The Bibi-Barack Chess Game  —  Rick Hertzberg offers us a graceful, if pessimistic, guide.  Money quote: … It has indeed been a remarkable week, and as the blog has shown, one that took me by surprise.  I saw nothing that new in the president's speech on Israel-Palestine …

Tea Party Favorite Herman Cain Joins 2012 GOP Race  —  Tea Party favorite Herman Cain announced his long-shot presidential candidacy to a raucous crowd in Atlanta Saturday, yelling, “I'm running for president of the United States and I'm not running for second.”

Horton's ghost haunts GOP field  —  It's still early in the presidential race, so the opposition research dumps haven't really begun.  But when the skeletons in the closets of 2012 GOP hopefuls begin to be revealed, the unique shape of the field — which will almost certainly feature a handful …

Obamacare waiver corruption must stop  —  If some Americans deserve exemption from a bad law, then all Americans do  —  Selective enforcement of the law is the first sign of tyranny.  A government empowered to determine arbitrarily who may operate outside the rule of law invariably embraces favoritism …

At Apocalypse Central, Preparing for What Happens, or Doesn't  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — If Harold Camping and his followers are correct, Gertrude Stein's famous comment about Oakland — that there is no there there — may finally be true.  If not, some local churchgoers say they will set …

Backing Her Man With Impressive Resources  —  PARIS — She was much more famous than her husband, and much wealthier, too.  —  Now she joins the unhappy club of wives standing by their man in the face of a crescendo of tales of sexual betrayal, spurred in her case by extraordinary …

Prayer controversy jeopardizes same-sex amendment vote  —  A controversial pastor delivered a prayer that left House members - of both parties - shocked and incensed.  —  An opening prayer that shocked Minnesota House members on Friday may have unintentionally derailed a key goal …

Apocalypse not right now: ‘Rapture’ end of world fails to materialise  —  Reports of the end of the world appeared to have been exaggerated today.  —  Inhabitants of New Zealand, scheduled to be among the first to meet the apocalypse according to a US fundamentalist preacher …

Reducing Pennsylvania's Unemployment Insurance ‘A Fairness Thing,’ GOP Lawmaker Says … A Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives says he wants to reform the state's unemployment insurance system in part because the way benefits are currently calculated lets workers take a paid vacation for most of the year.

Rep. Webster Tells Town Hall Constituents That If Health Reform Isn't Repealed, 'We Won't Have A Country'  —  ThinkProgress filed this report from a town hall meeting in Astatula, FL.  —  When Congress passed the landmark health reform law last March, Republicans predicted the result …

Obama's Peace Tack Contrasts With Key Aide, Friend of Israel  —  WASHINGTON — Five days ago, during a closed-door meeting with a group of Middle East experts, administration officials, and journalists, King Abdullah II of Jordan gave his assessment of how Arabs view the debate within …