Brown sworn in as new senator from Massachusetts  —  Washington (CNN) — Republican Scott Brown was sworn in Thursday as the new U.S. senator from Massachusetts to fill the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and immediately signaled opposition to President Obama's spending plans.

Obama's Engagement On Health Care Has ‘Dried Up’: Dem Senator  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Despite urging Democratic senators on Wednesday to forge ahead on health care reform, President Obama and his aides have been largely hands-off in guiding the legislative process, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.

Palin Camp Rips Limbaugh, Hits His “Retard” Comment As “Crude And Demeaning”  —  Sarah Palin versus Rush Limbaugh!  —  Palin believes Limbaugh's repeated use of the word “retard” yesterday was “crude and demeaning,” her spokesperson emails.  —  In the wake of Palin's demand that Rahm Emanuel …

Details surface of Scott Lee Cohen's 2005 domestric violence arrest  —  Scott Lee Cohen — a pawnbroker who shocked state Democratic leaders Tuesday night by winning the party's nomination for lieutenant governor — was arrested about four-and-a-half years ago and accused of holding a knife …

My John Edwards Failure  —  I've been thinking about what seems to me a double standard in my treatment of vice-presidential frauds, with respect to Sarah Palin and John Edwards, and trying to figure out where I went wrong.  No, I'm not backtracking on Palin: all I regret is not being able to expose her for real yet.

National Prayer Breakfast Draws Controversy  —  For more than 50 years, the National Prayer Breakfast has served as a prime networking event in Washington, bringing together the president, members of Congress, foreign diplomats and thousands of religious, business and military leaders for scrambled eggs and supplication.

Our Strange Constitution  —  I'm not even slightly surprised to find out that the Obama administration has some kind of process in place to assassinate American citizens who it's decided are in cahoots with terrorists.  I was always raised to appreciate the “out of control spies” …

NBC Cafeteria Celebrates Black History Month With Fried Chicken Special (Update)  —  So who at NBC thought it would be a good idea for the special today to be, among other things, fried chicken, “in honor of Black History Month”?  —  Because, spoiler alert - it wasn't a good idea at all.

Last night I got hit by a car and broke my knee  —  Sometime between 7 and 7:30, not long after I got home from work, I walked to the CVS on 22nd and M to get some bread, milk, and a SmartTrip card.  I was right across the street from the CVS, and I waited for the crosswalk light to tell me to go before I crossed.

Boehner Distances Republicans From Ryan Budget...But He Can't Name A Single Objection  —  House Republicans are at pains to point out that a far-reaching budget roadmap unveiled by their top budget guy, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), isn't their budget, but when asked today at a press conference …

Poll: Republicans Prefer Having A Deficit With Tax Cuts, Over A Balanced Budget And Higher Taxes  —  A new Rasmussen poll supplies a very interesting data point in the ongoing debate about the budget deficit: As it turns out, Republican voters would prefer having a deficit if it meant …

Club for Growth targets Gingrich  —  Newt Gingrich is being attacked by the conservative Club for Growth.  —  Washington (CNN) - The conservative Club for Growth is hitting back at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for criticizing the small government group during an appearance in Utah for Republican Sen. Bob Bennett.

Clarence Thomas on Why He Skips the State of the Union  —  I don't go because it has become so partisan.  —  One final contribution to the post-mortem on the State of the Union address.  —  In a question-and-answer session at Stetson University College of Law in Florida this week …

Gibbs to Sen. Bond: Apologize to law enforcement, White House for leak claim  —  Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is calling on Republican Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) to apologize “to the law enforcement community and those that work in this building” for alleging the White House had leaked classified information …

Chris Wallace on whether Palin will sit on his lap during their interview: ‘One can only hope.’  —  This week, former Alaska governor and Fox News contributor Sarah Palin will be on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, in his first Sunday show appearance ever.

Microsoft's Creative Destruction  —  AS they marvel at Apple's new iPad tablet computer, the technorati seem to be focusing on where this leaves Amazon's popular e-book business.  But the much more important question is why Microsoft, America's most famous and prosperous technology company …

Landrieu says Republicans should ‘shut their mouth’  —  ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports: Don't mess with Mary Landrieu.  —  The Democratic Senator from Louisiana has had about enough of people criticizing the clause she helped put into the Senate version of health care reform and she took …

U.S. General Offers Upbeat Views on Afghan War  —  ISTANBUL — The senior commander of American and allied forces in Afghanistan offered a guarded but unexpectedly upbeat assessment of the war effort on Thursday, saying that while the situation remained dangerous it was no longer deteriorating …

How Unions Work  —  In a valiant attempt to defuse the ideological conflicts between the reformist and traditionalist wings of the liberal education wonketariat, Matthew Yglesias argues that this disagreement is not not ideological at all.  Rather, it is an artifact of past decisions about educational structure:

My secret life under 'don't ask, don't tell'  —  Editor's note: Retired Navy Capt. Joan E. Darrah served 29½ years as a naval intelligence officer and was chief of staff and deputy commander at the Office of Naval Intelligence.  She has received several awards: three Legion of Merits …

Ken Lewis, Bank of America Sued by Cuomo for Fraud  —  Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) — Former Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis was sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for defrauding investors and the government when buying Merrill Lynch & Co. The bank agreed …

Pelosi may wait on 'Don't Ask' vote  —  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested Thursday that Democrats may wait on voting to repeal the ban on gays in the military until after the midterm elections and after the Pentagon has completed a full review of its “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy.

Conyers wants Haiti relief official demoted over diversity deficit  —  Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to demote the official coordinating Haiti relief efforts for not having enough minority staffers.  —  The House Judiciary Committee …

Asian-Americans Lean Left Politically  —  Asian-Americans more liberal than other racial/ethnic groups  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Daily tracking data reveal that Asian-Americans tend to be more Democratic and much less conservative than the general population in their political views.

Obama Prepares for 2 Supreme Vacancies  —  SCOTUS Watchers Believe Justices Stevens and Ginsburg Could Decide to Step Aside  —  Lawyers for President Obama have been working behind the scenes to prepare for the possibility of one, and maybe two Supreme Court vacancies this spring.