Justice Alito mouths ‘not true’  —  POLITICO's Kasie Hunt, who's in the House chamber, reports that Justice Samuel Alito mouthed the words “not true” when President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court's campaign finance decision.  —  “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century …

Where Clinton Turned Right, Obama Plowed Ahead  —  WASHINGTON — When President Bill Clinton faced a Republican uprising and a nation that turned deeply skeptical about his agenda, he used the 1996 State of the Union address to declare that “the era of big government is over.”

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.

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.

Blackburn Will Not Attend Opryland Tea Party Convention  —  From Blackburn spokesman Claude Chafin: … From Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn herself: … The Tea Party Convention and its sponsor organization, Tea Party Nation, have been under fire as of late by former members of the group.

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 …

Election 2010: Wisconsin Senate  —  Wisconsin Senate: Thompson 47%, Feingold 43%  —  One more Democratic senator who has long been regarded as a safe prospect for reelection may be facing a challenging year in 2010.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters …

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.

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) …

Populism: Just Like Racism! … Normally one would have to be in the grip of a narcissistic psychosis to think that a columnist for the New York Times has written an article for your personal benefit.  But after his latest article in the Times, in which he compares the “populism” of people who …

Cornyn: ‘Was I wrong?’  —  Sen. John Cornyn today took exception to my posting, last night, his office's press release in which he commented on the content and delivery of a speech that hadn't begun.  —  “I'm a little offended by the lack of journalistic ethics.

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.

Howard Zinn, historian who challenged status quo, dies at 87  —  Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist who was an early opponent of US involvement in Vietnam and a leading faculty critic of BU president John Silber, died of a heart attack today in Santa Monica …

Backlash on W.H.'s backroom deals  —  A top House committee responded to the mounting voter backlash against backroom deals on health reform by seeking more information Wednesday about White House negotiations with industry groups.  —  Hours before President Barack Obama delivered his State …

The Internationalization of US Policy Paralysis and the Collapse of American Diplomacy  —  Davos, Switzerland (cc photo by World Economic Forum )  —  Global finance will never be fully regulated at an international level as long as sovereign states exist.  At the same time …

Obama's Dull, Cheap, Successful Speech  —  President Obama's speeches have always been notable for both their exquisite prose and their unusually high intellectual level.  Tonight's speech, while probably as effective as such speeches can be, was neither.  —  The dropoff between rhetoric penned …

The Lesson of an Affirmative Action President  —  You don't pick brain surgeons by the color of their skin.  You pick them by competence only.  Same thing with airplane pilots.  But we have allowed the profoundly irrational liberal media to persuade the American public that we are supposed …

United We Rant  —  My fellow Americans, the state of the union is angry.  Also strong.  Presidents usually say the state of the union is strong.  But this year you would have to go with strongly angry.  —  In his speech on Wednesday night, President Obama actually dropped that traditional state …