GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS ON REPEAL.... At least we know what one of the first bills to receive a vote will be in the new House. … Maybe so.  But there's almost certainly a realization on everyone's part that House Republicans are doing this for show.  If passed, their repeal measure …

Public Workers Facing Outrage as Budget Crises Grow  —  FLEMINGTON, N.J. — Ever since Marie Corfield's confrontation with Gov. Chris Christie this fall over the state's education cuts became a YouTube classic, she has received a stream of vituperative e-mails and Facebook postings.

Tea Party Activists Angry at G.O.P. Leaders  —  As Tea Party politicians prepare to take their seats when the 112th Congress convenes this week, they are already taking issue with Republicans for failing to hold the line against the flurry of legislation enacted in the waning weeks …

Equality, a True Soul Food  —  John Steinbeck observed that “a sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.”  —  That insight, now confirmed by epidemiological studies, is worth bearing in mind at a time of such polarizing inequality that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans possess …

A rising GOP star in Santa Fe  —  New Mexico's first Latina governor, Susana Martinez, faces an array of stiff budget challenges when she takes office.  —  New Mexico Gov.-elect Susana Martinez, right, with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, is a rising star in national Republican circles …

Several Warnings, Then a Soldier's Lonely Death  —  WASHINGTON — A gentle snow fell on the funeral of Staff Sgt. David Senft at Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 16, when his bitterly divided California family came together to say goodbye.  His 5-year-old son received a flag from a grateful nation.

Graham: 2012 hopefuls all have their problems, but Romney probably best  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was clear Sunday on what he wants in a 2012 GOP presidential nominee: “the most electable conservative.”  —  But the senator was pressed on NBC's “Meet the Press” on specifically …

Video: Kirsten Powers says Bush 2008 veto of bill with end-of-life provision “not true”  —  Good stuff.  When you tell a liberal the truth they recoil in disbelief.  Seriously.  —  Just watch Kirsten Powers and her disbelief in this interview when the bomb is dropped about 6:00 in.

Chavez, Clinton chat at Brazil inauguration  —  Despite a simmering diplomatic row, President Hugo Chavez and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were seen having a brief, friendly chat Saturday at the inauguration of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.  —  “They talked and smiled, at least for five minutes.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds' Sunday Reflection: Modest proposals to help the new Congress survive and America to thrive  —  With the new Congress being sworn in this week, everyone is full of advice.  Well, I'm no exception.  The first advice comes from Han Solo in the debut “Star Wars” film: “Don't get cocky.”

Woman, 41, drowns trying to drive across flooded road as natural disaster in Australia reaches ‘biblical proportions’  —  A woman drowned after trying to cross a flooded causeway in Australia, becoming the first victim of relentless flooding that one official has described as reaching ‘biblical proportions,’ police said today.

Ex-Senator Is Now the Only Major Black Hopeful in a Chicago Race  —  CHICAGO — Danny K. Davis, a longtime United States representative, has dropped out of the race to become Chicago's mayor, creating the situation that black leaders here had for months been clamoring for …