Obama's State of the Union Was Tantamount to Plagiarism  —  If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what can be said of plagiarism?  President Obama's second State of the Union address contained enough recycled ideas and lines lifted from speeches of others to make historians wince.

Medicare official doubts health care law savings  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of the central promises of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare's independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday.  —  The landmark legislation probably …

Americans Oppose Cuts in Education, Social Security, Defense  —  Large plurality call for Congress to agree on deficit reduction before raising debt limit  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Prior to the State of the Union address, a majority of Americans said they favor cutting U.S. foreign aid …

Dennis Kucinich Sues Congressional Cafeteria Over Olive Pit  —  Congressman Dennis Kucinich bought a sandwich from the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria in April 2008, and bit into it only to find an unpitted olive that cracked a tooth.  This month, he sued the cafeteria for selling “dangerous” sandwiches.

BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: FISCAL YEARS 2011 THROUGH 2021  —  Text-only.  —  The United States faces daunting economic and budgetary challenges.  The economy has struggled to recover from the recent recession, which was triggered by a large decline in house prices and a financial crisis …

Sen. Harry Reid Says Earmarks Will Return, Despite Obama's State of the Union Vow  —  Senate Democratic Leader Concedes GOP Can Force Health Care Repeal Vote  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told ABC News that earmarks will return to Capitol Hill despite President Obama's vow …

Celebrity Journalist: I Never Spoke to Hawaii Gov About Obama Birth Certificate  —  A celebrity journalist now claims he misspoke when he said last week that Hawaii's governor told him he was unable to find President Barack Obama's original birth certificate after a search of state and hospital archives.

Loughner researched lethal injection before Tucson shooting, sources say  —  TUCSON — In the weeks and days before the shooting rampage in Tucson, suspect Jared Lee Loughner surfed the Internet on his computer in what investigators believe was an effort to prepare for his alleged assassination attempt …

Dealing With Assange and the Secrets He Spilled  —  This past June, Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guardian, phoned me and asked, mysteriously, whether I had any idea how to arrange a secure communication.  Not really, I confessed.  The Times doesn't have encrypted phone lines, or a Cone of Silence.

Slopes behind ropes: fear of lawsuits closing great New Jersey sledding hills … It's one of the simple, most wonderful pleasures of life: zooming down a snow-covered hill just fast enough for a touch of fear to quicken your pulse.  Maybe it's a solo run.  Maybe you're clinging to a loved one as you tear down the hill tandem.

After Failing to Change Senate Rules, Democrats Lose Right to Blame Mitch McConnell  —  Senate Democrats must blame themselves now, rather than Mitch McConnell.  —  Senate Democrats had an opportunity to get together and make the Senate a working, majority-rule-based chamber.

Against Obligatory Editorials  —  He still loves his wife.  But after 25 years of marriage, he has lost his enthusiasm for sex with her.  Still.  It is Valentine's Day.  And she has been hinting.  So he takes her to a nice dinner, uncharactertistically orders an after-dinner drink …

Border authorities arrest controversial Muslim cleric east of San Diego  —  U.S. border authorities have arrested a controversial Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia three years ago and was caught earlier this month trying to sneak into California inside the trunk of a BMW, according to court documents.

Palin's PAC Raised $279,000 in Late 2010  —  SarahPAC, the leadership committee of former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, said in its latest fund-raising report on Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission that it brought in $279,000 from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31, 2010.

MLK bomb laced with chemical, sources say  —  A bomb maker mixed chemicals with shrapnel in what law enforcement officials say was a weapon designed to inflict maximum injuries during last week's Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Spokane.  —  Tests are being conducted to determine …

Axelrod mocks Tea Party response: ‘Am I looking at the right camera?’  —  A top White House adviser gently mocked the Tea Party response to the State of the Union delivered by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Tuesday night.  —  White House senior adviser David Axelrod joked …

THE MISSING DEPTH OF THOUGHT.... I've long considered Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) the Republican version of John Edwards.  After one largely underwhelming term, in which he didn't tackle any noteworthy policy initiatives and failed to distinguished himself as an expert in an area …

Shiny Lazy People  —  A few further thoughts about the Ryan response to the SOTU, which was deeply revealing.  —  Again, let me focus first on this passage: … Imagine yourself in Ryan's position.  You've been chosen by one of America's two great political parties to respond to the president of the United States.

House votes to end public financing  —  The House passed a GOP-sponsored bill to end public financing for presidential campaigns Wednesday.  Ten Democrats, most of them Blue Dogs, joined Republicans in the vote.  —  The bill suspends a 35-year-old program that lets taxpayers direct $3 …

A call to protest ignites a call to arms  —  The reaction to Frances Fox Piven's essay urging the unemployed to protest for change shows that we are no longer a democracy but a tyranny of the heavily armed.  —  Why are Americans such wusses?  Threaten the Greeks with job losses and benefit cuts …