Where's the beef?  —  Joe's reaction to Obama's gay speech is up on the gay blog.  —  As for my take... Barack Obama just promised us that if he becomes president, he's going to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act, and get ENDA passed.  It was a bit surreal.

In Today's Viral World, Who Keeps a Civil Tongue?  —  Late last month, Charisse Carney-Nunes fired up the computer at her home in Northeast Washington to check her e-mail.  Her brain already was on morning drive time: breakfast for the kids, her day's work at a government agency.

Two Wrongs Make Another Fiasco  —  THOSE of us who love F. Scott Fitzgerald must acknowledge that he did get one big thing wrong.  There are second acts in American lives.  (Just ask Marion Barry, or William Shatner.)  The real question is whether everyone deserves a second act.

McCain weighs in on Palin in 2012  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain is openly admitting that there were tensions between his former campaign manager Steve Schmidt and those close to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's one-time White House running mate.

U.S. SENATE SEAT: Two could beat Reid, poll finds  —  Lowden, Tarkanian tied atop GOP challengers  —  Nevadans say they're ready to replace longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Harry Reid with an untested Republican.  —  Which Republican?  Undecided.  —  But of their top two picks …

Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation)  —  CONVENTIONAL wisdom suggests that the prospect of Congress passing a comprehensive climate change bill soon is rapidly approaching zero.  The divisions in our country on how to deal with climate change are deep.

Gore upbeat on climate bill  —  Former Vice President Al Gore shared his optimism about the “shifting momentum” of the climate change debate with about 500 environmental journalists Friday in Madison.  —  “We're very close to that political tipping point,” Gore said at the Society …

The truth about the Baucus bill - Part 1  —  Obamacare advocates in the White House, Congress and the newsroom of the New York Times were elated this week when a Congressional Budget Office statement said the health care reform bill by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. …

A Bounce?  Indeed.  A Boom?  Not Yet.  —  THE sudden rise in home prices suggests that the psychology of the market has shifted substantially.  But what should we expect in the months ahead?  Not necessarily that we're entering a new housing boom.  To a large extent, where we're heading depends on what home buyers are thinking.