The Seinfeld Hearings  —  How Senators could, but probably won't, make the Sotomayor confirmation a show about something.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  If you suspect this week's Senate confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor will be, like “Seinfeld,” a show about nothing, you are probably right.

Liz Cheney: Investigating My Dad Would Prove Americans 'Can't Trust' Democrats With National Security  —  On Saturday, the New York Times reported that former Vice President Dick Cheney gave “direct orders” to the CIA, compelling the agency to withhold “information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years.”

Palin's Long March to a Short-Notice Resignation  —  This article was reported by Jim Rutenberg from New York and Serge F. Kovaleski from Wasilla and Anchorage, Alaska.  Jo Becker reported from New York and Kim Severson and William Yardley from Wasilla and Anchorage.

Boiling the Frog  —  Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog?  —  I'm referring, of course, to the proverbial frog that, placed in a pot of cold water that is gradually heated, never realizes the danger it's in and is boiled alive.  Real frogs will, in fact, jump out of the pot — but never mind.

Sudan women ‘lashed for trousers’  —  Several Sudanese women have been flogged as a punishment for dressing “indecently”, according to a local journalist who was arrested with them.  —  Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who says she is facing 40 lashes, said she and 12 other women wearing trousers …

Obama announces new surgeon general  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Obama has tapped Dr. Regina Benjamin to serve as surgeon general, a White House official said Monday.  The president is expected to announce his decision Monday morning.  —  The rural family physician has long provided medical care on the Gulf Coast.

CIA planned al-Qaida assassinations in friendly countries, officials say  —  Dick Cheney, the former vice president, ordered a highly classified CIA operation hidden from Congress because it pushed the limits of legality by planning to assassinate of al-Qaida operatives in friendly countries without …

Buchanan: Todd Palin should drown Levi Johnston.  —  Earlier today, conservative pundit Pat Buchanan suggested that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband should murder his daughter's ex-fiance, Levi Johnston, for saying Palin's decision to resign came down to “money.”  While appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Buchanan said:

49% Oppose Health Care Reform Plan, 46% Favor It  —  Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters now at least somewhat oppose the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, while 46% at least somewhat favor it, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Obama to join Fox broadcast booth for All-Star Game … Barack Obama will be adding baseball broadcaster to his résumé.  SI.com learned Sunday that the President will join Fox Sports announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver during Tuesday's All-Star Game.

Frenetic Pace, Packed Agenda Put West Wing Staffers Through Wringer  —  The White House mess — the military-inspired term for the West Wing cafeteria — opens at 7 a.m. each day.  And each day, there is a long line of hungry staffers who have already been at the office for well over an hour.

Reed aims to rejuvenate Christian conservatives  —  One of the most controversial and successful figures of late 20th century politics wants to expand his brand to the 21st.  —  Ralph Reed believes conservative voters of faith need a Christian Coalition 2.0.

Web Traffic (or Lack of) May Be a Reason for a Columnist's Dismissal  —  The political columnist Dan Froomkin was hired by The Huffington Post last week, two short weeks after being fired by a more traditional Post, the venerable newspaper in Washington.  —  In his departure from The Washington Post …

The Price of Innovation  —  Two pieces worth reading on health care innovation.  First, Glenn Reynolds on his family: … This is something I've been saying for a while.  But it touches on something else I've been thinking about—the way in which our attempts to measure health care innovation …

The Primary Weapon  —  That's a nice Senate seat you've got there, Unspecified Moderate Democrat.  Shame if anything happened to it.  —  A few weeks ago, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced that she and other Senate Democrats harbored reservations about President Obama's plans to overhaul the health care system.