A weary Rangel mounts defense in ethics trial  —  Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) plans to defend himself before a jury of his Congressional peers Monday without the assistance of an attorney in a fight for his personal reputation and possibly his career.  —  Few believe Rangel's job is on the line …

The Uncertainty Meme  —  Why does the economy continue to suck?  The LA Times is hosting a symposium on the topic today, and USC business professor Ayse Imrohoroglu says the answer is uncertainty: … OK, let's take these one by one:  — Interest rates will remain very low for a very long time.

Tea Party irks new members with tactic to promote its event  —  A Tea Party tactic to pressure new lawmakers not to attend a privately sponsored orientation event in D.C. this weekend was unwarranted, according to frustrated incoming GOP House members.  —  Competing freshmen lawmaker orientation events …

BUSH: ‘CLINTON AND I ARE BUDDIES’  —  Despite their political differences, the Bush family has really taken to Bill Clinton.  (Clinton has worked with both the 41st and 43rd presidents on humanitarian efforts.)  —  And CNN's Candy Crowley, during her Sunday interview with George W. Bush and his brother …

U.S. Plan Envisions Path to Ending Afghan Combat  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has developed a plan to begin transferring security duties in select areas of Afghanistan to that country's forces over the next 18 to 24 months, with an eye toward ending the American combat mission there by 2014, officials said Sunday.

Murkowski maintains election write-in lead  —  COUNTING: About 89 percent of ballots for senator unchallenged.  —  JUNEAU — Sen. Lisa Murkowski retained 89 percent of the undisputed write-in votes in Alaska's still-undecided Senate race, as the fifth day of the ballot hand count ended.

Safer Social Security  —  Social Security is not the key fiscal problem facing the nation.  Payments to its beneficiaries amount to 5 percent of the economy now; by 2050, they're projected to rise to about 6 percent.  Over the same period, federal health care costs will increase six times as much.

TSA Opt-Out Day, Now with a Superfantastic New Twist!  —  November 24th, as many of you already know, is National Opt-Out Day, when airline passengers should refuse to submit themselves to those privacy-invading, genital-picture-taking, radiation-delivering back-scatter imaging machines now installed at many American airports.

'Don't ask, don't tell' presents dilemma for Dems in passing defense bill  —  The need to shepherd the defense authorization bill through the Senate in the lame-duck session has left the Democratic leadership with a precarious dilemma.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …

Westboro protesters face jeers and slashed tires  —  Related Story: McAlester soldier mourned  —  McALESTER - Members of a Kansas church that protests at military funerals may have found themselves in the wrong town Saturday.  —  Shortly after finishing their protest at the funeral of Army …

Paul Krugman Recommends ‘Death Panels’ to Help Balance Budget  —  Although he was likely taking a swipe at former governor Sarah Palin with the reference, Paul Krugman on Sunday recommended “death panels” as a means of helping to balance the federal budget.  —  In a Roundtable discussion on ABC's …

Putting Money on Lawsuits, Investors Share in the Payouts  —  Large banks, hedge funds and private investors hungry for new and lucrative opportunities are bankrolling other people's lawsuits, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into medical malpractice claims, divorce battles and class actions …

The World as He Finds It  —  On Wednesday David Axelrod, President Obama's top political adviser, appeared to signal that the White House was ready to cave on tax cuts — to give in to Republican demands that tax cuts be extended for the wealthy as well as the middle class.

Obama to Redouble Effort on Core Principles  —  From Tahman Bradley:  —  En route back to Washington after a 10-day trip overseas, President Obama was introspective about his first two years in office.  The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had an “obsessive focus” …

Open Letter to Ben Bernanke  —  The following is the text of an open letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signed by several economists, along with investors and political strategists, most of them close to Republicans:  —  We believe the Federal Reserve's large-scale asset purchase plan …

America's Broadband Opportunity  —  Today the administration is freeing up a chunk of new wireless spectrum.  —  Rarely is there an opportunity to simultaneously catalyze private-sector investment, help create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and increase much needed government revenue.