Prof. Chemerinsky says Justice Ginsburg “has in her power the ability to prevent a real shift in the balance of power on the court.”  —  “On the other hand, there's the personal.  How do you decide to leave the United States Supreme Court?”  —  Wow!  How much of this kind of moral pressure is being applied to the venerable Justice?

It's Reagan's party no more  —  It should cause no shortage of frustration for congressional Republicans that President Obama is in line with the Reagan legacy — and they're actively rejecting it.  Politico's David Rogers had a fine piece of reporting touching on this point yesterday.

The Failure of Al Gore Part Three: Singing the Climate Blues  —  Some readers are wondering why I am spending so much time analyzing the political problems of a former vice president.  It is not out of any personal animus toward Mr. Gore.  Though I'm not expecting any invitations …

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Obama's Declaration of Dependence  —  Dozens of countries have “Independence Days.”  November 25th, for example: Independence Day in Suriname.  In that instance as in most others, the designation signifies nothing more than transfer of de jure sovereignty and de facto operational control …

Here's The Legal Complaint WikiLeaks Is Threatening To File Against Visa, MasterCard  —  More than six months have passed since Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and others cut WikiLeaks' purse strings.  And if that blockade lasts six more days, the secret-spilling group plans to take its financial fight to the courtroom.

On Obama's visit, presidential seal blew off his limo on I-76; it later was recovered  —  There's nothing quite like that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you just know that you've lost something important.  —  It happens to people all the time - especially travelers.

China's Stimulus  —  Word from Prime Minister Wen Jiabao : … Now obviously what Wen doesn't add to that is “and a lot of this new construction is pretty wasteful.”  But the reality is that it is.  People often say that China has a billion people.  But it doesn't.  It has over 1.3 billion people.

Obama: We can't afford to keep every tax break  —  President Obama used his weekly address to reiterate his demand for ending tax breaks for “millionaires and billionaires” in any budget deal to raise the nation's debt limit.  —  “It would be nice if we could keep every tax break, but we can't afford them,” Obama said.

DOJ: Court Should Not Dismiss Karen Golinski's Health Benefits Claim, Should Instead Find DOMA Unconstitutional  —  Today, the Department of Justice filed a brief in federal court employee Karen Golinski's federal court challenge, supporting her lawsuit seeking access to equal health benefits …

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Cutting the Deficit and Creating Jobs  —  WASHINGTON- In this week's address, President Obama spoke to the American people about reducing the nation's deficit and creating jobs across the country.  The President emphasized the need for Government to live within its means …

Hamas slams Greece for barring Gaza aid ship  —  DAMASCUS — The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Friday denounced Greece after its coastguard intercepted a US vessel which tried to sail to Gaza to break Israel blockade of the coastal strip.  —  In a statement issued by its political leadership …

Herman Cain's top Iowa staff resigns  —  A few days after two senior aides in New England, the other shoe drops on Herman Cain in Iowa: … Cain spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael told POLITICO a few days ago that the New Hampshire staff would be replaced in short order.