Various sites (Talking Points Memo is the only linking to an Alaskan source) are reporting that Sarah Palin will resign as Governor of Alaska at the end of the month. Politico speculates that this frees her up to run President in 2012.

In the wake of protests over it's recent presidential elections, the Iranian government has reordered its list of enemies, shifting the United States role of "Great Satan" to Britain. Embassy staff have been expelled, on both sides and in Tehran, some local members of Britain's embassy are being put on trial for inciting riots. What's with all the recent animosity? It's speculated that Obama's less confrontation approach towards Iran has struck a positive note in the Middle East, forcing Tehran to ease up its animosity, at least publicly, toward America.

Considering that Britain and Iran have had issues with each other for centuries, and the close relationship between America and Britain, the "shift in Satan" almost seems natural.

To Critics, New Policy on Terror Looks Old. "Has [Obama], on issues related to fighting terrorism, turned out to be little different from his predecessor?"

With Al Franken now a Senator, the number 60 has been bandied about as game changing, enabling the Democrats to pass any and all sorts of legislation, since they have the White House and the House of Representatives.

Except, it's actually 58 Democrats and 2 indepents, Joe Lieberman (Connecticut) and Bernie Sanders (Vermont). Sure, they vote with the Democrats now, but Lieberman has been known to hang out with Republicans when he felt it was right. As to 58 Democrats, that's technically true, but Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd have been ill lately and missed votes. Add in that the Democrats don't march in the same line and I'll be surprised if we see all 60 voting along party lines more than once or twice, if that much.

Still, 60 Democrats makes a nice soundbite doesn't it? Especially to Republicans eager to point fingers.

CBS has (exclusive! behind the scenes!) emails between Sarah Palin and John McCain's chief stagiest, Steve Schmidt.

The emails, from the final three weeks of the Presidential campaign, chronicle Palin's discovery and reaction to allegations that her husband, Todd, belonged to the Alaska Independence Party, which advocated separating Alaska from the United States. Palin wanted to respond to the stories, while Schimdt wanted to ignore it. Back and forth ensues, yada yada yada.

What's interesting is that these were leaked now, eight months after the election. Somebody on the Republican really doesn't like Palin.

In the U.S. the healthcare reform debate continues, with the public option still a major point of disagreement:

In the Senate 37 are for a public option, 40 against and 22 don't know.
In the House 197 are for a public option, 6 against and 237 don't know.

Resistance to the public option may due to insurance companies having a monopoly in the various geographical markets.

Most Americans want it, but then say they won't use it.

The current Senate plan doesn't have a public option in it, instead going for Kent Conrad's idea of healthcare co-ops.

In other news, the President will be doing a town hall about health care reform in Viriginia at 1:15pm today.

Oh how the promises of the campaign trail come back to bite. Despite the promises and some action on government transparency, the Obama Administration isn't being quite as open as some would like. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is suing for the release of visitor logs that would detail which company representatives from the coal industry visited the White House while it was putting together clean air policy.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was recently asked about the White House visitor logs during his daily briefing.

"I think there are obviously occasions in which the president is going to meet privately with advisors on topics that are of great national importance," Gibbs answered.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that attorneys for former Senator Norm Coleman have failed to prove that a lower court or elected officials violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

In short, Democrat Al Franken beat Norm Coleman in the 2008 election by 312 votes, becoming the 60th Democrat in the Senate.

Sticking to the SOFA agreement, American forces are withdrawing from Iraqi cities to rural bases, as Dick Cheney and others raise concerns about a potential rise and violence. The Iraqi's themselves are pretty jubilant, turning the day into a festive national holiday.

Going forward, the most contentious issue facing Iraq isn't Al Qaeda, but the "Kurdish Question". The Kurdish people reside mostly in northern Iraq, on top of huge oil reserves which they feel belongs to them and the nation of Kurdistan. Baghdad obviously disagrees and with the U.S. drawing down its role and buffer between the two regions, Baghdad's surprising toughness towards negotiating with oil companies, the issue will be become a major focus in the future.

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 for white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who the Court decided were qualified for promotions based on a test they took and passed. The city had thrown out the results because black firefighters did not pass and they feared a discrimination lawsuit.

Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor was one of three judges who had previously ruled again the firefighters in a lower court. This overturning of the ruling has fired up the GOP and given ammunition to their argument that Sotomayor is racist and out of touch. Not so fast says the Daily Kos.

In the wake of Mark Sanford and John Ensign hiking off their political careers, the GOP ship appears rudderless and lost. As to the Captain's chair, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty have been seen in the area, though of course it's nothing official.

Despite demands by the U.S., Israel is proceeding with plans to continue settlements in the West Bank. Until settlements cease, Palestine is refusing to participate in peace talks.

The Obama Administration is working on an Executive Order that "would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate suspected terrorists indefinitely," though it's not clear where they are in the process. Rachel Maddox comments (YouTube)

White House Watched. Dan Froomkin's last WaPo column.

The House is currently debating H.R. 2998 (formerly H.R. 2454), the American Clean Energy And Security Act. OpenCongress. CSPAN live.    Continues...

Some Friday Fun: Let's take a look at H.J.Res.5, which would repeal the 22nd amendment and allow a President to run for an unlimited number of terms. No, it doesn't have a chance of passing, but the bill has been around Washington for 20 years and OpenCongress does a nice job of looking at its history.

Back in 2003, Savanna Redding, then an eighth grade student, was called to the principal's and told to strip to her underwear so school officials should search for Ibuprofen. The issue went to court, then the Federal Appeals court and finally the Supreme Court, who announced their ruling today. They found, 8-1 (Clarence Thomas dissented), that the school violated her 4th amendment right to be free from search and seizure. However, the court also ruled, 7-2 (Stevens and Ginsburing dissenting), that the school was not liable for damages.

That new Democrat smell seems to have worn off Senator Arlen Specter (PA), according to various news reports. While the Senatorial election is still over a year away, the poll numbers (PDF) aren't looking too good. Only 28 percent of Pennsylvanians believe he deserves reelection, down from 40% in June. If the election were held today, he'd beat out Rep. Joe Sestak in the primary, 33%-13%, but that's with 48% undecided.

Republican Pat Toomey is no doubt smiling.

Yale's Dean of Law School, Harod Koh, was nominated to be the State Department's Legal Advisor months ago, but the vote was held up as Republicans opposed him. Yesterday a cloture vote was held and passed, 65-31. When cloture is invoked, only 30 hours of debate are allowed and then the vote on confirmation must be held. Republicans are threatening to use that entire 30 hours, so Koh's final vote may be delayed.

Following on the heels of the House of Representatives approval of articles of impeachment, the Senate today begins the impeachment trail of federal judge Samuel Kent, who is currently serving a 33 month term for sexual assault. Impeachment become an issue when Kent refused to resign, enabling him to continue receiving his $174,000 a year salary, even while in jail.

What's the price tags on the contested Minnesota Senatorial race? The GOP spent almost $1 million last month, the Democrats just at little over $250,000. Overall expenses are reported to be over $12 million and there's still no final decision.

Where is South Carlina Governor Mark Sanford? First it was "we don't know", then "Oh, he took a few days off to write something" and now it's "Oh, he's hiking the Appalachian Trail". All of this has brought up questions of who's in charge of the executive branch when the Governor can't be reached, others think it's a good sign and still others can't resist poking fun.

In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme has eased some of the restrictions of the Voting Rights Act for several local jurisdictions. This means some counties no longer have to get approved from the federal government if they want to change their voting or election standards.

The larger question of whether The Act is constitutional was side-stepped, for now.

Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd is facing charges from the opposition that he used his position to secure loans for a friend's car company. However an email purporting to show proof has turned out to be fake, but the opposition is still charging favoritism, though it won't call for new elections.

Seeking to avoid the issue during her nomination hearings, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor recently resigned from the Belizean Grove, an all female social club. Sotomayer contains to seem as though she'll be appointed, as even the GOP admits her nomination hasn't turned into the dramatic fight they might have wished for.