Obama Freezes Pay for Federal Workers  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama announced a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers on Monday as he sought to address concerns over sky-high deficit spending and appeal to Republican leaders to find a common approach to restoring the nation's economic and fiscal health.

Serious Questions about the Obama Administration's Incompetence in the Wikileaks Fiasco  —  We all applaud the successful thwarting of the Christmas-Tree Bomber and hope our government continues to do all it can to keep us safe.  However, the latest round of publications …

‘By Whatever Means Necessary’: Arab Leaders Want Iran Stopped  —  LONDON — Rather than prosecuting Julian Assange for what he calls his “outrageous, reckless, and despicable” action in leaking thousands of sensitive government cables, Joe Lieberman might want to consider praising the head of WikiLeaks.

PRECEDENT AND PROLOGUE  —  Momentous Supreme Court cases tend to move quickly into the slipstream of the Court's history.  In the first ten years after Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision that ended the doctrine of separate but equal in public education, the Justices cited the case more than twenty-five times.

Liberal groups blast Obama pay-freeze proposal, release alternative plan  —  Representatives of three liberal advocacy groups on Monday blasted President Obama's proposed two-year freeze on federal civilian worker pay.  —  John Irons of the Economic Policy Institute, Tamara Draut of Demos …

The Spanish Prisoner  —  The best thing about the Irish right now is that there are so few of them.  By itself, Ireland can't do all that much damage to Europe's prospects.  The same can be said of Greece and of Portugal, which is widely regarded as the next potential domino.  —  But then there's Spain.

Blasts target Iranian nuclear scientists  —  One professor dies, another is injured on their morning commutes.  The attacks prompt a stern warning by the head of IranÂ's atomic energy agency.  —  Reporting from Beirut — Two separate explosions killed a nuclear scientist and injured another …

Most Continue to Favor Gays Serving Openly in Military  —  As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the “don't ask, don't tell” policy, most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces.

APNewsBreak: NJ must pay $271M for killing tunnel  —  TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey owes the federal government more than $271 million after canceling a rail tunnel connecting the state with New York, according to a debt notice obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Democrats warm to tax-cut compromise  —  A faction of congressional Democrats is making a push to persuade President Obama to consider a compromise on tax policy that would leave only the nation's 315,000 richest households facing higher taxes in January.  —  Over the past few days …

‘The criminalization of politics’  —  THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) schemed to get around a Texas law prohibiting corporate contributions to political campaigns.  Mr. DeLay's state political action committee accepted $190,000 in (legal) corporate contributions.

John Kampfner: Wikileaks shows up our media for their docility at the feet of authority  —  Mr Assange is an unconventional figure, a man who lives in the shadows and enjoys doing so  —  You should never shout “fire” in a crowded theatre.  Once you have accepted this old adage, you accept that there are limits to free expression.

Cancun climate change summit: scientists call for rationing in developed world  —  Global warming is now such a serious threat to mankind that climate change experts are calling for Second World War-style rationing in rich countries to bring down carbon emissions.

Picasso's electrician reveals artist's ‘treasure trove’  —  The works include a portrait of the late artist's first wife, Olga  —  A retired electrician in southern France who worked for Pablo Picasso says he has hundreds of previously unknown works by the artist.

What happens when Medicare controls costs too well  —  There's one school of thought that says Congress is incapable of controlling costs in Medicare, and then there's, well, this: … One of the dirty little secrets of the health-care system is that Medicare has done a much better job controlling costs …

WikiLeaked: John Kerry calls for Israel to cede Golan Heights and East Jerusalem  —  On a February trip to the Middle East, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA) told Qatari leaders that the Golan Heights should be returned to Syria, that a Palestinian capital …

11/29: Voters Want Compromise Across the Aisle, But Doubt It Will Happen  —  Now that Republicans have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, more than seven in ten registered voters in the U.S. — 72% — think Republicans should work with Democrats and President Barack Obama …

Palin not seen as electable  —  Sarah Palin might think she could get elected President in 2012, but few Americans agree.  Only 28% of voters in the country think that Palin is capable of defeating Barack Obama while 60% think she is not and 12% aren't sure.

Source: GOP tries blocking George Soros' ballot  —  George Soros, a man who's spent a few million dollars promoting progressive causes, may not get his vote counted in a local race in New York.  —  In the November 2 elections, George Soros mailed in an absentee ballot.

American exceptionalism: an old idea and a new political battle  —  Is this a great country or what?  —  “American exceptionalism” is a phrase that, until recently, was rarely heard outside the confines of think tanks, opinion journals and university history departments.

U.S. Chases Foreign Leaders' DNA, WikiLeaks Shows  —  Foreign potentates and diplomats beware: the U.S. wants your DNA.  —  If that chief of mission seemed a bit too friendly at the last embassy party, it might be because the State Department recently instructed U.S. diplomats …

Judges for Prop. 8 hearing  —  The Ninth Circuit Court on Monday released the names of the three Circuit judges who will hear next Monday the constitutional case over California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.  The senior judge on the panel will be Judge Stephen R. Reinhardt …