TRENDING: Barbara Bush to Palin: stay in Alaska  —  (CNN) - Sarah Palin may not have the biggest fan in former first lady Barbara Bush.  —  “I sat next to her once.  Thought she was beautiful,” Barbara Bush said.  “And she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there.”

NONE DARE CALL IT SABOTAGE.... Consider a thought experiment.  Imagine you actively disliked the United States, and wanted to deliberately undermine its economy.  What kind of positions would you take to do the most damage?  —  You might start with rejecting the advice of economists and oppose any kind of stimulus investments.

$11,000 fine, arrest possible for some who refuse airport scans and pat downs  —  Palm Beach Post  —  If you don't want to pass through an airport scanner that allows security agents to see an image of your naked body or to undergo the alternative, a thorough manual search …

Incoming Speaker Takes Commercial Flight, but Skips the Pat Down  —  WASHINGTON — Representative John A. Boehner, the soon-to-be Republican speaker, pledged recently that he would fly commercial airlines back home to Ohio, passing up the military plane used by the current speaker, Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.

An Exclusive Sneak Peek at “America By Heart”  —  The following is an exclusive sneak peek at my new book “America By Heart” which comes out next Tuesday.  Signed editions are still available for pre-order at barnesandnoble.com.  You can click here to pre-order your copy.  —  Enjoy the excerpt:

Pope: condoms can be justified in some cases  —  VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI says in a new book that condoms can be justified for male prostitutes seeking to stop the spread of HIV, a stunning comment for a church criticized for its opposition to condoms and for a pontiff who has blamed them for making the AIDS crisis worse.

In Wake of Losses, New Powers for a Political Master  —  WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats engineered a leadership change in response to the election devastation, but the shakeup did not come in the House, where Nancy Pelosi held on to power in her caucus despite having lost more than 60 seats …

Democrats strategists ready to take page from GOP playbook in 2012  —  Major Democratic strategists, still reeling from a barrage of midterm spending by conservative groups, are planning a similarly well-funded campaign by liberal organizations aimed at reelecting President Obama in 2012.

U.S. in Vast Insider Trading Probe  —  Federal authorities, capping a three-year investigation, are preparing insider-trading charges that could ensnare consultants, investment bankers, hedge-fund and mutual-fund traders and analysts across the nation, according to people familiar with the matter.

Think Again: Global Aging  —  A gray tsunami is sweeping the planet — and not just in the places you expect.  How did the world get so old, so fast?  —  “The World Faces a Population Bomb.”  —  Yes, but of old people.  —  Not so long ago, we were warned that rising global population would inevitably bring world famine.

Weekly Address: Senators Opposing New START “Want to Trust But Not Verify”  —  WASHINGTON - In this week's address, President Obama called ratifying New START this year “fundamental” to America's national security.  Failure to ratify the treaty this year not only would mean losing …

Security and Terrorism Expert Bruce Schneier: TSA Scans “Won't Catch Anybody”  —  Since 9/11, cryptology expert and security consultant Bruce Schneier has been one of the most pointed critics of the government's anti-terrorism security programs.  In his 2003 book “Beyond Fear,” he coined the phrase …

Social Security Trust Fund  —  I really hate this kind of rhetoric from Maya MacGuineas: … I think this is incredibly misleading.  If your rich uncle wanted to set up a trust fund for you and chose to stipulate that the fund should be invested 100 percent in treasuries …