Republican rift widens on Medicare  —  A deep rift is opening wider and wider in the Republican Party over controversial proposals to cut Medicare.  —  Senate Republicans have decided to avoid jeopardizing their chances of capturing the upper chamber in next year's elections and will not echo …

Romney plans major healthcare speech in Michigan on Thursday  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will deliver a major speech Thursday on healthcare in his native state of Michigan.  —  Romney will make a presentation at the University of Michigan's cardiovascular center laying …

Trump collapses  —  Donald Trump has had one of the quickest rises and falls in the history of Presidential politics.  Last month we found him leading the Republican field with 26%.  In the space of just four weeks he's dropped all the way down to 8%, putting him in a tie for fifth place with Ron Paul.

The Tragedy of Sarah Palin  —  From the moment Sarah Palin's acceptance speech electrified the Republican convention, she was seen as an unbending, hard-charging, red-meat ideologue—to which soon was added “thin-skinned” and “vindictive.”  But a look at what Palin did while in office in Alaska …

U.S. Was Braced for Fight With Pakistanis in Bin Laden Raid  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama insisted that the assault force hunting down Osama bin Laden last week be large enough to fight its way out of Pakistan if confronted by hostile local police officers and troops, senior administration and military officials said Monday.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver announce separation  —  The former first lady has moved out after 25 years of marriage.  Maria Shriver helped bolster Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign against charges that he groped women during his movie career.  —  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver …

Billionaire's role in hiring decisions at Florida State University raises questions  —  A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.

Gingrich Set to Run, With Wife in Central Role  —  WASHINGTON — Callista Bisek's friends from rural Wisconsin were stunned when, well over a decade ago, she confided that she was secretly dating an older, married man: Newt Gingrich.  —  Still in her 20s when they met …

Perry declines Obama's invite  —  Rick Perry has declined the White House's request that he greet President Obama when Air Force One lands in Texas on Tuesday, the Republican governor's office says.  —  “We did try to arrange something with the White House,” Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Perry, told POLITICO.

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  BREAKING: Appeals panel hearing ObamaCare suit comprised of 2 Obama nominees and a Clinton nominee  —  Senior Editorial Writer Follow Him @Philipaklein  —  RICHMOND, Va. - A three-judge federal appeals panel comprised of two Obama nominees and a Clinton nominee …

Beyond Obama's Bin Laden Bounce  —  A week after the news broke of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, bettors at Intrade, a political futures market, are barely any more likely to think that Barack Obama will win re-election.  —  As of this writing, Mr. Obama's Democrats are given …

Chomsky's Follies  —  The professor's pronouncements about Osama Bin Laden are stupid and ignorant.  —  Anybody visiting the Middle East in the last decade has had the experience: meeting the hoarse and aggressive person who first denies that Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the destruction …

CNN Poll: Democrats up 50-46 percent in battle for House  —  Washington (CNN) - It's one of the storylines for 2012: Can the Democrats win back control of the House of Representatives?  —  A new poll suggests that they may have a chance.  —  Full results (pdf)

Liberals in southern Arizona seek to form new state  —  TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - A long-simmering movement by liberal stalwarts in southern Arizona to break away from the rest of the largely conservative state is at a boiling point as secession backers press to bring their longshot ambition to the forefront of Arizona politics.

Suspect in flight disturbance had Calif. ID  —  SAN FRANCISCO - The passengers sat stunned as they watched a man walk quickly toward the front of American Airlines Flight 1561 as it was descending toward San Francisco.  He was screaming and then began pounding on the cockpit door.

59% Favor Cutoff of Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities  —  New legislation being considered by the House would stop all federal funding for cities that give sanctuary to illegal immigrants, and most voters like the idea.  But very few believe Congress is likely to pass such a measure.

Ron Paul's land of second-rate values  —  Before last week's South Carolina Republican debate, Ron Paul supporters complained that their candidate was not getting the first-tier attention his polling and fundraising should bring.  It is true that Paul has often been overlooked and dismissed, as one might treat a slightly dotty uncle.

Whatever Happened to the Great Recession?  —  At least, that's what I would ask David Brooks, who managed to write an entire column on unemployment among adult men without mentioning the economic collapse of 2008.  His explanation for the 20 percent of American men (between the ages of 25 and 54) who don't work?

‘Introduction to Labor Studies’ - My First-Hand Account  —  My name is Philip Christofanelli.  I was a student in the University of Missouri's “Introduction to Labor Studies” course.  The class was taught simultaneously by Professor Don Giljum of University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL) …

Danger: Falling Tyrants  —  As dictatorships crumble across the Middle East, what happens if Arab democracy means the rise of radical Islamism?  Does promoting American values while protecting American interests—most notably, containing Iran and preserving our access to oil …

Competition in Higher Education  —  William Deresiewicz's long Nation article on “The Crisis In Higher Education” is kind of a mixture of smart points and bad ones, but this here at the end about compensation of top-level academic administration seems to me to be a very interesting kind of bad point: