GOP should take on Palin  —  Republicans have a problem.  The most-talked-about figure in the GOP is a reality show star who cannot be elected.  And yet the same leaders who fret that Sarah Palin could devastate their party in 2012 are too scared to say in public what they all complain about in private.

Where we and Democrats can work together  —  When congressional leaders of both parties meet at the White House today, all of us will have an opportunity to show the American people that we got the message of the elections earlier this month.  —  Republicans heard the voters loud and clear.

In slideshow, Rep. Joe Barton declares war on the Obama administration  —  If the Obama administration was hoping to see hints of bipartisanship from the Hill, it might want to skip over the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  —  The committee's ranking Republican, Rep. Joe L. Barton …

Senate votes down ban on earmarks  —  The Senate on Tuesday morning defeated a proposal from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to ban congressional earmarks.  —  In a 39-56 vote, members defeated a temporary ban on the appropriations procedure.  The moratorium was offered as an amendment …

WikiLeaks founder could be charged under Espionage Act  —  Federal authorities are investigating whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange violated criminal laws in the group's release of government documents, including possible charges under the Espionage Act, sources familiar with the inquiry said Monday.

Tea Party Nation President Says It ‘Makes A Lot Of Sense’ To Restrict Voting Only To Property Owners  —  Every week, the Tea Party Nation hosts a weekly radio program, calling itself a “home for conservatives.”  Two weeks ago, Tea Party Nation President Judson Phillips hosted the program …

Goldblog's Straw Man, Ctd  —  Jeffrey replies to my inference that he wants a war with Iran: … I take him at his word, and he has a right to veer back and forth on this as events and circumstances change.  That's called exercizing practical judgment, even if it can be confusing for some readers over time.

Andy Greenberg  —  When will WikiLeaks return to its older model of more frequent leaks of smaller amounts of material?  —  If you look at the average number of documents we're releasing, we're vastly exceeding what we did last year.  These are huge datasets.  So it's actually very efficient for us to do that.

'Don't ask, don't tell' report: Little risk to enlisting gays  —  The Pentagon's long-awaited report on gays in the military concludes that repealing the 17-year-old “don't ask, don't tell” law would present only a low risk to the armed forces' ability to carry out their mission …

Patty Murray to be DSCC Chair  —  Washington State Sen. Patty Murray will be the next chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  AP Photo/Ted S. Warren  —  Washington State Sen. Patty Murray is expected to accept the chairmanship of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee today …

Judge Reinhardt Is Obligated To Disqualify Himself from Prop 8 Appeal  —  Judge Stephen Reinhardt, the arch-activist selected to be one of the three members of the Ninth Circuit panel hearing the appeal in the Prop 8 case, is obligated to disqualify himself from participation in the case.  —  Why?

Suspect in sex assault case won pardon in 2008  —  Cleared by a panel that included Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Jeremy Giefer is now accused of assaulting a second girl hundreds of times before and after he received his pardon.  —  Two years ago, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and two other officials pardoned Jeremy Giefer …

Celebrating Secession Without the Slaves  —  ATLANTA — The Civil War, the most wrenching and bloody episode in American history, may not seem like much of a cause for celebration, especially in the South.  —  And yet, as the 150th anniversary of the four-year conflict gets under way …

Has NASA discovered extraterrestrial life?  —  Here's a curious press release from NASA: … I did a little research on the news conference participants and found:  —  1. Pamela Conrad (a geobiologist) was the primary author of a 2009 paper on geology and life on Mars

Wonkbook: Dem compromise would extend 90% of Bush tax cuts; food-safety bill comes to vote; federal-pay freeze  —  President Obama is meeting with the Republican congressional leadership today, but it's hard to imagine much progress being made at the powwow: Obama has already embraced …

Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt  —  THERE you are, peacefully reading an article or watching a video on the Internet.  You finish, find it thought-provoking, and scroll down to the comments section to see what other people thought.  And there, lurking among dozens of well-intentioned opinions, is a troll.

Source: 'Don't ask' repeal OK for most  —  Washington (CNN) — A majority of U.S. service members surveyed do not care if the law banning openly gay and lesbian troops from serving is repealed, according to a source knowledgeable with the results of the Pentagon study.

Triangles Are Two Dimensional  —  Something that I think should be understood about the idea of “triangulating” via a proposal to freeze federal salary is that triangles are two dimensional objects.  To triangulate properly you can't simply occupy a point between where the left and right poles are, you need to also move off the line.

Jeb Bush: Obama Should Take ‘A Three-Month Vacation’  —  How can America cure its economic recession?  —  One solution, according to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is for President Barack Obama to “just chill” and take “a three-month vacation.”  —  In a wide-ranging interview …

With friends like these —  When the only people who defend you are the Villagers, you know you're on the wong track  —  With Friends Like These ...  I'm watching an exasperated John King on CNN right now visibly stunned that the liberals don't see the savvy genius of Obama's move to freeze Federal Workers' pay.

Economists' Grail: A Post-Crash Model  —  Physicist Doyne Farmer thinks we should analyze the economy the way we do epidemics and traffic.  —  Psychoanalyst David Tuckett believes the key to markets' gyrations can be found in the works of Sigmund Freud.  —  Economist Roman Frydman thinks …