It's never been about Palestine  —  The anti-Mubarak revolution won't only topple an authoritarian regime.  It will also topple 40-plus years of wrong-headed thinking about the causes of Middle East instability among the world's foreign-policy cognoscenti.  —  In that view, the horrible …

‘Mega protest’ planned in Egypt  —  Opposition movement calls for one “million people demonstration” on Tuesday in a bid to topple president Hosni Mubarak.  —  Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Tuesday in a bid to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power.

DCCC picks 19 early GOP House targets  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has pegged its first GOP targets of the 2012 cycle, launching radio and web ads in the districts of 19 House Republicans this week.  —  Democrats need to pick up 25 House seats to win back the majority in 2012.

Threat Of Muslim Brotherhood Running Egypt As An Anti-American Muslim State Is A Myth  —  Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading voice of Egypt's opposition, told Fareed Zakaria on CNN that the American conservative fear put forth by people like John Bolton and Thaddeus McCotter that the Muslim Brotherhood …

Barack Obama braces for Jon Huntsman 2012 bid  —  The White House expects Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to China, to resign his post this spring to explore a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, top Democrats said.  —  GOP allies of Huntsman have already begun laying plans …

Thousands Converge on Koch Brothers Billionaire's Caucus; 25 Arrested  —  Twenty-five protesters were arrested in Rancho Mirage, California today, at a protest in front of the Rancho Las Palmas resort, site of the “Billionaire's Caucus,” an annual meeting put on by the Koch Brothers …

Recent decisions amount to a dressing down for 9th Circuit  —  Sometimes the Supreme Court simply decides cases and sometimes it seems to have something bigger in mind.  In the past two weeks, it has been in scold mode, and its target has been the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Americans Believe GOP Should Consider Tea Party Ideas  —  Half of Republicans are Tea Party supporters; 5% are “opponents”  —  PRINCETON, NJ — About 7 in 10 national adults, including 88% of Republicans, say it is important that Republican leaders in Congress take the Tea Party movement's positions …

House Republicans Plan to Redefine Rape  —  Drugged, Raped, and Pregnant?  Too bad — Republicans are Pushing to Limit Rape and Incest Cases Eligible for Government Abortion Funding  —  Rape is only really rape if it involves force, according to the new House Republican majority as it now moves to change abortion law.

A Cross of Rubber  —  Last Saturday, reported The Financial Times, some of the world's most powerful financial executives were going to hold a private meeting with finance ministers in Davos, the site of the World Economic Forum.  The principal demand of the executives, the newspaper suggested …

Syria Strongman: Time for ‘Reform’  —  DAMASCUS—Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who inherited a regime that has held power for four decades, said he will push for more political reforms in his country, in a sign of how Egypt's violent revolt is forcing leaders across the region to rethink their approaches.

Professor Cornpone  —  Ethanol lobbyist Newt Gingrich and us—and the future of the GOP  —  The last time these columns were lambasted by a presidential candidate in Iowa, he was Democrat Richard Gephardt and the year was 1988.  The Missouri populist won the state caucuses in part on the rallying cry that …