Opinion

WASHINGTON, DC - Though his publicist says it was an "adverse allergic reaction to some medication," multiple sources insist cocaine was the reason actor Charlie Sheen trashed a Plaza hotel suite Tuesday night before NYPD officers found him "stark-naked" in his room. The incident reportedly began when Sheen accused his escort of stealing his wallet and began throwing over tables and chairs. The woman then locked herself in the bathroom and phoned a friend who alerted hotel staffers who called 911. If that wasn't bad enough, Sheen's ex-wife and kids were in the next room the whole time. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - Last night, the NBA season kicked off with its highest rated season opener in years: Celtics vs. Heat. Needless to say, by losing their first game LeBron and the "Superfriends" didn't manage to live up to the lofty expectations bestowed on them by an eager press corps. The aftermath, however, made for some entertaining tweets. Oh, by the way, there's also that election next Tuesday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - The best Morning Joe moments are the ones where people forget they're on television. Considering the show is three hours long and never features fewer than 47 panelists, these moments occur pretty much constantly. That's why people like it so much.Even by the show's lofty standards, today's post-break discussion of late-night comedy was a pip. First Scarborough deems Jimmy Kimmel the "hot late night guy." Then Mika Brzezenski agrees with him. Then Donny Deutsch says Conan O'Brien's "angry act" is getting old. Then Scarborough agrees with him, but not before casually mentioning (twice!) how much Jay Leno "sucked" in prime time. Then everybody gets quiet, because they realize they're on NBC. Then Scarborough makes fun of Deutsch's purple tie.(H/T to Mediaite) Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - In 2005, Rupert Murdoch was seen as a visionary for buying Myspace for a cool $580 million. But in the years following the acquisition, the social network has hemorrhaged users and cash at an alarming rate. Now, in a last-ditch effort to regain its panache (and user base), Myspace has unveiled a new redesign. Some say the company's new look is marginally better, while others think Myspace is abandoning social networking altogether. Company President Mike Jones said the redesign is aimed at the 13 to 35 demographic. Will Generation Y come back to Myspace? Here's a preview of the new site followed by commentary from techies: Full Story »

New York - Tim Profitt has been dismissed by Rand Paul's campaign for violent behavior, but still insists he has done nothing wrong Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - A massive blow to Democrats Tuesday is all but a foregone conclusion. Stats wunderkind Nate Silver is predicting they will lose as many as 52 seats in the House. There's a non-trivial chance they could lose the Senate. How did the party fall so far so fast? The team at MSNBC's FirstRead offers a few possibilities. First, the historical: the president's party almost always loses in the midterms. Second, cultural: Americans just don't like one party controlling everything. Third, economic: voters punish the party in power when unemployment is high. On top of that, Democrats failed to sell health care reform, to both moderates and their disappointed liberal base. "And there's this: Democrats, after two years in FULL control, were unable to deliver on their biggest thematic promise to change the way Washington works." The season of recriminations is already in full swing. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - At a conference on Tuesday, "Today Show" host Matt Lauer made an earnest request to California's gubernatorial candidates: stop airing negative campaign ads. The crowd erupted in cheers, as Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown took a few moments to consider. When the clapping subsided, Lauer persisted:You've got plenty of positive ads... you would pull your negative ads, replace them with positive ads and talk to the surrogate groups as well and express that... you want only positive messages out there to give California voters a break. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - If, as expected, Republicans retake the House next week, Ohio Rep. John Boehner will almost certainly become the 61st Speaker. What can America expect from a Boehner-led congress? A variety of opinions from around the web.Tough-to-Fulfill Promises of Bipartisanship The Washington Post's Paul Kane writes that while Boehner professes to value cooperation and compromise over "the zero-sum approach to politics" favored by previous speakers Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich, his caucus might not be as receptive. Boehner, Kane notes, will be forced to contend with "the prospect of a slim majority" and "a bevy of tea party freshmen arriving in the capital with what they believe is a mandate to challenge the leadership," both of which could derail Boehner's "vow to bring courtesy back to the Capitol."Pragmatic Boehner may be conservative, but he's no ideologue, says Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum. Rather, he is a typical, traditional, not unreasonable, frankly likable Republican. Purdum puts Boehner's moderation in context:Boehner is by nature a salesman, a deal-maker, not an ideologue. He has been respectful of the anger of Tea Party voters and has attended some of their events, but he has not embraced their tone. He has given a wide berth to the controversial proposal by Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, to dramatically cut back and effectively privatize Social Security and Medicare. On more than one occasion, at roundtable discussions with reporters this summer and fall, I watched him decline to mix it up on hot-button topics on which the loudest voices in his party had taken strong stands. These included the Obama administration’s hasty (and mistaken) firing of a black Department of Agriculture official who was accused of making racist remarks, when in fact she’d been calling for tolerance; the controversy over the proposed Muslim prayer room and cultural center near Ground Zero, in Manhattan; and the nature of Barack Obama’s religious beliefs. Full Story »

Read Tim Kaine's other articles on HuffingtonPost.com Full Story »

New York - Miss Liberty America contestants must display beauty, brains, and basic firearms competency. A quick guide to the latest innovation in conservative culture Full Story »

Read Adrian Grenier's other articles on HuffingtonPost.com Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - "I disagree strongly with the concept of separation of church and state. It was not written into the Constitution," declared Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck in a GOP forum late last year. This view, just recently unearthed, further fueled a debate reignited last week when Christine O'Donnell coyly asked her opponent where the church-state separation could be found in the Constitution. At the time, O'Donnell's remarks were treated with derision from skeptics who argued she had no grasp of the Constitution's intent. Yet, the Delaware Senate candidate was technically right: those exact words aren't mentioned in the First Amendment. And fellow conservatives rallied behind her for raising a legitimate point about the role of religion in the public square. Full Story »

New York - Did the "Glee" cast's take on the 1975 cult movie mark a new low for the show? Several critics are still cringing in, well, horror Full Story »

New York - A look back at what commentators got right (and wrong) about the anti-government movement back when it first came on the scene in 2009 Full Story »

Washington - Speaking last week at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with journalists, Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, remarked that he hoped to avoid “massive cuts” in defense, which “would be dangerous now, given the national security requirements that we have.” Yet cutting the baseline defense budget, which is now even higher than it was at the height of the Reagan buildup, may ironically be one of the best tools we have to meet our national security needs. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - For months, U.S. pundits have wondered if the long-held U.S.-Pakistan partnership is in trouble, even asking if Pakistan is still really our ally. Now, eight days after Pakistan began blocking a crucial U.S. supply route into Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports that Pakistan's spy service is pushing the Taliban to keep fighting, telling them, in the words of one Taliban commander, "to kill everyone—policemen, soldiers, engineers, teachers, civilians—just to intimidate people." In response, some U.S. observers are throwing up their hands, arguing that the U.S. should disengage with Pakistan. Here's what they have to say. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - The Federal Reserve may be moving toward new action to help the economy, according to several reporters' readings of newly released Fed meeting minutes. With joblessness and foreclosures still high more than 18 months after Congress enacted the stimulus, many economists and liberal pundits have long insisted that more intervention is needed. In September, President Barack Obama announced a plan for $150 billion in tax credits and infrastructure spending, which some observers termed a second stimulus. It's not clear what course of action the Fed would pursue if it ultimately decides on additional economic stimulus. Here's what we know and what Fed-watchers are saying. Full Story »

New York - Obama will be flying to India just two days after the midterm elections — leading some bloggers to conclude he's eager to avoid the fallout from a "Democratic bloodbath" Full Story »