Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange  —  Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail.

Thune vs. Romney: First Skirmish of the Campaign for 2012 GOP Presidential Nomination?  —  ABC News' Jon Karl reports:  —  We may have just witnessed one of the first skirmishes of the campaign for 2012 Republican presidential nomination.  —  Speaking on the Senate floor …

Amateur Hour: VA Judge Makes Elementary Error In Health Care Ruling  —  The Virginia federal district court judge who ruled yesterday that the individual mandate in the health care bill is unconstitutional is catching a lot of flack — and not just for having a financial interest in an anti-health care reform consulting firm.

Liberals giving up tax fight  —  A House liberal who has led the effort to stop President Obama's tax compromise with the GOP says efforts to change the package are futile.  —  Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who just a week ago circulated a letter signed by 54 Democrats urging opposition to the deal, now says the “die is cast.”

Why the tax deal might fail  —  I listed some of the conservative critics of the tax deal in Wonkbook today (Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party Patriots, Charles Krauthammer), but Playbook shows their ranks are growing: Mitt Romney has an op-ed in USA Today saying the tax deal gives “President Obama ... reason to celebrate.

The Inequality That Matters  —  Does growing wealth and income inequality in the United States presage the downfall of the American republic?  Will we evolve into a new Gilded Age plutocracy, irrevocably split between the competing interests of rich and poor?

Marine Commandant Suggests Presence Of Gays Would Endanger The Lives Of Straight Marines  —  Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos — who has opposed repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell — suggested that if Congress lifts the ban against open service and allows gays …

Key questions surrounding the Rahm Emanuel residency case  —  As Rahm Emanuel prepares to testify in the residency case challenging his eligibility to run for mayor of Chicago, here are some questions and answers.  —  Q. Isn't this just a big joke?  —  A. No, this is serious business.

Actress Thora Birch Fired From ‘Dracula’  —  The producers of the Off Broadway revival of “Dracula” fired their star actress Thora Birch on Friday, four days before the play's first performance, the production's director and Ms. Birch said in interviews on Monday.

Holbrooke's last words  —  The Washington Post first reported that Richard Holbrooke's last words, according to his family, were to his Pakistani surgeon, asking him to “stop this war.”  —  State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley clarified today:  —  I should note that a lot of media coverage …

The Top 50 Gawker Media Passwords  —  Readers of Gizmodo, Lifehacker and other Gawker Media sites may be among the savviest on the Web, but the most common password for logging into those sites is embarrassingly easy to guess: “123456.”  So is the runner-up: “password.”

Memo to the media: They're called “obstructionists”  —  That sore-loser phrase doesn't seem to get much use these days.  Yet watching Senate Republicans in the minority essentially close down the chamber, not allowing any votes to proceed until their demands are met regarding tax cuts for the very wealthy …

Atheist Ads on Buses Rattle Fort Worth  —  FORT WORTH — Stand on a corner in this city and you might get a case of theological whiplash.  —  A public bus rolls by with an atheist message on its side: “Millions of people are good without God.”  Seconds later, a van follows bearing a riposte: “I still love you.

Obama's Judges Blocked At Historic Rate  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … As the first congressional session of Obama's presidency draws to a close, what began as a slow process of confirmation has ballooned into a full-blown judicial crisis.  The Senate has overseen the slowest pace …

As Electoral Ground Shifts, Bloomberg Could Skip the Party  —  On Sunday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg flatly ruled out an independent run for president in 2012.  On Monday, he appeared at the national unveiling in New York of No Labels, a group that aspires to build a grass-roots movement …