Justice Alito's conduct and the Court's credibility  —  As I wrote at the time, I thought the condemnations of Rep. Joe Wilson's heckling of Barack Obama during his September health care speech were histrionic and excessive.  Wilson and Obama are both political actors, it occurred in the middle …

MSNBC: Shuster tweets ‘inappropriate’  —  MSNBC may be obsessed with the four men arrested for trying to tamper with Sen. Mary Landrieu's telephones, but the network says reporter David Shuster crossed the line when he attacked one of them via Twitter.  —  Just before leaving for New Orleans …

After Obama rips lobbyists, K St. insiders get private briefings  —  A day after bashing lobbyists, President Barack Obama's administration has invited K Street insiders to join private briefings on a range of topics addressed in Wednesday's State of the Union.

J. D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91  —  J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, becoming the Garbo of letters, famous for not wanting to be famous …

Landrieu: Bill on “life support”  —  If President Barack Obama hoped his State of the Union speech would revive the health care debate on Capitol Hill, signs of movement were not immediately apparent Thursday.  —  Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said health care reform “is on life support …

Judge Orders 25-Year-Old O'Keefe To Live With His Parents  —  As if James O'Keefe hasn't suffered enough indignity after botching an alleged phone tampering operation at a U.S. senator's office, getting arrested, and being photographed leaving jail, the judge in the case has now ordered …

Gregg scolds MSNBC: ‘Irresponsible’  —  Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) attacked MSNBC hosts Contessa Brewer and Melissa Francis on Thursday, questioning their “integrity” as journalists and calling them “irresponsible.”  —  The scuffle started with Francis asking Gregg to name specific areas …

I Just Remembered Chris Matthews Was White  —  Here's Matthews on Obama: … I think it's worth noting that Chris Matthews wasn't trying to take a shot at anybody.  I also think it's worth noting that he was attempting to compliment Obama and say something positive about what he's done for race relations.

Bernanke Confirmed for Second Term as Fed Chief  —  WASHINGTON — Ben S. Bernanke has been confirmed for a second term as head of the Federal Reserve.  —  The Senate voted 70-30 on Thursday to leave Mr. Bernanke at the helm of the central bank for another four years.

NY pols stunned to learn Obama administration opposes funding for 9/11 health bill  —  The Obama administration stunned New York's delegation Thursday, dropping the bombshell news that it does not support funding the 9/11 health bill.  —  The state's two senators and 14 House members met …

Scientists in stolen e-mail scandal hid climate data  —  Ben Webster, Environment Editor, and Jonathan Leake  —  The university at the centre of the climate change row over stolen e-mails broke the law by refusing to hand over its raw data for public scrutiny.

Pentagon To Announce Some “Don't Ask” Details Next Week  —  Before President Obama announced last night that he would work with Congress and the Pentagon to end the military's ban on service by gays and lesbians, the White House consulted Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen …

Sarah Palin: The Credibility Gap  —  The Credibility Gap  —  While I don't wish to speak too harshly about President Obama's state of the union address, we live in challenging times that call for candor.  I call them as I see them, and I hope my frank assessment will be taken as an honest effort to move this conversation forward.

Republicans Use Military as a Stage Prop (Yet Again)....and This Time Break the Law  —  You did not have to be paying much attention during last night's Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address to notice a young Army Staff Sergeant in full dress uniform seated …

Photo Of The Day -Joint Chiefs Of Staff React To Obama's DADT Message  —  UPDATE: For those of you saying that protocol demands that the Joint Chiefs remain passive and non-reactive during presidential speeches, here's how they lept to their feet to applaud the president's threat to stick it to Iran over their nuclear program.

Pelosi: Obama's Health Care Appeal “Very Powerful” And “Helpful To Us”  —  There've been some rumblings among House Dems that Obama's speech last night, despite its urgent appeal for passage of health reform, didn't chart out a specific enough road map for Congress to break its logjam on the issue.

Michael “Brownie” Brown on his new talk-radio gig: “You've got the choice of letting the bus run over you three times... or getting up and moving”  —  ​In the Biggest Pariah of the Past Decade contest, Michael Brown would be among the favorites.  —  The former FEMA director wound …

Why So Few Conservative And Libertarian Professors?  —  Two researchers offer a new twist on an old question—why do college professors overwhelmingly lean to the left?  Bias against conservatives is not the main reason, nor are the allegedly higher IQs of liberals, say Neil Gross …

Hackers Hit House Websites  —  Hackers struck at least 10 House websites overnight, substituting expletives aimed at Pres. Obama just hours after his State of the Union address.  —  The hackers targeted many House Dem freshmen, including Reps. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Harry Teague (D-NM) …

President Obama delivers on American High-Speed Rail  —  I have looked forward to this day for a long time.  —  It is a great honor—a great honor—to have President Obama and Vice President Biden in Tampa, Florida, to announce our American Recovery and Reinvestment Act High-Speed and Inter-city Passenger Rail grants.

SEC to require disclosure of climate change risks  —  A politically divided Securities and Exchange Commission voted on Wednesday to make clear when companies must provide information to investors about the business risks associated with climate change.  —  The commission, in a 3 to 2 vote …

Blackwater's Youngest Victim  —  Every detail of September 16, 2007, is burned in Mohammed Kinani's memory.  Shortly after 9 am he was preparing to leave his house for work at his family's auto parts business in Baghdad when he got a call from his sister, Jenan, who asked him to pick …

Exclusive: CBS Considering Airing Gay Dating Site Ad During Super Bowl  —  The network says it is reviewing an ad from ManCrunch.com, a dating site specifically for gay men

Tampering at Landrieu Office Called a ‘Stunt’  —  NEW ORLEANS — A lawyer for one for one of the four men arrested on Monday on charges of interfering with the phones in Senator Mary L. Landrieu's office in New Orleans said that the episode was a prank based on what conservative activists …

Nelson calls on GOP colleagues to help avoid reconciliation  —  Saying reconciliation was never his first choice, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson today urged his Republican colleagues to join him to help negotiate a bipartisan bill that can get 60 votes.  —  From his release: … Full release after the jump.

The Word Not Spoken: Foreclosure  —  I didn't watch the SOTU last night-though I did follow along on Twitter.  It seems like those actually watching came away with a renewed belief in American exceptionalism, which I suppose is one important-but not necessarily wise-point of the SOTU.  Huzzah!

Economic Letter—Insights from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas  —  Vol. 5, No. 1  —  Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas  —  A Historical Look at the Labor Market During Recessions  —  Turmoil in housing, credit and financial markets plunged the U.S. economy into a recession that has taken a heavy toll on the labor market.

Senate OKs debt ceiling hike to $14.3T  —  Senate Democrats passed a $1.9 trillion increase in the federal debt limit Thursday, seeking to push off another politically painful debt vote until after the midterm elections.  —  All 60 Democrats and no Republicans voted for the debt limit increase.

Tom Udall on Fixing the Senate: “We've Gotten Ourselves Into A Box”  —  While Barack Obama called for bipartisan solutions to the country's nagging problems, and discussed the growing lack of faith in public institutions, a simple read between the lines shows that he was really focusing …