Sen. Corker Threatens Reid: If You Bring DADT Repeal For A Vote, We'll Walk Away From START  —  This afternoon, as momentum began to build for repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) threatened that if Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) brings up a vote to repeal the ban …

WikiLeaks: Cuba banned Sicko for depicting ‘mythical’ healthcare system  —  Authorities feared footage of gleaming hospital in Michael Moore's Oscar-nominated film would provoke a popular backlash  —  Cuba banned Michael Moore's 2007 documentary, Sicko, because it painted such a “mythically” …

10 days in Sweden: the full allegations against Julian Assange  —  Unseen police documents provide the first complete account of the allegations against the WikiLeaks founder  —  Documents seen by the Guardian reveal for the first time the full details of the allegations of rape and sexual assault …

Captain Beefheart, a.k.a. Don Van Vliet, dies at 69  —  Avant-garde rock legend and visual artist Don Van Vliet, who performed under the name Captain Beefheart, passed away today at age 69.  A representative of New York City's Michael Werner Gallery, which showed his paintings, confirms the sad news to EW.

John Bolton eyes 2012 presidential run  —  No, it's not just an attention-getting stunt.  John Bolton is seriously considering running for president.  —  Bolton, the fiery, archconservative former United Nations ambassador, sees an opening in the 2012 Republican field.

Newly Built Ghost Towns Haunt Banks in Spain  —  YEBES, Spain — It is a measure of Spain's giddy construction excesses that 250 row houses carpet a hill near this tiny rural village about an hour by car outside of Madrid.  —  Most of these units have never sold, and though they were finished …

Study: Some Viewers Were Misinformed by TV News  —  News organizations can educate voters about public policy and economic conditions, but they can also misinform voters.  As if to prove the point, a study released Friday found that “substantial levels of misinformation” …

Palin's Got Bigger Problems Than Charles Krauthammer  —  Last night on Bill O'Reilly's show, the FOX News host asked Sarah Palin what she thought about columnist Charles Krauthammer's observation that the former Alaska governor's reality TV show, in which she hangs out with fellow TLC network …

Republicans embrace ObamaCare, call it Ryan-Rivlin  —  If you're looking for a description of the Ryan/Rivlin Medicare reforms that have gained so many admirers on the right, Matt Yglesias has a good write-up of the idea.  But I'd add another way of explaining the proposal: The Ryan-Rivlin plan basically turns Medicare into Obamacare.

Make Julian Assange irrelevant  —  Julian Assange was insufferable as he left a London courthouse Thursday.  —  “During my time in solitary confinement in the bottom of a Victorian prison, I had time to reflect on the conditions of those people around the world also in solitary confinement …

Pakistani Role Is Suspected in Revealing U.S. Spy's Name  —  WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency's top clandestine officer in Islamabad was pulled from the country on Thursday amid an escalating war of recriminations between American and Pakistani spies, with some American officials convinced …

House Republicans Block Child Marriage Prevention Act  —  What's Your Reaction: … WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the House took up the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010.  The bill would ensure that child marriage is recognized as a human rights violation …

How Mitch McConnell Convinced Republicans To Derail Dems' Spending Plan  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell approached the microphones for his weekly press conference on Tuesday with more sense of purpose than he's had since he tried — but failed — to derail the health care law in March.

House GOP: Bills will have to cite Constitution  —  Fulfilling one of their most prominent campaign promises, House Republican leaders have unveiled a new rule to require that each bill filed in the House “cite its specific constitutional authority.”  —  And for those who may have skipped …

DREAM Act whip count  —  Barb yesterday had phone numbers for Democratic senators currently on the fence on DREAM: … So where are we with Republicans?  —  Those with big Latino constituencies  —  None of these four have said they'll vote for it, but all have electoral aspirations …

“The Obama Renaissance”  —  James Kwak argues that Obama hasn't compromised his principles in recent deals with the GOP — he was always far more conservative than his supporters were willing to acknowledge: … The GOP will do its very best to take ownership of anything positive that comes …

US envoy Bill Richardson warns of Korea tinderbox  —  An unofficial US envoy visiting North Korea has warned that the situation on the peninsula is a “tinderbox”.  —  The envoy, Bill Richardson, made the comments after talks with officials in Pyongyang, whom he asked to exercise “extreme restraint”.

Biden surprises birthday boy Chris Matthews  —  Vice President Joe Biden surprised MSNBC host Chris Matthews with a birthday cake on Friday to celebrate the longtime host's 65th birthday.  —  Biden, who was at NBC headquarters in Washington to tape his appearance on Sunday's “Meet the Press” …

Obama signs tax-cut bill in White House ceremony  —  President Barack Obama celebrated the spirit of compromise Friday as he signed a controversial $858 billion tax-cut and unemployment insurance extension into law — but warned that bipartisan comity could be fleeting.

Latino Leaders Press Senators on Immigration Bill  —  Latino leaders have turned up the pressure on senators facing a vote on Saturday on a bill that would grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students, saying support of the measure will be used as a litmus test by Latino voters in the 2012 elections.

When it comes to politics, Obama's ego keeps getting in the way  —  The tax deal is reasonable policy, supported by majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents - an easy sell by presidential standards.  And still President Obama managed to blow the politics of the thing.