How David Shuster Lied to Get Me to Appear on MSNBC  —  Today is the day that I have been invited to go on MSNBC for the very first time.  At no point during the ACORN story was I put on the hot seat to defend the work of James O'Keefe.  My thesis from day one has been that the mainstream media …

White House orders Justice Department to look for other places to hold 9/11 terror trial  —  White House officials have told the Justice Department to consider other venues for the 9/11 terror trial that was to be held in lower Manhattan, the Daily News has learned.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

48 Million Watch President Obama's First State of the Union Address  —  On Wednesday, January 27, 2010 President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address was carried live from 9:00PM to approximately 10:20PM on 11 networks.  The sum of average audience for those networks was 48,009,595 viewers.

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 …

Sally Quinn's Washington  —  You cannot caricature Sally Quinn.  Don't even try.  It simply can't be done.  No matter how hard you try to exaggerate her preening self-regard and utter frivolity, she comes right along and shows herself to be worse than you could possibly imagine.

One Hell of a Speech  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Obama didn't deliver a speech so much as a symphony, calling for nukes and zapping the Supremes; thanks for the performance, Mr. President.  —  It is hard, indeed almost impossible, not to like Mr. Obama.  In recent weeks, I've tried—tried my best.

America the Awful—Howard Zinn's History  —  Howard Zinn's death yesterday affords us the opportunity to evaluate the remarkable influence he has had on the American public's understanding of our nation's past.  His book A People's History of the United States, published in 1980 …

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.

Dems reach out to Lou Dobbs to build backing for immigration reform  —  Winning the support of Dobbs, who became a prominent critic of illegal immigration, could provide a significant boost to reform efforts.  —  Senate Democrats have reached out to former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs in an effort …

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.

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 …

For eighth day, climate activists block bulldozers at WV's Coal River Mountain.  —  Yesterday in Washington, DC, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) exhorted citizens to “get angry about the fact that they're being killed and our planet is being injured by what's happening on a daily basis by the way we provide our power and our fuel.”

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.

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 …

Banking Haunts Obama Friend Seeking His Senate Seat  —  Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama invoked the latest political insult to the financial industry when he appeared with Democrat Martha Coakley in Massachusetts two days before her U.S. Senate loss.