Giuliani vs. Palin in 2012?  —  (CNN) - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he's more likely to run for president if former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin runs.  —  In an interview on CNN's “Piers Morgan Tonight,” Giuliani, who dropped out of the 2008 Republican presidential primary …

A rival SOTU response  —  The Tea Party Express emails supporters that Rep. Michelle Bachmann — passed over for a leadership spot, much less the response to the State of the Union — will deliver her own response:  —  Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has confirmed with us that she will broadcast …

I'm declaring February a Palin-free month.  Join me!  —  Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth.  I have a Sarah Palin problem.  —  I have written about her in 42 columns since Sen. John McCain picked her as his presidential running mate in 2008.

Oakland 2nd Graders Reportedly Engage In Sex Acts, Teacher Suspended  —  OAKLAND (CBS 5) — A teacher at Oakland's Markham Elementary School has been suspended indefinitely after school officials said a pair of second-graders performed sex acts on each other in class - with the teacher present.

Volcker Out, Immelt In  —  Gotta admit I'm not too pleased by the departure of Paul Volcker from Barack Obama's circle of adviser.  He was one of the few, along with Elizabeth Warren, in the current administration who had a proper perspective on the outrageous behavior that the financial community considers business as usual.

DeMint joins CPAC boycott  —  South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint will skip this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, making him the most prominent conservative figure yet to express objections to what critics see as a pro-gay, libertarian tilt to the 38-year old event.

Rep. Broun: Mixed Seating At SOTU Is “A Trap” To “Silence Republicans” When “Barack Obama Spews Out All His Venom”  —  1 hour and 16 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein  —  The tragic shootings in Tucson prompted calls for civility from politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Mark Udall's …

Free Market Health Care  —  Rep Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) sings the praises of the healthcare status quo and explains the problems with a government takeover of the health care system: … Hensarling is 53 years old, so his mother is, of course, eligible for Medicare.

Column: The Republican war on the CBO  —  It's the age of civility in American politics, but there's one institution that's been civil all along: the Congressional Budget Office (sorry, but sometimes civility is boring).  The nonpartisan agency, which calculates the official cost of legislation for Congress …

Sen. Murkowski questions approach to health repeal  —  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Thursday cast doubt on the manner in which Republicans have attempted to repeal the healthcare law.  —  Murkowski (Alaska) said that she would vote to repeal the law if a vote was held in the Senate …

McChrystal denies claims of secret military crusade against Islam  —  WASHINGTON — Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he is not part of a religious order waging war on Islam despite recent assertions by acclaimed journalist Seymour Hersh.  —  Speaking in Qatar earlier this week …

165 House Republicans endorse defunding USAID  —  As the budget battle inside the Republican Party heats up, a large group of conservative House Republicans called Thursday for a drastic defunding of the U.S. Agency for International Development and a host of other programs.

Newt Gingrich tells Georgia Republicans he'll be a candidate in '12  —  In the last 24 hours, former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich has touched base with several prominent Republicans in his former home state, telling them that he intends to make a run for president in 2012 using Georgia as his base …

The Phantom 15 Million  —  Taming unemployment starts with solving the mystery of the jobs that were supposed to have been created in the past 10 years but weren't.  —  Anxious: Job seekers in Denver.  —  America's jobs crisis began a decade ago.  Long before the housing bubble burst …

Roberts, Alito face tough choice on whether to attend State of the Union  —  Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito face a difficult choice on whether to attend President Obama's State of the Union address next week.  —  Alito and Roberts, who were both nominated …

‘Steampunk Palin’ Comic More Insane Than You Imagined  —  Picture in your mind the most insane possible story that could be contained in a book named Steampunk Palin.  Go ahead, take ten seconds or so to imagine it perfectly in your mind's eye.  Use this cover image for help.  —  Got it?  Good.

You Think Houses Are a Slow Sell?  Try a Yacht  —  What is tougher than having one sleek mega-yacht for sale in a glutted market?  The answer, for the moment at least, is having two mega-yachts on the market.  —  In boom times, yacht enthusiasts would order a new dream boat and keep …

A Path Is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens  —  Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.

Brad Friedman, Partner of Convicted Bomber, Is Very Concerned About Glenn Beck's Rhetoric  —  As I explained last night, Glenn Beck never told his supporters to shoot anyone in the head: … Now comes Brad Friedman doing his typical “am I lying or am I stupid?” game:

Brother of Harry Potter star jailed for attacking her  —  The brother of a Harry Potter star has been jailed for six months for a “prolonged and nasty” attack in which she was beaten and branded a “slag” for dating a non-Muslim.  —  Afshan Azad, 21, who played Padma Patil …

The Giffords seat  —  Gabrielle Giffords' 2010 challenger finds himself in an extremely delicate position, as a forwarded report from Arizona Capitol Reports indicates.  —  He just canceled his expected announcement of another campaign:  —  “Everything's been cancelled.  Everything's on hold.