Hoyer knew of Massa allegations  —  First-term Rep. Eric Massa announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection, saying his doctors have told him that he can't continue to “run at 100 miles an hour.”  —  But several House aides told POLITICO that the House ethics committee has been informed …

Harkin: Reconciliation is a go  —  Sen. Tom Harkin told POLITICO that Senate Democratic leaders have decided to go the reconciliation route.  The House, he said, will first pass the Senate bill after Senate leaders demonstrate to House leaders that they have the votes to pass reconciliation in the Senate.

Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on ‘fear’  —  The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”

Exclusive: Unknown DOJ Lawyers Identified  —  A day after a conservative group released a video condemning the Justice Department for refusing to identify seven lawyers who previously represented or advocated for terror suspects, Fox News has uncovered the identities of the seven lawyers.

Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?  —  Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court.  —  Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes.

A Death in the Blogging Family  —  The great Jon Swift has died.  That's the “blogging” angle to a personal tragedy.  In reality, the voice of Jon Swift - the hilarious faux conservative blogger whose talent and passion were evident in every post - belonged to Al Weisel …

GRAND JURY TO INDICT EDWARDS  —  The ultimate fall from grace, a Federal grand jury is about to indict John Edwards, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.  —  In another shocker, close sources say Edwards' estranged wife Elizabeth could help send the former presidential candidate to jail!

The fable of Emanuel the Great  —  In the space of 10 days, thanks in no small part to my own newspaper, the president of the United States has been portrayed as a weakling and a chronic screw-up who is wrecking his administration despite everything that his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, can do to make things right.

Crazytown Watch: Charles Johnson Conflates Some Fringe Group With Rick Perry  —  Now why would he do that?  A little preventative, cyber guerrilla warfare, I'd say.  —  Here's the things about moderates, independents, or leftists in moderate name only (LIMNO-hey, it's better than FCINO) …

Palin Does Stand-Up On Leno's “Tonight Show” (VIDEO)  —  AP / Huffington Post  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  BURBANK, Calif. — Sarah Palin says she's going to play Tina Fey in an upcoming Las Vegas show.  —  Just kidding.  —  The former Republican vice presidential nominee turned …

Pelosi picks fellow Californian to take gavel after Rangel bows out  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked liberal firebrand Rep. Pete Stark to replace ousted Chairman Charles Rangel on the tax-writing committee, according to a House leadership aide.  —  The decision was made during …

Palin working on book about virtues and strengths  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Palin is ready for the next chapter of her publishing career.  —  Publisher HarperCollins announced Wednesday that the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate is working on a “celebration of American virtues and strengths.”

Did Republicans use reconciliation for significantly bipartisan bills?  —  Among the odder arguments Republicans are making against the reconciliation process is that the process should only be used for bipartisan bills, and since they refuse to vote for health-care reform, Democrats can't give their package of fixes an up-or-down vote.

Rove blames himself for administration's response to lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq  —  Former president George W. Bush did not mislead the nation about weapons of mass destruction as a way to “lie us” into war, his former top political aide, Karl Rove, asserts in a new memoir, “Courage and Consequence.”

Fee to Overthrow the Government: Five Dollars  —  Posted by Brian Montopoli Leave Comment - Share - - - Share - E-mail - Print - Font Since 1951, South Carolina has had a law on its books requiring anyone looking to overthrow the government to, well, register with the government.

Fed's Fisher: Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Should Be Dismantled  —  NEW YORK (Dow Jones)—Large, systemically important “too-big-to-fail” banks should be dismantled and broken up before regulators have to deal with another crisis, Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said Wednesday.

Dobbs, Beck, Palin, Bachmann Share Blame For Rise in Right-Wing Extremism, Says Activist Group  —  Southern Poverty Law Center Cites Violent Incidents; Lou Dobbs Calls SPLC Director ‘Paranoid’  —  Anti-government sentiments in the U.S. have reached levels so high they could result …

Right Direction or Wrong Track  —  25% Say U.S. Heading In Right Direction, Lowest Since Obama Took Office  —  Just 25% of U.S. voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest level of voter confidence since early January 2009.  —  Correspondingly …

Paterson's Ethics Breach Is Turned Over to Prosecutors  —  Gov. David A. Paterson falsely testified under oath during an ethics investigation into his acceptance of free World Series tickets last fall, according to the State Commission on Public Integrity, which announced on Wednesday …

Toyota's fix is a bust, owners claim  —  New complaints allege sudden acceleration and other problems after recall work.  —  Erick Garcia inspects his work at Toyota of Hollywood while perfecting the fix for shortening the gas pedal of recalled Toyota vehicles.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times / February 3, 2010)

Fantasies of the Chicago Boys  —  Ah, Chile.  Remember how, during the Social Security debate, Chile's retirement system was held up as an ideal — except it turned out that it actually yielded very poor results for many people, and the Chileans themselves hated it?