Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Advances  —  WASHINGTON — After a 17-year struggle, the Senate on Saturday cleared the way for repealing the Pentagon's ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military.  —  By a bipartisan vote of 63 to 33, the Senate acted to cut off debate …

Senate votes to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'  —  The Senate voted 65 to 31 Saturday to repeal the “don't ask, don't tell” law, beginning the process of ending a 17-year ban on gays serving openly in the military and reversing decades of official military policy.

START treaty survives threat from McCain amendment on missile defense  —  The Senate voted 37 to 59 on Saturday to reject an amendment to the preamble of the New START nuclear treaty that Democrats say would have gutted it.  —  The amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) …

Manchin's whereabouts  —  Today's minor mystery was the location of newly-minted West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who missed key votes on the DREAM Act and the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”  (He says he would have voted “no” on both.)  —  The Gazette reports:

Whose Party Is It?  —  The far left is foaming at the mouth.  —  The near-apoplectic level of agita within the liberal screeching class over President Obama's tax-cut compromise has exposed a seismic crack in the Democratic monolith — outspoken liberal Democrats on one side and barely audible moderate Democrats on the other.

Explaining the Crisis With Dogma  —  What was that about?  —  I'm talking about that odd 13-page “report” issued on Wednesday by the four Republican members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.  The F.C.I.C., of course, is the 10-member, supposedly bipartisan panel that was created …

A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning  —  PFC Manning is currently being held in maximum custody.  Since arriving at the Quantico Confinement Facility in July of 2010, he has been held under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch.  —  His cell is approximately six feet wide and twelve feet in length.