Catholic Academics Challenge Boehner  —  A group of prominent Catholic academics have signed a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, on the occasion of his forthcoming commencement address at the Catholic University of America.  I will provide commentary later today …

And the award for the most ridiculous poll sampling goes to ...  Move over, CBS.  Hang up the kid-leather gloves, WaPo/ABC.  There's a new sample-skewing sheriff in town, and it's the Associated Press.  In a new definition of “outlier,” the AP reported that its latest poll …

NJ State Police “Outraged” Over Rapper Invite to White House  —  Common at the 2011 Common Ground Foundation gala fundraiser at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago last month.  —  The invitation of rapper Common to the White House this week is drawing the ire of the union representing New Jersey state police.

A serious Trump turns up in New Hampshire  —  (CNN) - Potential 2012 presidential candidate Donald Trump took a departure from his sideshow topics Wednesday to tout his past remarks on Osama bin Laden, weigh in on the budget negotiations and assess his chances of moving into the White House.

Romney backed a *federal* individual health care mandate in 1994  —  Bumped, for Seamus. - promoted by david  —  We're all positively breathless with anticipation over what Mitt Romney might have to say about health care tomorrow in Michigan.  He's tried so many times to explain …

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says  —  CORUSCANT — Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan, Darth Vader announced on Sunday.

House GOP freshmen conveniently forget 2010  —  A wide variety of House Republicans, especially freshmen in competitive districts, heard from their constituents over the recent two-week break, and discovered that voters aren't impressed with the GOP plan to end Medicare.

Reid defends labor board's decision  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday defended the National Labor Relations Board, which has come under heavy criticism from Republicans.  —  Reid said the NLRB “acts as a check on employers and employees alike” and is consistent with the …

Donald Trump Lets His Hair Down  —  A conversation with the host of The Celebrity Apprentice  —  Like you, we've always wondered what's inside Donald Trump's wallet.  So, on a recent visit to his office at the top of Trump Tower in Manhattan, the epicenter of his vast real estate empire …

Obama way ahead of Republicans for 2012 election  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has a wide lead over potential Republican rivals for the presidential election in 2012, but faces serious doubts about his handling of the U.S. economy, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found Wednesday.

President to Renew Muslim Outreach  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is preparing a fresh outreach to the Muslim world in coming days, senior U.S. officials say, one that will ask those in the Middle East and beyond to reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S.

Same-sex marriage and the '16 nomination  —  It's basically self-parody here at POLITICO to write about the 2016 presidential campaign, and I don't plan to do it much.  But I thought it was worth passing on a point Bob Shrum made to me yesterday about one of the three or four Democrats already operating …

Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out on Rape  —  WASHINGTON — Jess Smochek arrived in Bangladesh in 2004 as a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer with dreams of teaching English and “helping the world.”  She left six weeks later a rape victim after being brutalized in an alley by a knife-wielding gang.

As Breitbart and Loesch Cover Their Tracks, Professors Cleared By University Officials  —  You may recall this video.  It was the first of two posted on Big Government's site two weeks ago alleging that UMSL Professor Don Giljum and UMKC Professor Judy Ancel were teaching impressionable young college students …

Citing modesty concerns, hipster website removes “sexually suggestive” male images from Sit Room Photo … One Response to “Citing modesty concerns, hipster website removes “sexually suggestive” male images from Sit Room Photo”

Upstate New York man says sign pointing to mosque stating ‘BOMB MAKING NEXT DRIVEWAY’ stays  —  An angry upstate New York man says there's not a prayer that he'll remove a nasty sign prompted by a feud with the mosque next door.  —  “BOMB MAKING NEXT DRIVEWAY,” reads the stenciled message on the front lawn of Michael Heick.

Irish Bombshell: Government Raids PRIVATE Pensions To Pay For Spending  —  The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today.  —  Without the ability sell debt due to soaring interest rates …

Why are Americans so angry about petrol prices?  —  Rising petrol prices in the US are expected to be one of the key issues in the 2012 presidential election.  But Americans still pay half of what Europeans fork out on the forecourt.  So why is it such a big deal?

A Polling-Based Forecast of the Republican Primary Field  —  This is the finale of a four-part series (Part I, Part II, Part III) evaluating the utility of early presidential primary polls as forecasting instruments.  My contention is that these polls have enough predictive power …

Lifeguarding in OC is totally lucrative; some make over $200k  —  High pay and benefits for lifeguards in Newport Beach is the latest example of frustrating levels of compensation for public employees.  More than half the city's full-time lifeguards are paid a salary of over $100,000 …

“The Skunks at the Garden Party”: Dissenting Senate Dems Denounce Their Party's New Big Oil Bill as “a Gimmick” & “Laughable”  —  ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports: For all the sound and fury this week in the build-up to Thursday's Big Oil hearing, the Senate Democrats' bill appears unlikely to make any real headway in Congress.