* Top read: Bob Herbert on the plutocracy and the distribution of wealth in America.
* Why we might need to look outside our borders to solve our economic quagmire.
* "The political center, where swing voters reside and compromise happens, is suddenly a much smaller part of the Washington landscape."
* Matt Frei on how Obama's rush may have cost votes. (I'm of two minds here.)
* "The Tea Party is not a bogeyman."
* Ranking the best countries to run a business.
* Interesting: Justice Dept. set to reverse itself on patenting genes.
* The walls that protected the Sphinx.
* On physical CD sales and new country music.