Deficit to Hit All-Time High  —  Obama's $3.8 Trillion Budget Forecasts a $1.6 Trillion Shortfall for 2010 Before It Drops  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama will propose on Monday a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2011 that projects the deficit will shoot up to a record $1.6 trillion this year …

‘Iran will deliver telling blow to global powers on Feb. 11’  —  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the “global arrogance” on this year's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.  —  “The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race …

Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in ‘No Child’ Law  —  The Obama administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of President Bush's signature education law, No Child Left Behind, and will call for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as for the elimination …

The Obama Spell Is Broken  —  Unlike this president, John Kennedy was an ironist who never fell for his own mystique.  —  The curtain has come down on what can best be described as a brief un-American moment in our history.  That moment began in the fall of 2008, with the great financial panic …

Forces Pushing Obama on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama and top Pentagon officials met repeatedly over the past year about repealing “don't ask, don't tell,” the law that bans openly gay members of the military.  —  But it was in Oval Office strategy sessions …

Scalpels, Hatchets, and the Defense Budget  —  It's good to learn from Steve Benen that even House GOP leader John Boehner thinks there's room to identify waste in the Pentagon's enormous budget.  —  That said, I think it's worth emphasizing the fact that defense spending isn't primarily about waste.

Media Notes: Jon Stewart's Obama barbs on ‘The Daily Show’ are creating buzz  —  Days before the 2008 election, Jon Stewart jokingly asked Barack Obama whether his “white half” would have trouble making a decision in the voting booth.  —  “Yeah,” the candidate said, “I've been going through therapy to make sure that I vote properly.”

Pelosi's Children and Grandchildren Used Military Jets As Private Cross-Country Shuttle Service So They Could Avoid Dealing With the Rabble … Is it a legitimate use of military jets to transport the Speaker of the House and her favored Congressional coterie for routine travel?

Ponzi on the Potomac  —  The U.S. attorney general recently announced that the Justice Department is beefing up its efforts to fight financial fraud such as Ponzi schemes.  Good.  The agency should start by reviewing the spending habits of the federal government, which is running the largest Ponzi scheme our country has ever seen.

Democrats squabble over jobs bill  —  Democrats from the president on down say jobs are their No. 1 priority, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expects to announce details of a bill this week.  But a squabble among Senate Democrats is complicating early efforts to bring a bill to the floor.

New media help conservatives get their anti-Obama message out  —  In November, the morning after Election Day, a conservative blogger in Georgia blasted an e-mail to 65,000 people.  —  Erick Erickson's 5 a.m. “Morning Briefing” seemed counterintuitive — the election of a Democrat …

Editorial Shake-Up as Harper's Tries to Stabilize in a Downturn  —  Just before noon last Wednesday, John R. MacArthur, the president, publisher and chief benefactor of Harper's Magazine, joined his editorial staff after its monthly meeting.  —  “We are going through a crisis,” Mr. MacArthur …

Good and Boring  —  In times of crisis, good news is no news.  Iceland's meltdown made headlines; the remarkable stability of Canada's banks, not so much.  —  Yet as the world's attention shifts from financial rescue to financial reform, the quiet success stories deserve at least as much attention as the spectacular failures.

New Role Puts Anchor in Fox News Spotlight  —  First “America's Newsroom.”  Then “America's Election Headquarters.”  And on Monday, Megyn Kelly will begin anchoring a third all-about-America newscast, “America Live.”  —  “We're big on America here at Fox,” Ms. Kelly said in an interview last week.

Free James O'Keefe  —  In case you wonder what the future is for justice and law enforcement and media control in this country, take a look at two cases.  —  During the last Presidential election, a gang of men calling themselves Black Panthers showed up at a polling place in Michigan.

Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs ‘expecting $100 million bonus’  —  Goldman Sachs, the world's richest investment bank, could be about to pay its chief executive a bumper bonus of up to $100 million in defiance of moves by President Obama to take action against such payouts.

Financial executives spent big on Brown  —  May be precursor to midterm elections; Obama's proposed regulations key issue  —  In a six-day span just before the US Senate election, Republican Scott Brown collected nearly $450,000 from donors who work at financial companies …

Dem. senators spent weekend with bank, energy, tobacco lobbyists  —  Twelve Democratic Senators spent last weekend in Miami Beach raising money from top lobbyists for oil, drug, and other corporate interests that they often decry, according to a guest list for the event obtained by POLITICO.