President Obama to Propose Partial Budget Freeze and Earmark Ban Tonight*  —  Pursuing a path of deficit reduction and government reform, President Obama will tonight in his State of the Union address call for a ban on earmarks and he will propose a five year budget freeze …

EXCLUSIVE: Obama to Declare ‘The Rules Have Changed’  —  Full text of speech draft obtained by National Journal  —  President Obama speaks to both houses of Congress during his first State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on January 27, 2010.  —  Insisting bipartisanship …

Supreme Court: Emanuel stays on ballot while his case is considered  —  The Illinois Supreme Court has ordered the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners to put Rahm Emanuel's name back on the mayoral ballot.  —  The court has not decided whether to hear Emanuel's appeal …

CNN justifies airing Bachmann speech: “Tea Party has become major force in American politics”  —  CNN, which is taking some criticism from both sides for agreeing to air Michele Bachmann's response to Obama's speech tonight, sends over a statement justifying the move:

Preview of Obama's Speech  —  The White House sends over excerpts of President Obama's State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery.  —  Excerpts from President Obama's State of the Union Address  —  With their votes, the American people determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties.

Sexy News Anchors Distract Male Viewers  —  New research finds when a female news anchor's sexual attractiveness is played up, male viewers retain less information.  —  SHARE AND ENJOY:  —  Scholars, critics and viewers have noted that some TV newscasts can be momentarily mistaken for Victoria's Secret specials.

Excerpts from Chairman Paul Ryan's Republican Address to the Nation  —  WASHINGTON - Tonight, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) will deliver the Republican Address following the President's State of the Union message.  Chairman Ryan will address the nation …

Oops!  Republican Asks Scalia About Constitutionality Of Earmarks  —  The latest in a recent string Constitution gaffes might make Republicans think twice about their earmark moratorium.  —  On Monday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) hosted a seminar for (mostly Republican) House members on the Constitution.

“History tells us” something that history doesn't tell us, say sociologists stumbling to protect Frances Fox Piven.  —  Here's the expression of “outrage” by the officers of the American Sociological Association: … So vigorous debate about Piven's ideas is really important …

3 Reported Dead as Egyptians Protest to End Mubarak's Rule  —  CAIRO — Thousands of people calling for the end of the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak clashed with riot police officers here in the capital and in other Egyptian cities on Tuesday, on a day of some of the most serious civil unrest in recent memory.

Gingrich attacks “big city” critics of ethanol (Audio)  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich today dismissed the “big city” critics of corn-based ethanol and suggested the biofuels industry will be able to “stand on its own” without federal subsidies once all autos are “flexible-fuel” vehicles.

Pelosi spurns Cantor on seating  —  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) invited Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to sit next to him at the State of the Union address — but the former House Speaker says she's already committed.  —  “I thank @GOPLeader for his #SOTU offer …

Not The U.N.'s Most Helpful Employee  —  It turns out that “Palestine expert” on the UN Human Rights Council, the law professor Richard Falk, is something of a 9/11 Truther (sorry, Troofer).  Here is what Falk had to say about 9/11 on his blog: … This has brought forth a strong condemnation …

The State of the Union Drinking Game, 2011 Edition  —  If you're anything like us, you spent Sunday only half-watching the NFL conference championship games, attending to them out of some shapeless feeling of duty and the ever-present impulse to call Jay Cutler a pansy.

'98 Bomber Gets Life Without Parole  —  Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first former detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to be tried in the civilian court system, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for his role in the 1998 bombings of two United States Embassies in East Africa.

Dem, GOP leaders reach tentative deal to drop “Constitutional option”  —  Filibuster reform update.  —  Multiple Senate aides on both sides say that Senators Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer and Lamar Alexander have reached a tentative deal to push forward with a less ambitious …

Rep. Loretta Sanchez sparks outrage from fellow Democrats with proposal to boot Giffords from Armed Services Committee  —  Behind closed doors, California Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez has proposed removing Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) …

Talent won't run for Senate in Missouri  —  Former Sen. Jim Talent is expected to announce in the coming days that he won't mount a comeback bid for Senate in Missouri, multiple Republicans tell POLITICO.  —  Talent's decision against a 2012 campaign was telegraphed in recent weeks with his lack …