Koran Burning Is Insensitive, Unnecessary; Pastor Jones, Please Stand Down  —  Book burning is antithetical to American ideals.  People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation - much like building a mosque at Ground Zero.

Barbara Boxer aide charged with possession of pot  —  A senior aide for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) was arrested Tuesday for attempting to bring marijuana into the Hart Senate Office Building, according to U.S. Capitol Police reports.  —  Marcus Stanley, who served as a senior economic adviser …

Obama vs. the Republicans (With Full Speech Text)  —  I think it's safe to say that President Obama has given up on bipartisanship, at least for the foreseeable future.  —  The White House just released prepared text of his economic speech to the City Club of Cleveland.

Court Dismisses a Case Asserting Torture by C.I.A.  —  WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that former prisoners of the C.I.A. could not sue over their alleged torture in overseas prisons because such a lawsuit might expose secret government information.

Fidel: 'Cuban Model Doesn't Even Work For Us Anymore'  —  There were many odd things about my recent Havana stopover (apart from the dolphin show, which I'll get to shortly), but one of the most unusual was Fidel Castro's level of self-reflection.  I only have limited experience with Communist autocrats …

Florida College Shuts Down Conservative Event After Seeing Anti-Obama Literature (Video)  —  It begins... School officials at Palm Beach State College kicked members of the Young America's for Freedom off campus after they saw anti-Obama literature at their table.  —  It was offensive.

This Is Where We Begin to Say No  —  On the Ground Zero mosque, Americans reject the opinion elites that empower the Islamists.  —  A tectonic shift is in motion: How fitting that its focal point is Ground Zero, the inevitable fault line between Islam and the West.

Imam: Handling of Islamic center plan a matter of national security  —  (CNN) — The religious leader behind plans to erect an Islamic center and mosque a few blocks from New York's ground zero said Wednesday night that America's national security depends on how it handles the controversy.

CNN/Time Poll: Heated battle for Florida Senate  —  Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek are part of a close three way race for Senate in Florida.  —  (CNN) - A new poll indicates that the three way-battle for Florida's open Senate seat, arguably the most fascinating Senate contest this year, is deadlocked at the top.

“Middle Class” Tax Cuts  —  I know I saw this on some of the other wonky progressive blogs last week (or maybe the week before) but it didn't really hit home until I saw it again.  The point is that when we talk about a distinction between the “Bush tax cuts for the rich” and the …

Michael Joseph Gross Responds to Criticism of His Article on Sarah Palin  —  It has been only a few days since the appearance of my Vanity Fair article “Sarah Palin: The Sound and the Fury,” and the response, to put it mildly, has been considerable.  I won't address simple differences …

Tri-C students recruited to fill the seats for Obama's appearance  —  PARMA, Ohio - With less than an hour before President Obama's scheduled speech, 75 seats remained empty in the recreation center at Cuyahoga Community College's Western Campus.  —  So organizers went around campus and recruited more students to fill the seats.

Mitch Daniels Wins The Fiscal Special Olympics  —  Indiana governor, former Bush budget director and rumored dark-horse Republican presidential candidate Mitch Daniels lays out his economic recovery plan in today's Wall Street Journal op-ed page.  Here's the basic problem.

Don't that beat all: Andy sinks in polls  —  Andy Griffith has been a beloved figure in North Carolina for years, but his ad to pitch the new health care law may have soured public opinion.  —  politics |  state  —  How bad is it for Democrats in North Carolina?  Even Sheriff Andy Taylor is taking a beating in the polls.

Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov't Data  —  (CNSNews.com) - In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total …

On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules  —  CHANGSHA, China — Until very recently, Hunan Province was known mainly for lip-searing spicy food, smoggy cities and destitute pig farmers.  Mao was born in a village on the outskirts of Changsha, the provincial capital here in south-central China.

Obama In Ohio: Hello Illinois!  —  Ooops.  —  Obama is giving a speech about the economy and attacking John Boehner but mostly attacking Boehner.  —  I asked on Twitter what Boehner's name recognition was, since as we all know punching down is a bad idea.  Just as I asked that Philip Klein put this out on Twitter.

Why did Barack Obama do health care first?  —  Joe Romm says that “future generations are likely to view Obama's choice of health care over energy and climate legislation as a blunder of historic proportions,” which is certainly possible.  But like Matthew Yglesias, I don't think it was a choice at all.