Explosions Hit Baghdad as Iraqis Vote in Pivotal Election  —  BAGHDAD — A concerted wave of attacks struck Baghdad and other cities across the country on Sunday as Iraqis voted to elect a new parliament and possibly a new prime minister.  Explosions reverberated across the capital moments …

The Up-or-Down Vote on Obama's Presidency  —  WEDNESDAY'S health care rally was one of President Obama's finest hours.  It was so fine it couldn't be blighted even by his preposterous backdrop, a cohort of white-jacketed medical workers large enough to staff a hospital in one of the daytime soaps …

Consent of the governed - and the lack thereof  —  Our Declaration of Independence observes:  —  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Channel 7 ABC flashes angry message, then goes black for Cablevision customers at midnight  —  ABC has gone dark.  —  Seconds after midnight, Channel 7 disappeared from the screens of Cablevision customers right in the middle of a repeat episode of “Lost.”

McConnell: RNC Fundraising Presentation ‘Not Helpful’  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the recently exposed Republican National Committee presentation that discussed cynical fundraising strategies based on fear was “not helpful”.  The presentation, first reported by Politico …

Secret Israeli report: U.S. cozying up to Palestinians  —  The U.S. administration will not put a lot of effort into the upcoming indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, opting instead to focus on the November Congressional elections, according to an internal Foreign Ministry report …

Revealed: How hundreds of military personnel, millions of pounds and an experimental ‘lung’ saved the life of a British soldier... shot by accident in his own camp  —  Last updated at 2:29 AM on 07th March 2010  —  It was one of the most complex military logistical and medical operations ever undertaken …

Bishops and Abortion  —  Scott Lemieux wrote yesterday: … In fairness, the Bishops seem to me to put quite a lot of political emphasis on institutionalized discrimination against gays and lesbians.  —  On the abortion point, the “life begins at conception and ends at birth” …

Torture memos resemble Clarence Thomas' way of thinking  —  The Supreme Court justice has a history of dismissing prisoner brutality.  And it's his former law clerk who was investigated for authorizing harsh interrogation tactics as a Justice Department lawyer.

Baird undecided  —  Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) said Sunday he would consider voting against a health care bill he doesn't like, even if his vote would sink the bill.  —  The congressman is one of three Democrats who voted against the bill last November, but says he's now undecided after announcing his retirement later this year.

Graham: Reconciliation would be “catastrophic”  —  Using the reconciliation process to pass health care would be “catastrophic,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned on Sunday.  —  “It is taking a partisan product and making it law,” Graham said on CBS's “Face The Nation.”  “It will be catastrophic.”

Iran's Ahmadinejad: Sept. 11 attacks a ‘big lie’  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks a “big lie” used by the U.S. as an excuse for the war on terror, state media reported.

If Reform Fails  —  As the fierce debate on President Obama's plan for health care reform comes to a head, Americans should be thinking carefully about what happens if Congress fails to enact legislation.  —  Are they really satisfied with the status quo?  And is the status quo really sustainable?

Mom, Apple Pie and Mortgages  —  FOR decades, the federal government has subsidized housing — particularly owner-occupied housing.  This has been especially true during the continuing financial crisis, with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration propping up the housing market …