Why I'm speaking at Tea Party convention  —  Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement.  I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility.

Backdoor taxes to hit middle class  —  NEW YORK (Reuters.com) —The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

Giannoulias, Kirk declare victory in U.S. Senate primaries  —  Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias declared victory tonight in the Democratic primary for President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.  —  The victory for the first-term son of a banking family sets up a nationally-watched November contest …

Reid: Senate can't pass reconciliation first, decision hopefully by next week  —  Emerging from a meeting Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes Democrats can decide by next week on a way to move the health care bill forward.

Top Defense Officials Seek to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  WASHINGTON — The nation's top two Defense officials called for an end on Tuesday to the 16-year-old “don't ask, don't tell” law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.

The 2010 Comprehensive Daily Kos/Research 2000 Poll of Self-Identified Republicans  —  As I've mentioned before, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic world.

Official Says Terrorism Suspect Is Cooperating  —  WASHINGTON — Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit on Dec. 25, started talking to investigators after two of his family members arrived in the United States and helped earn his cooperation …

Intelligence officials warn new attacks are ‘certain’  —  The nation's top intelligence officials warned Congress on Tuesday that terrorists are “certain” to attempt another attack on the U.S. within the coming months.  —  CIA Director Leon Panetta said the foremost risk …

Exclusive: The Jenny Sanford Interview  —  S.C. First Lady Tells Barbara Walters: ‘I Thought He Loved Me in His Own Way, Which Is Not a Warm, Bubbly Way’  —  South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford recalls how she made the “leap of faith” to marry husband Gov. Mark Sanford even though …

Conservative Blogger Faces Criticism Over Protege … text sizeAAA  —  The conservative online news entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart is, for the moment, doing little to dispel stereotypes about bloggers.  During a recent visit to his home on the west side of Los Angeles, Breitbart, 41, is working from his own basement.

Rahm Apologizes for Privately Calling Liberal Activists “Retarded”  — Paulson: I Was Afraid McCain Would Change Mind and Go Against TARP  — Brennan: All Transferred Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism Were Released by Bush, No Recidivism for Those Released by Obama

Former Sen. Coats to Challenge Sen. Bayh  —  INDIANAPOLIS - Informed and reliable sources are telling Howey Politics Indiana that former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats will announce Wednesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.  —  The source, former aide Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute …

The Futile Struggle Against Free Content  —  David Goldman writes about falling music sales: … Music industry executives can tell themselves that as long as they want.  But under conditions of perfect competition, the price of a song ought to be equal to the marginal cost of distributing a new copy of a song.

No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away  —  In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach.  By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid.  Or maybe 2040.  —  “People like me are beginning to feel like suckers,” Mr. Koellmann said.

Dodd Calls Obama Plan Too Grand  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee warned on Tuesday that the Obama administration's new proposals to rein in Wall Street firms ran the risk of derailing months of delicate negotiations over overhauling financial regulations.

Limbaugh ‘thanks God every day’ for Obama's political problems  —  Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said that he “thank[s] God every day” for the political difficulties facing President Barack Obama.  —  Limbaugh told Fox News in an interview to air on “Fox and Friends” …

What's a Degree Really Worth?  —  A college education may not be worth as much as you think.  —  For years, higher education was touted as a safe path to professional and financial success.  Easy money, in the form of student loans, flowed to help parents and students finance degrees …

Blanche Lincoln Poll  —  John Boozman will enter the Arkansas Senate race this weekend as the frontrunner.  He leads incumbent Blanche Lincoln by an amazing 56-33 margin in our first poll of the race.  —  Lincoln's approval rating has sunk to just 27%, with 62% of voters in the state disapproving of her.

Obama takes another dig at Las Vegas  —  President Barack Obama on Tuesday took another dig at Las Vegas at his New Hampshire town hall Tuesday after similar remarks got him into hot water last year.  —  Obama said that people should now “blow a bunch of cash in Vegas” during a tough recession.

Shoe bomber was read Miranda rights  —  Republicans may have a hard time keeping up their talking point about how reading Miranda rights to the Christmas Day bomber represented a dangerous new direction under President Barack Obama.  —  It turns out that that back in December 2001 …

Obama rips GOP as ‘opportunists,’ touts loan plan  —  Buzz up!  —  NASHUA, N.H. - President Barack Obama branded Republicans on Tuesday as electoral opportunists more concerned about their own interests than the people's, taking a political risk by escalating criticism of the very lawmakers he's urging to work with him.

Kim Jong-il's regime is even weirder and more despicable than you thought.  —  Visiting North Korea some years ago, I was lucky to have a fairly genial “minder” whom I'll call Mr. Chae.  He guided me patiently around the ruined and starving country, explaining things away by means of a sort …