Obama: 'I Don't Think About Sarah Palin'  —  “Obviously Sarah Palin has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and I respect those skills,” Obama said.  “But I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president.  And my attitude has always been …

Next step for body scanners could be trains, boats, metro  —  The next step in tightened security could be on U.S. public transportation, trains and boats.  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says terrorists will continue to look for U.S. vulnerabilities, making tighter security standards necessary.

NATIONAL OPT-OUT DAY!  —  It's the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an “enhanced pat down” that touches people's breasts and genitals in an aggressive manner.

GOP lawmakers under pressure to decline government health plan  —  Congressional Republicans who assailed the Democrats' healthcare law in the run-up to the midterm elections are facing pressure to decline government-provided coverage when they take office.  —  GOP Reps.-elect Bobby Schilling …

Fed lowers economic expectations for 2011  —  Unemployment is set to remain higher for longer than previously thought, according to new projections from the Federal Reserve that would mean more than 10 million Americans remain jobless through the 2012 elections - even as a separate report …

South Koreans and U.S. to Stage a Joint Exercise  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama and South Korea's president agreed Tuesday night to hold joint military exercises as a first response to North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean military installation, as both countries struggled …

Bobby Jindal: Make Congress part-time  —  Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal wants members of Congress to stay home more often.  —  “We used to pay farmers not to grow crops, let's pay congressmen to stay out of Washington, D.C.,” Jindal said in an interview with Human Events.

On ‘Late Night,’ Christie Rolls Eyes at Prospect of Palin Presidency … Faced with the prospect of a President Sarah Palin, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the Republican party's darling from another coast, shook his head and rolled his eyes.  —  “I don't know, but it's an amazing world …

Passage of earmark ban in doubt  —  Senate proponents of a three-year moratorium on earmarks say they will not have enough votes to implement the reform measure when lawmakers consider the issue next week.  —  “We got a long road here,” said a Senate GOP aide who supports the measure.

How Germany got it right on the economy  —  It may be turkey week in America, but it's goose month in Germany.  In many restaurants, you can get goose in your salad and goose in your soup to go with your goose entrée.  Diners fairly honk their way through November.

Joe Lieberman left with limited 2012 options  —  Joe Lieberman essentially has two options for 2012: Retire or become a Republican.  —  The Connecticut senator and Democratic exile hasn't made up his mind whether to seek a fifth term, Lieberman and those close to him say.

Nuts... Whoopi Goldberg Lectures O'Reilly: “Two Years Ago it Was the White People Who Were the Terrorists” (Video)  —  What's really sad about this discussion was that Whoopi was serious.  —  The left wing entertainer told Bill O'Reilly that “white people” are just as likely to be terrorists as anyone on the planet.

PROMISES, PROMISES: GOP leader reaps $200 million  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans' ban on earmarks - money included in a bill by a lawmaker to benefit a home-state project or interest - was short-lived.  —  Only three days after GOP senators and senators-elect renounced earmarks …

All That Time Serving the Public?  Very Sexy  —  He is hailed as a paragon of timeless male beauty.  His face is likened to the chiseled visages of Antonio Banderas, David Beckham and Ricky Martin.  He is called, without irony, “a sizzling stalwart.”  —  One of the sexiest men alive?

Next Tea Party Target: Corporate America  —  Jesse Jackson isn't the only activist that can use corporate boycotts for political purposes.  Starting next year, the huge Tea Party organizer FreedomWorks will urge supporters to punish huge corporations like General Electric and Johnson and Johnson …

Ron Paul: Crotch Groped by TSA, Calls for Boycott of Airlines  —  Appearing on the Alex Jones Show today, Texas Congressman Ron Paul expressed his outrage and disgust with the TSA and its unconstitutional naked body scanners and genital groping under the transparent pretense of protecting …

TSAstroturf: The Washington Lobbyists and Koch-Funded Libertarians Behind the TSA Scandal  —  Does anyone else sense something strange is going on with the apparently spontaneous revolt against the TSA?  This past week, the media turned an “ordinary guy,” 31-year-old Californian John Tyner …

Former Obama Advisor, Aide To NJ Dem, Arrested On Child Sex Charges  —  Robert Decheine, chief of staff to Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ), was arrested in Gaithersburg, Md. last Friday on charges of soliciting sex from a minor.  Decheine, who had been with the Democrat's office since 2003 …

U.S.G. and P.T.A.  —  For me, the most frightening news in The Times on Sunday was not about North Korea's stepping up its nuclear program, but an article about how American kids are stepping up their use of digital devices: “Allison Miller, 14, sends and receives 27,000 texts in a month …

China, Russia quit dollar  —  Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on a visit to St. Petersburg on Tuesday.ALEXEY DRUZHININ / AFP  —  St. Petersburg, Russia - China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies …