Tea Party Express leader gets the boot  —  (CNN) — The National Tea Party Federation, an organization that represents the Tea Party political movement around the country, has expelled conservative commentator Mark Williams and his Tea Party Express because of an inflammatory blog post he wrote …

Firms cancel health coverage  —  With cost rising, small companies turning to state  —  The relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage them to sign up for state-subsidized care instead …

A nice new shopping mall opened today in Gaza: Will the media report on it?  —  [Please link to and credit this website if writing on this.]  —  Will the Western media show these images?  —  All notes below by Tom Gross  —  Please scroll down below for photos of the new shopping mall that opened today in Gaza.

GOP senators: Obama failing in oil clean-up  —  Just days after BP temporarily plugged the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, Senate Republicans on Sunday lashed out at the Obama administration for failing to clean up America's soiled shoreline.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Republican lawmakers gird for rowdy tea party  —  So who wants to join Rand Paul's “tea-party” caucus?  —  “I don't know about that,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) replied with a nervous laugh.  “I'm not sure I should be participating in this story.”  —  Republican lawmakers see plenty …

McDonnell wants to show Virginia the way out of liquor business  —  RICHMOND — For months, aides to Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell have been meeting behind closed doors with alcohol retailers and wholesalers, public safety officials and faith-based groups to come up with a way to fulfill …

Obama's the “most” racial president  —  While President Obama has touted himself as a post-racial president, he has built a record demonstrating precisely the opposite.  Is it Obama's bitterness, or is the incessant playing of the race card by him and many of his supporters merely calculated political exploitation — or both?

BP, federal officials confer on closed gulf oil well cap  —  The Gulf of Mexico's gushing oil well remained shut off Sunday afternoon, as BP and federal officials conferred over when — and whether — it should ever be re-opened.  —  The leaking BP well was the subject of dueling media announcements …

Female minister insists women must be able to choose their own clothes as ban on burka is ruled out  —  Banning the burka would infringe a woman's right to ‘choose each morning when you wake up what you wear’, Cabinet minister Caroline Spelman said today.  —  The Environment Secretary claimed …

Muslims Riot, Mayhem in France, Fire On Police UPDATE: After Islamic Cleric's Fiery Speech  —  Mayhem in Grenoble (Photo: AFP) (hat tip woolie)  —  The imprimatur of an Islamic cleric: … UPDATE: The police were fired on by automatic gunfire, a fact that strangely was only reported on by al jazeera.

Democrats engage in ‘circular firing squad’  —  In a week when Congress finally passed financial regulatory reform and the oil finally stopped gushing in the gulf, Democrats spent much of their time on an enterprise they can ill afford: arguing among themselves.  —  The Democrats' political mission is clear.