Margaret Thatcher and misapplied death etiquette  —  The dictate that one ‘not speak ill of the dead’ is (at best) appropriate for private individuals, not influential public figures  —  News of Margaret Thatcher's death this morning instantly and predictably gave rise to righteous sermons on the evils of speaking ill of her.

Bobby Jindal's Political Collapse Is Dangerous News For The National GOP  —  Sure the GOP may need a little outreach here and a little fine tuning there, but Republicans in Washington say they're confident that a principled message of low taxes and cuts to social services will eventually propel them back to victory.

Mitch McConnell joins Senate gun filibuster  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would join a group of Senate Republicans threatening a filibuster to oppose a cloture vote if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moves a gun bill to the floor this week.

Colorado judge defers ruling on whether Fox News reporter must testify on sources  —  The Colorado judge who will decide whether a Fox News reporter must reveal news sources or face possible jail time has deferred that decision to a later date.  —  District Court Judge Carlos Samour Jr. ruled …

Annette Funicello, Mouseketeer and Beach Movie Actress, Dies at 70  —  Annette Funicello, who won America's heart as a 12-year-old in Mickey Mouse ears, captivated adolescent baby boomers in slightly spicy beach movies and later championed people with multiple sclerosis, a disease from which she suffered …

Sen. Tim Johnson Endorses Gay Marriage  —  Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), one of the last remaining Democratic holdouts to oppose same-sex marriage, announced Monday that he now supports gay nuptials.  —  “After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation,” Johnson said in a statement.

A Republican website without “Republicans”  —  The buzzy new website from House Republicans doesn't mention its party affiliation.  The brand has seen better days  —  The new website for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans …

Gun Control Package Gets Some Rare Good News  —  WASHINGTON — Gun legislation is still hanging by a few political threads.  But prospects of passing something of substance began to improve, albeit gradually, over the weekend.  —  The most important of those developments were reports that Sen. Pat Toomey …

News Corp. Threatens to Make Fox Cable-Only Amid Aereo Dispute … LAS VEGAS-News Corp. president and COO Chase Carey told the opening gathering at the NAB Show Monday that if Fox does not prevail in the Aereo case, it will consider turning its network into a subscription service.

Republican Congressman's Gay Son Says CNN, MSNBC Cancelled Interviews When He Wouldn't Bash His Father  —  The networks dispute Matt R. Salmon's story.  Via KPNX  —  View Video ›  —  Image by  —  Rep. Matt Salmon's (R-Ariz.) gay son told local news channel KPNX Sunday that CNN …

Does BuzzFeed Know the Secret?  —  Jonah Peretti's viral-content machine purports to have solved the problems of both journalism and advertising at once, all with the help of a simple algorithm.  —  Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the website BuzzFeed—though this is increasingly unlikely, as it's currently enjoying a viral moment.

Why do people hate deficits?  —  People really don't like deficits.  Polls measuring national priorities tend to find that the deficit/debt is the second most important issue to voters, after “the economy” generally and ahead of health care, guns, foreign policy and immigration.

COMMUNISM SURVIVOR BLASTS SALEM GUN GRABBERS: “YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT FREEDOM IS!”  —  “You don't know what freedom is because you never lost it!”  With a pointed finger Manuel Martinez called out Anti-Gun Committee Leader Floyd Prozansky during heated testimony on Friday.  You can bet Prozansky got the message.

A Futile Protest  —  Femen is a feminist group that began in Ukraine but seems to have spread to other European countries.  It is known for staging topless protests, and is distinguished from some others of this ilk by the fact that many of its members are quite fetching.

A lot can change before Election Day 2014, when 36 states will hold elections for governor.  But at this early stage — when decisions on whether to run or retire are considered and made — 10 of the 32 governors who are eligible to run for re-election have net negative approval ratings in their states.

Rand Paul's Same-Sex Marriage Plan: Continue The Debate ‘For Another Couple Of Decades’  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) opposes same-sex marriage, but his tactics for doing so are unique.  For example, last month he offered a completely unfeasible suggestion to simply erase any mention of marriage …