Daschle Faces Questions From Senators on Tax Glitch  —  After a quarter-century in Congress, Thomas A. Daschle will return to Capitol Hill today in an unfamiliar role, summoned by former colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee to defend his reputation and his nomination to be secretary …

Bailouts for Bunglers  —  Question: what happens if you lose vast amounts of other people's money?  Answer: you get a big gift from the federal government — but the president says some very harsh things about you before forking over the cash.  —  Am I being unfair?  I hope so.

How Government Prolonged the Depression  —  Policies that decreased competition in product and labor markets were especially destructive.  —  The New Deal is widely perceived to have ended the Great Depression, and this has led many to support a “new” New Deal to address the current crisis.

As Obama Talks Of Bipartisanship, Definitions Vary  —  After a week of legislative successes for President Obama, Republicans seized on one asterisk: his inability to line up support from their ranks.  As he heads into his second full week in office, members of both parties are waiting …

Carville: A history lesson for Rush Limbaugh  —  Editor's Note: James Carville, a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, was the Clinton-Gore campaign manager in 1992 and political adviser to President Clinton.  He is active in Democratic politics and a party fundraiser.

Democrats Set High Goal Of Sweeping Fiscal Reform  —  As Senate Opens Stimulus Debate, Sacrifices Become More Urgent  —  It's the holy grail of Washington politics: a federal budget that generates ample funds through a simpler and fairer tax code, defuses the spending time bomb for health …

Justice Dept. Under Obama Is Preparing for Doctrinal Shift in Policies of Bush Years  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department, probably more than any other agency here, is bracing for a broad doctrinal shift in policies from those of the Bush administration, department lawyers and Obama administration officials say.

Palin pushes for road to Nome  —  PIPE DREAM?  Project would cost $3 million to $4 million a mile.  —  scockerham@adn.com  —  JUNEAU — Boomers talked for decades about building a road to Nome, an epic 500-mile plus project that would run through some of the most remote wilderness of forest, tundra, rivers and valleys in the world.

PETER HITCHENS: We show tolerance to ‘gays’ and get tyranny in return … If I never again had to read or write a word about homosexuals, I would be very happy.  I really don't want to know what other people do in their bedrooms.  But these days they really, really want us all to know.

The Senate Carves $90 Million Out of Stimulus For Liberal Activist Group  —  The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights ("LCCR") is a far left interest group.  —  The group opposed conservative judges.  The group agitates for card check.  The group is in favor of the Fairness Doctrine.

Damned if they do, damned if they don't  —  The left is angry at banks for not managing their credit risks well enough, loaning money to people who couldn't pay it back.  The implication is often that this was all some sort of scheme to get working stiffs into debt slavery.

Major Flip-Flop by Human Rights Watch: Organization Waiting for Obama to Develop Kinder, Gentler Rendition Program  —  I can stomach some political flip-flops.  —  Politicians run with the popular opinion for the most part, but sometimes their positions legitimately change in the face of new factual information.

Permanent vs. temporary increases in government spending, a Keynesian approach  —  Let's say government can spend $100 billion today or spend the present expected value of $100 billion, stretched out over time so it is a commitment in perpetuity.  Both spending programs are financed by bonds.

Talk to Iran.  Then What?  —  THE presidential campaign failed to address the hard choices America must make to contain the Iranian nuclear threat.  By focusing almost exclusively on tactics, the election obscured the questions that really matter: What should the United States demand when it finally talks to Iran?

The Dems who bucked Obama  —  Nearly all of the 11 Democrats who voted against the economic stimulus package Wednesday had an incentive other than the plan's hefty price tag: Nine of them hold districts carried by John McCain in 2008.  —  While none cited that fact when explaining …

New GOP chair comes out swinging  —  The new chairman of the Republican National Committee said Sunday that his party should put the brakes on Democratic initiatives, from the economic stimulus bill to President Obama's plans for his Cabinet.  —  Steele said in a telephone interview …

Charges against George Obama dropped  —  NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) — All charges against George Obama, half-brother to U.S. President Barack Obama, have been dropped after his arrest in a drug raid, according to police in Kenya.  —  He was released on Saturday hours later, police added.

Conservative Pajamas Media shuts down ad network, righty blogs hopping mad  —  This story is a little inside baseball about the blogosphere that sounds like another bit of fallout from the election and the economy is rocking the righty blogs right now.  A few years ago (2005) …

Sirius Faces Debt Payment in Test of Its Viability  —  Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc. is facing an important test of its viability this month: how it handles $174.6 million in debt coming due Feb. 17.  —  Questions over how the company can pay it, along with $750 million more in debt due later in the year …