Are We In Bill Clinton's Third Term?  —  Jacob Lew was tapped by Barack Obama last July to lead the Office of Management & Budget.  Most recently, William Daley accepted a request to serve as BHO's chief of staff.  —  Both Lew and Daley also had prominent positions within the Clinton administration …

House Conservatives Introduce Spending Cuts: $2.5 Trillion Over Ten Years  —  You can stop needling Republicans about what programs they want to cut now.  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)'s Republican Study Committee is introducing the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, to cut back …

No, Charles Johnson, Glenn Beck Did Not Tell His Viewers to Shoot Anyone in the Head  —  On Twitter, Charles Johnson excitedly says:  —  He links to a post, evidently written by an LGF user, which provides no context for the clip, but simply embeds it.  Here is a screenshot of the entire post:

Path Is Sought for States to Escape 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.

Obama Taps GE's Immelt to Head Economic Advisor Panel  —  President Barack Obama will name Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric Co.'s chief executive officer, to head his outside panel of economic advisers, replacing former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Woman who fell into fountain faces theft charges, has criminal record  —  The Reading woman who became an Internet sensation by falling into a fountain while sending a text on her cell phone was in Berks County Court on Thursday for a status hearing on theft-by-deception and related charges.

Eight Somali pirates killed as South Korea rescues freighter crew  —  Navy commandos storm ship hijacked in Arabian Sea, and officials say all 21 crewmembers safe after operation  —  South Korean navy commandos today rescued the crew of a freighter hijacked in the Arabian Sea last week …

The Most Emailed ‘New York Times’ Article Ever  —  It's a week before the biggest day of her life, and Anna Williams is multitasking.  While waiting to hear back from the Ivy League colleges she's hoping to attend, the seventeen-year-old senior at one of Manhattan's most exclusive private schools …

Greg Mankiw's thinking cap  —  There's an interesting mixture of callousness and accidental truth lurking within Greg Mankiw's satirical proposal to reduce the budget deficit: … Like health-care reform, Greg Mankiw's plan really would reduce the budget deficit.  That's been contested, so I'm glad to see Mankiw admit it.

The 20 Best Nicknames in the Big Mafia Bust  —  ​News came down this morning about the FBI's largest organized crime bust in New York history, in which raids resulted in the arrest of over 100 alleged mobsters from all five crime families including the Gambinos, Genoveses, Luccheses, Bonannos and Colombos.

Everything starts with repeal  —  Suppose someone - say, the president of United States - proposed the following: We are drowning in debt.  More than $14 trillion right now.  I've got a great idea for deficit reduction.  It will yield a savings of $230 billion over the next 10 years …

Dems Growing Convinced That GOP Will Try To Force Shutdown Over Health Care Funds … WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats expressed a rare touch of nonchalance Wednesday as House Republicans voted to repeal last year's health care overhaul, since the repeal has little chance of passing the Senate.

Breaking: FBI Interrogating Gulet Mohamed Without Counsel at DC Airport  —  FBI agents have detained and are interrogating Gulet Mohamed, an American teen who was detained in Kuwait for a month, without counsel at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, Mohamed's lawyer said Friday morning.

Poll Finds Wariness About Cutting Entitlements  —  As President Obama and Congress brace to battle over how to reduce chronic annual budget deficits, Americans overwhelmingly say that in general they prefer cutting government spending to paying higher taxes, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Ted K's son may be eyeing Lieberman's seat in Conn.  —  The late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's son, Ted Jr., is among the names being floated as potential candidates for Connecticut U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's seat in 2012.  —  Kennedy, the middle child of the late senator and his former wife …

‘Mr. President, Say This on Tuesday Night’  —  President Obama delivers the State of the Union Speech in Jauary of 2010.  —  With four days until President Obama gives his State of the Union address, interest groups have buried the White House with a barrage of unsolicited advice about what they want him to say.

Republican Presidential Contenders for 2012  —  ABC News' Early Look at Top GOP Presidential Hopefuls and Their Chances of Winning Nomination  —  Roughly one year before the Iowa caucuses, a diverse and ambitious group of Republicans has begun jockeying for the party's presidential nomination …

Christie Attacked By Right-Wing Bloggers For Appointing Muslim Judge: 'He's In Bed With The Enemy'  —  Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) announced seven judgeship appointments to the New Jersey Superior Court, including the appointment of Sohail Mohammed to serve on the court in Passaic County.

It Sounds So Much Better Read Out Loud  —  A reading of We Just Witnessed The Media's Test Run To Re-Elect Barack Obama, by Rush Limbaugh today.  —  It sounds so much better when read out loud (video via The Right Scoop):  —  And thanks also to Mark Levin for the kind words about the post:

Banks Want Pieces of Fannie-Freddie Pie  —  As the Obama administration prepares a report on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, some of the nation's largest banks are offering a few suggestions.  —  Wells Fargo and some other large banks would like private companies, perhaps even themselves …

FOX Poll: Only 42% Would Reelect Obama... 51% Would Vote For Someone Else  —  The 111th Congress Added More Debt Than First 100 Congresses Combined: $10,429 Per Person in U.S.  —  It was historic.  —  Barack Obama tripled the national deficit in one year.

None of the above  —  The WSJ pollsters asked Republicans and “strict” independents the following question: … The top 5 answers were:  — Mitt Romney  — Mike Huckabee  — Sarah Palin  — Newt Gingrich  — Ron Paul  —  I wouldn't vote for any of them.