G.O.P. Leader Sees Outlines of a Deal on Taxes  —  After thwarting efforts to raise taxes on America's top earners, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, predicted Sunday that Congress would retain the expiring Bush-era tax cuts for a limited number of years and might …

WikiLeaks Ready to Release Giant ‘Insurance’ File if Shut Down  —  Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has circulated across the internet an encrypted “poison pill” cache of uncensored documents suspected to include files on BP and Guantanamo Bay.  —  One of the files identified this weekend …

All the President's Captors  —  THOSE desperate to decipher the baffling Obama presidency could do worse than consult an article titled “Understanding Stockholm Syndrome” in the online archive of The F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin.  It explains that hostage takers are most successful …

Terrorism and Fear  —  Apparently the National Park Service is trying to think of ways to bring a higher level of security to the Washington Monument in order to protect it against terrorist attacks.  But Bruce Schneier has a different idea.  He thinks we should just shut it down:

Mounting Debts by States Stoke Fears of Crisis  —  The State of Illinois is still paying off billions in bills that it got from schools and social service providers last year.  Arizona recently stopped paying for certain organ transplants for people in its Medicaid program.

Tension grows between Calif. Muslims, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque  —  IRVINE, CALIF. - Before the sun rose, the informant donned a white Islamic robe.  A tiny camera was sewn into a button, and a microphone was buried in a device attached to his keys.

Examiner Sunday Reflections by Glenn Harlan Reynolds: Obama presidency turns government up to 11  —  President Obama's term so far has been compared to many fictional and non-fictional characters: Chauncey Gardener of “Being There” is frequently invoked, along with the self-invented charmer Don Draper from …

Not Crass, Class  —  Karl Smith sort of takes issue with my point about how Social Security is a favorite target of the Beltway crowd, because it's not important to anyone they know.  “I doubt anyone thinks about it in such crass terms,” he writes.  —  Actually, there's more crassness …

Dem: We could have let economy fall and been in majority for 40 years  —  Retiring Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) said that Democrats wisely passed the 2008 financial rescue bill, but it cost them politically.  —  Addressing the economic collapse of 2008 and the subsequent passage …

What if the Secrets Stayed Secret?  —  I READ the Monday New York Times with what can only be described as a sinking feeling.  —  Here on display, based on yet another WikiLeaks release, was the breathtaking disclosure of American diplomats' highly sensitive internal communications about friends and enemies.

Video of Helen Thomas Anti-Semitic Speech Delivered 12-2 in Dearborn, MI  —  Most Americans were horrified by Helen Thomas' latest round of anti-Semitic hatred, which ironically were made at an Islamic anti-bias forum.  For example, Thomas' alma mater, gave out a Wayne State University Helen Thomas Spirit …

Expressing gratitude  —  This is Israel's hour of need and nations across the world did not disappoint.  —  Talkbacks (9)  — Facebook  — Twitter  —  Over these last few painful, shocking days, there has been a shining light through the dark, ashfilled skies elicited by the rampant fires …