WITH REPUBLICAN FRIENDS LIKE THESE ...  THE MEDIA LOVES CONSERVATIVES, BUT ONLY IF THEY HATE REPUBLICANS  —  Dear Mainstream Media:  —  I'm a conservative who believes that other conservatives are fat, drug-stuffed, money-grubbing warthogs like Rush Limbaugh, or scary inbred backwoods retards like Sarah Palin.

Cheney Asserts Obama Has Raised Security Risks  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday again asserted that President Obama has made the country less safe, arguing that the new administration's changes to detention and interrogation programs for suspected terrorists would hamper intelligence gathering.

John King cites Human Events headline, asks Cheney, “Is the president of the United States trying to brazenly deceive the American people?”

Goodwin: More than a bad day  —  Not long ago, after a string of especially bad days for the Obama administration, a veteran Democratic pol approached me with a pained look on his face and asked, “Do you think they know what they're doing?”  —  The question caught me off guard because the man is a well-known Obama supporter.

Thousands gather for ‘Tea Party’  —  DOWNTOWN - Thousands of people filled Fountain Square this afternoon for the Cincinnati Tea Party, a grassroots-effort designed to show their disapproval for bailouts and the massive federal stimulus plan.  —  People wore Revolution-era costumes …

AIG to Pay $450 Million in Bonuses  —  American International Group Inc. will pay $450 million in bonuses to employees in its financial products unit.  That division was at the heart of AIG's collapse last fall, which compelled the U.S. government to provide $173.3 billion in aid to keep it running.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS NOT DUE.... Wall Street had a nice little rally this week, but former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino hopes President Obama doesn't get too much credit. … I see.  Just so we're clear, here's a helpful guide to the rules of market watching, as they relate to partisan politics:

RON SILVER DIES  —  SUCCUMBS TO CANCER AT AGE 62  —  Actor and longtime political activist Ron Silver died this morning, succumbing to a long battle with cancer, friends of the liberal Democrat-turned-GOP stalwart told The Post.  —  “Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around …

Conservative talk radio on the wane in California  —  The economy's downturn has depressed ad revenue at stations across the state, thinning the ranks of conservative broadcasters.  —  Tune in to conservative talk radio in California, and the insults quickly fly.

Why Washington Worries  —  Obama has made striking moves to fix U.S. foreign policy—and that has set off a chorus of criticism.  —  From the magazine issue dated Mar 23, 2009  —  As George W. Bush's term came to a close, he had few defenders left in the world of foreign policy.

Three Wise Men Offer Three Takes On Markets  —  Experts Differ on What Has Changed, What to Do About It  —  Bond guru Bill Gross says he's sold off all the stocks in his retirement portfolio, down to the very last share.  The world as we know it, he says, has “changed almost overnight.”

Frayed Thread in a Free Society  —  BOSTON — The biggest challenge facing America's struggling newspaper industry may not be the high cost of newsprint or lost ad revenue, but ignorance stoked by drive-by punditry.  —  Yes, Dittoheads, you heard it right.

Administration Is Open to Taxing Health Benefits  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several influential lawmakers and many economists favor, to help pay for overhauling the health care system.

This way lies fascism: an OUTLAW's lament (cont.)  —  So long as we're talking about code words and “who decides” what interpretation is best, let me add a few points to help combat the creeping fascism that comes with certain ideas about how language works.

Mass Demonstration Defies Pakistani Government  —  LAHORE, Pakistan — A crackdown by the Pakistani government to prevent a national demonstration and detain the country's leading opposition figure collapsed on Sunday, and what had been a clash between the police and protesters transformed into a huge anti-government rally.