STATEMENT BY U.S. SENATOR BYRON DORGAN  —  “Representing North Dakota in the U.S. Congress for nearly 30 years has been one of the great privileges of my life.  —  “The work I have been able to do to expand our economy, create new opportunities in energy and water development …

OH SNAP!  Pelosi On Obama: ‘There Were A Number Of Things He Was For On The Campaign Trail’  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi had little to say this afternoon at a press conference following a meeting between House leaders and health care principals.  She and other members acknowledged that a number …

Time for accountability at the White House  —  Now it turns out that there was a third uninvited guest at the White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, this one a member of the Indian delegation.  It was enough of a shock that the would-be stars Tareq and Michaele Salahi had crashed.

Airline security idiocy of the day: Milblogger Michael Yon handcuffed, Joan Rivers blocked  —  Milblogger/independent war correspondent extraordinaire Michael Yon reports that he was stopped at Sea-Tac airport and handcuffed by TSA agents: … I've met Michael and have blogged …

The Tea Party Teens  —  The United States opens this decade in a sour mood.  First, Americans are anxious about the future.  Sixty-one percent of Americans believe the country is in decline, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey.  Only 27 percent feel confident …

Democrats are Dropping Like Flies  —  ABC News' David Chalian Reports: Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado, who was in for a tough reelection fight this year, canceled a scheduled fundraiser this evening and has decided not to seek reelection, according to Democratic sources familiar with the governor's plans.

Why Didn't He Just Blow Himself Up In The Toilet?  —  A reader asks a very interesting question about the undie-bomber - why did he get back into his seat to detonate a bomb that had a ramshackle detonator and where he could be overcome by fellow travelers?  Read the whole email:

Cut This Story!  —  ONE REASON SEEKERS of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet has nothing directly to do with technology.  It's that newspaper articles are too long.  On the Internet, news articles get to the point.  Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions …

Sweatshirt Sparks School Controversy  —  Hoodie Contains Image Of World Trade Center Towers  —  DEARBORN, Mich. — About 15 Arab-American students at Edsel Ford High School are in trouble over a sweatshirt they had made over the holiday break.  —  On the back of the sweatshirt …

Florida GOP Chairman Resigns  —  The resignation of Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer today — a decision that came after weeks of calls for his head from conservatives — raises the question of whether Gov. Charlie Crist's already embattled Senate candidacy has sustained a blow from which it cannot recover.

France to introduce new law banning ‘psychological violence’ in marriages  —  France will become the first country in the world to ban ‘psychological violence’ within marriage later this year.  —  The new law, which would also apply to co-habiting couples, would see people getting criminal records …

Palin: It's War, not a Crime Spree  —  A strong statement from the People's Governor:

Election 2010: Massachusetts Special Senate Election  —  2010 Massachusetts Senate: Coakley 50%, Brown 41%  —  State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.

How To Be A National Security Expert  —  I love John Amato, but clearly he knows nothing about what makes someone strong on national security: … Sure, military service helps a little bit, but by itself it's not nearly enough to make someone tough on terror - just ask John “OBL BFF” Kerry.