John McCain at his fieriest before 'don't ask, don't tell' vote  —  If John McCain gets any more hostile toward his Senate colleagues, they might consider having him go through the metal detector before he enters the Capitol.  —  Saturday's debate on the repeal of the “don't-ask-don't-tell” …

Benedict Arnold Republicans destroy military and our national security  —  We are now stuck with sexual deviants serving openly in the U.S. military because of turncoat Republican senators.  —  (Dictionary definition of “deviant”: “departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior.”

Saudi king may want to move Ground Zero mosque to St. Vincent's site  —  A Manhattan lawyer with ties to the Saudi royal family is sounding out officials and community leaders about a plan to move the controversial Ground Zero mosque to the West Village.  —  Attorney Dudley Gaffin …

Gays in the Military, ROTC back on Campus?  —  Now that the lame duck Democratic Congress has repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), the new Congress will have to see to it that the Obama administration manages the implementation of repeal responsibly, and that the concerns of military leaders and troops are taken seriously.

Bush on Bush  —  They call themselves, smugly, “41” and “43,” meaning the 41st and 43rd presidents of the United States.  You're supposed to prefer the father, all graciousness and handwritten little notes, over the son, who — even in memoirs written at age 64 after two terms as president — seems callow.

A Gay Commander in Chief: Ready or Not?  —  Jimmy Carter is putting the out in outspokenness.  —  In an interview with bigthink.com, the former president was asked, “Is the country ready for a gay president?”  —  Even as John McCain and other ossified Republicans were staging last-minute maneuvers …

Justices Offer Receptive Ear to Business Interests  —  WASHINGTON — Almost 40 years ago, a Virginia lawyer named Lewis F. Powell Jr. warned that the nation's free enterprise system was under attack.  He urged the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to assemble “a highly competent staff of lawyers” …

Joe Manchin absent for two major Senate votes  —  When the Senate took two of its most highly anticipated votes of the lame-duck session on Saturday, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin was nowhere to be found.  —  Manchin, who was sworn into office last month after winning …

Senate Rejects Amendment Blocking New Start Treaty  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate on Saturday beat back the most serious Republican effort to block approval of a new arms control treaty with Russia this year, after President Obama reassured lawmakers that it would not constrain American plans to build a missile defense system in Europe.