Assassins had Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in sight as soon as he got to Dubai  —  Mahmoud al-Mabhouh took no notice of the two men who joined him in the lift of his hotel in Dubai during the short ride to the second floor on the afternoon of January 20.  —  One was short and portly with a moustache, the other tall.

Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century  —  We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding.  Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law.  They sought to secure national independence …

Tea Party Speaker: Hang Patty Murray  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A tea party gathering in Asotin County, Washington turned more than a bit ugly on Saturday when a featured speaker actually called for the hanging of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash), the fourth ranking Democrat in the Senate and a vulnerable re-election candidate.

What's holding the Democratic Party down  —  If you want to be honest, face these facts: At this moment, President Obama is losing, Democrats are losing and liberals are losing.  —  Who's winning?  Republicans, conservatives, the practitioners of obstruction and the Tea Party.

Selling insurance across state lines: A terrible, no good, very bad health-care idea  —  The big Republican idea to bring down health-care costs is to “let families and businesses buy health insurance across state lines.”  Jon Chait has some commentary here, but I want to simplify a little bit.

U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion  —  WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact …

Democrat Caddell rips White House for obeisance to organized labor  —  Longtime Democratic strategist Pat Caddell on Wednesday blasted the Obama White House for creating “a world in which there is no dissent,” following his banishment from Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff's campaign for Senate.

Salem Communications buys Hot Air  —  The conservative blog Hot Air has been purchased by radio broadcaster Salem Communications, which adds the popular website to a stable that also includes Townhall.com and several right-leaning radio hosts.  —  In a statement obtained by POLITICO set …

Gibbs calls Cantor a ‘hypocrite’ on stimulus  —  White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the number two House Republican a ‘hypocrite’ for criticizing the use of stimulus funds while at the same time requesting them for his district.  —  Democrats have been defending the $787 billion program Wednesday, its one-year anniversary.

Ministers lavished £9m on climate change stunts... but public opinion is left cold by global warming ‘propaganda’  —  A disastrous series of failed climate change publicity stunts cost taxpayers £9million, it emerged yesterday.  —  The projects paid for by the Government's Climate Challenge Fund …

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Rolls Back Non-Discrimination Protections For Gay State Workers  —  Gay and lesbian state workers in Virginia are no longer specifically protected against discrimination, thanks to a little-noticed change made by new Gov. Bob McDonnell.

U.S. state pension funds have $1 trillion shortfall: Pew  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. states face a total shortfall of at least $1 trillion in their funds for employees' pensions and retirement benefits, and their financial problems are quickly mounting, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States on Thursday.

No dip in earmark spending despite White House push for transparency  —  Transparency requirements pushed for by the Obama administration have not changed the total spending on earmarks for 2010, according to a study by a group critical of the practice.  —  The amount of money directed …

Exclusive: Another Taliban Leader Captured in Pakistan  —  Another leader of the Afghan Taliban has been captured by authorities in Pakistan working in partnership with U.S. intelligence officials.  Taliban sources in the region and a counterterrorism officials in Washington have identified …

“May The Judgement Not Be Too Heavy Upon Us”  —  To have lived in an America where its former vice-president can boast of supporting the torture of human beings is tragic and terrifying enough.  For me and many others, this is not America.  As a former president said of the abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib,

Cheney's Washington Post  —  First Hiatt fired the only opinion writer who really held Cheney to account for war crimes, Dan Froomkin.  Then he hires a mediocre writer, and proud Catholic-for-torture, and Cheney's former speech-writer, Marc Thiessen, for a weekly column.

John Mellencamp: Replacement for Evan Bayh in Senate?  —  Grassroots efforts are under way to draft rock musician John Mellencamp as a replacement for retiring Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.  —  Chicago  —  As Indiana Democratic leaders scramble to replace Evan Bayh in the US Senate race …

A History of Obama Feigning Interest in Mundane Things  —  From time to time, everyone is forced to experience the ritual of the apartment tour.  As your friend or relative leads you through their home for the first time, politeness dictates that you pretend to be impressed by the things you're being shown …

Agreement Is Near on New Overseer of Banking Risks  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate and the Obama administration are nearing agreement on forming a council of regulators, led by the Treasury secretary, to identify systemic risk to the nation's financial system, officials said Wednesday.

DA rips gap in Bishop report  —  He says omission of standoff ‘glaring’  —  The Norfolk district attorney ramped up his criticism of the 1986 investigation of Seth Bishop's death yesterday, saying that it was “glaring” and “striking” that local police accounts of Amy Bishop's armed standoff …

DID AP COVER FOR BIDEN ON ‘20TH CENTURY’ MIX-UP?  —  “I refuse to accept the notion that the United States of America is not going to lead the world economically throughout the 20th Century.”  —  The AP article covering Vice President Joe Biden's remarks does not reflect the error:

Positive Views of Israel, Brought to You by Israelis  —  JERUSALEM — The Israeli government, deeply worried about the country's declining international image, began a campaign on Wednesday to turn every Israeli — and ultimately every Jew — into a traveling public relations agent.

Navy to review Murtha surgery for error  —  The Navy will conduct an in-depth review of the surgery performed on Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) to see if a surgical error led to his death, a Navy spokesman said Wednesday.  —  Murtha died Feb. 8 from complications of gallbladder surgery that he underwent at Bethesda Naval hospital.

“A dose of realism”?  How about this for “realism”: We Need Leadership  —  Larry Tribe criticizes my February 15 post, which itself had criticized the Democratic Leadership's planned response to Citizens United as not good enough.  He agrees that the Leadership's response is “incomplete,” …

Bill would ban federal currency in SC  —  Legislation by SC Rep. Mike Pitts would replace paper money with gold and silver coinage  —  PITTS INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO REPLACE PAPER MONEY WITH GOLD, SILVER COINS  —  South Carolina will no longer recognize U.S. currency as legal tender, if State Rep. Mike Pitts has his way.

James O'Keefe and the myth of the ACORN pimp  —  Last September, when the ACORN scandal that his website helped launch was breaking in the press, Andrew Breitbart wrote a column for The Washington Times detailing the rollout of the undercover, right-wing gotcha.

8 jailed American missionaries leave Haiti for US  —  Buzz up!  —  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Eight American missionaries were freed from a Haitian jail and left for Miami Wednesday, nearly three weeks after being arrested trying to take 33 children out of the earthquake-stricken country.