010 edition of The Nation.  —  Recommended by  —  Hebron  —  The first thing you notice when you drive into Hebron is the lack of cars.  Since 1997 this second-largest Palestinian city in the West Bank …

India's richest man Mukesh Ambani moves into £630m home  —  The richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani, has moved into his new home in Mumbai which is 27 storeys high and worth £630m.  —  Ambani, his wife and three children have moved into the building which is named Antilia, after a mythical Island.

Wall St. pins foreclosure fiasco on homeowners  —  'Your mortgage didn't get to a robo-signer by accident'  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wall Street's reaction to the allegations that some banks cut corners while foreclosing on 3 million homes since 2007: Pay your mortgage in the first place.

MTV wants ‘light’ questions for Obama at today's youth townhall.  Why?  —  At 4pm ET today, President Obama is participating in a “youth town hall” with MTV, CMT and BET.  Last week I submitted my name to be a participant and was called back for the second round of “casting” (their word …

Republicans plan January takedowns of Obama's ‘czars’  —  Republicans will have President Barack Obama's czars and his use of regulatory powers to circumvent congressional inaction on issues such as cap and trade in GOP crosshairs if the party takes control in January.

Limbaugh would be weak against Nelson  —  Rush Limbaugh's one of the most influential figures in American politics who's never run for office...but what if he did run for office?  His home state of Florida has an incumbent Democratic Senator up for reelection next cycle in Bill Nelson …

‘The Aim Is to Make Israel a Pariah’  —  Last night, Rupert Murdoch gave an extraordinary speech at an Anti-Defamation League dinner in which he revealed, yet again, that he is a true and selfless friend of the Jewish people and of Israel.  Here is the text:

Christine O'Donnell can't name Supreme Court case  —  Republican Christine O'Donnell was tripped up during Wednesday night's Delaware Senate debate, seemingly unable to name a recent Supreme Court decision with which she disagrees.  (See: O'Donnell Goes Deep Debating Coons)

Push-Polling in Illinois?  —  Democratic operatives have apparently begun “push polling” in Illinois, trying to drive a wedge between conservative voters and Rep. Mark Kirk, the centrist Republican seeking the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

A historic shift in the making this election?  —  Voters seem to think Congress is like a weedy lot — that anything done to it will improve it — so they seem poised to produce something not seen since 1981-82.  Then, for the first time since 1952, a majority of senators were in their first terms.