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.

Sarah Palin on Barack Obama speech: ‘WTF’  —  Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday night that President Barack Obama's call for “winning the future” during his State of the Union address is best framed by the acronym it shares with a much different phrase — “wtf.”

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.

Rep. Paul Ryan 1, ObamaCare 0  —  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) held an important hearing on ObamaCare, showing just how important is the process for educating the public, and thereby setting defenders of ObamaCare back on their heels.  —  As he did last night …

Social Security to Run Permanent Yearly Deficits  —  Congressional Projections Show Program Will be in the Red Annually Starting This Year Unless Changes are Made  —  (AP) New congressional projections show Social Security running permanent annual deficits unless lawmakers act to shore up the massive retirement and disability program.

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.

What Caused the Financial Crisis?  —  Congress's inquiry commission is offering a simplistic narrative that could lead to the wrong policy reforms.  —  Today, six members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission—created by the last Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis—are releasing their final report.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich sues cafeteria over olive pit in sandwich  —  Rep. Dennis Kucinich has sued a U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria for selling him a sandwich wrap that caused dental damage when he bit into an olive pit, according to a Jan. 3 lawsuit filed in Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

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 …

Bill Aimed at Protecting S.C. From Foreign Law Introduced in Legislature  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. - A legislative initiative aimed at preventing “a court or other enforcement authority” from enforcing foreign law in the Palmetto State was introduced today in both the S.C. House and Senate by Rep. Wendy Nanney …

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.

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.

The 40-Percent President: Obama's Cruise to Reelection  —  We're at the halfway mark of Barack Obama's first term as president.  I say “first term” because I'm confident that this isn't his last.  Conservatives will not want to hear this, but I've felt all along that Obama will be a two-term president …

HHS grants 500 new healthcare waivers  —  A week after Republicans announced plans to investigate waivers granted to organizations for healthcare reform provisions, President Obama's health department made public new waivers for more than more than 500 groups.

Goldman Sachs Got Billions From AIG For Its Own Account, Crisis Panel Finds … Goldman Sachs collected $2.9 billion from the American International Group as payout on a speculative trade it placed for the benefit of its own account, receiving the bulk of those funds after AIG received …

Angle comes to Iowa, doesn't rule out presidential bid  —  Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle of Nevada descended upon the movie premiere of a conservative Christian movie in Johnston tonight, and she wouldn't say that she was running for president.  —  But she wouldn't say that she wasn't.

U.S. Budget Deficit to Pass $1.5 Trillion This Year  —  “Grim” doesn't seem to be a terrifying enough word to describe the budget outlook that the CBO released today.  Oh, sure, we sort of knew this was coming—tax cuts are expensive if you don't find spending cuts to match.

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 …

Obama address viewership falls from last year  —  The president's State of the Union Address drew 43 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.  —  That's down 11% from his speech last year, and down 18% from his address in 2009.  —  The networks carrying the speech included ABC …

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 …