Egypt Leaves the Internet  —  Thanks to all for great comments and questions.  Please see below for latest updates on the ongoing Egyptian Internet blackout. —jim  —  Confirming what a few have reported this evening: in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears …

The House GOP's Plan to Redefine Rape  —  Drugged, raped, and pregnant?  Too bad.  Republicans are pushing to limit rape and incest cases eligible for government abortion funding.  —  Post Comment  —  Rape is only really rape if it involves force.  So says the new House Republican majority as it now moves to change abortion law.

Republicans terrified of tea  —  When Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was named to the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year, one of her Republican colleagues responded this way: “Is that a punchline?”  Another simply said, “Jumbo shrimp.  Oxymoron.”  —  Neither dared to attach his name to his comment.

TNT apologizes for Tracy Morgan's lewd comments on Palin  —  UPDATE: TNT sponsor AutoTrader.com is complaining to the network about being stuck in the middle, literally, of Tracy Morgan's lewd remarks about Sarah Palin on last night's edition of Inside the NBA.

On Sputnik vs. Spudnut  —  Please read this article by the Hoover Institution's Research Fellow Peter Schweizer.  Schweizer, who has written extensively on the subject of the decline and fall of the Soviet Union, offers a Washington Post writer an important refresher on the real history of Sputnik …

Jordanian protesters demand political reforms  —  (Reuters) - Islamists, leftists and trade unionists gathered in central Amman Friday for the latest protest to demand political change and wider freedoms.  —  A crowd of at least 3,000 chanted: “We want change.”

Downgrading America  —  Karl Smith on the possibility that ratings agencies will downgrade U.S. debt from its current AAA rating: … I can't speak for Obama, but I have a feeling that the significance would be: zero.  Granted, there's symbolic importance to something like this …

Bachmann plan would cut veterans benefits  —  Tea party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans' disability benefits.

Biden thinks The Onion's spoofs of him are ‘hilarious’  —  A mock photo of Vice President Joe Biden washing a Trans-Am shirtless.  Strange?  Distasteful?  Crossing the line?  —  Not so, Biden says.  —  “I think it's hilarious,” Biden told Yahoo! in a wide-ranging interview Thursday.

Bush takes swing at former press secretary  —  Washington (CNN) - Former President George W. Bush is landing a stinging jab at his former longtime aide and press secretary, Scott McClellan, saying the man who served as the public face of his administration for three years was irrelevant.

Too young not to work, too old to get a job  —  Pew's new report on long-term unemployment is sobering stuff: … The interplay between age and unemployment really worries me.  On some level, we have a rosy view of “structural unemployment”: It's a guy in Reno, Nev., who has skills better suited …

Fla. rep failed to explain thousands in expenses  —  MIAMI (AP) — Freshman U.S. Rep. David Rivera, who is facing a state criminal investigation of his finances, paid himself more than $60,000 in unexplained campaign reimbursements over the eight years he served in the state legislature …

A big warning sign for Mitt Romney  —  An array of Republican heavyweights who backed Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential bid are not yet committed to - and in some cases, downright skeptical of - the former Massachusetts governor's all-but-certain 2012 campaign.

Furor at Washington U. nixes Bristol Palin appearance  —  Anger over a decision to pay Bristol Palin several thousand dollars in student fees to talk to Washington University students about abstinence led to a decision Thursday night to nix Palin's appearance on a panel here next month.

Seizing a Moment, Al Jazeera Galvanizes Arab Frustration  —  The protests rocking the Arab world this week have one thread uniting them: Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite channel whose aggressive coverage has helped propel insurgent emotions from one capital to the next.

Obama vigorously defends Dems' healthcare reform: ‘Granny is safe’  —  In his most vigorous defense of the healthcare law since Republicans took control of the House, Obama fired back Friday at GOP claims that the law deprives essential care for seniors and balloons the deficit.

FACTBOX-Deepwater rigs moved out of the Gulf of Mexico  —  Some of the 30-plus deepwater rigs that were in the Gulf of Mexico have moved to other markets, first because of a U.S. halt called last May after BP Plc's (BP.L: Quote) well blowout, and then because of the lack of permits once the moratorium was lifted.

Their Own Private Europe  —  President Obama's State of the Union address was a ho-hum affair.  But the official Republican response, from Representative Paul Ryan, was really interesting.  And I don't mean that in a good way.  —  Mr. Ryan made highly dubious assertions about employment, health care and more.

Who Are We in This ‘Sputnik Moment’?  —  One of the difficulties progressives face is trying to make centralized planning sound like a good idea.  Even the president, with all his rhetorical genius and majestic vagueness, can struggle with the task.  So from time to time …

The old Obama in new clothing  —  The November election sent a clear message to Washington: less government, less debt, less spending.  President Obama certainly heard it, but judging from his State of the Union address, he doesn't believe a word of it.  The people say they want cuts?

One U.S. Corporation's Role in Egypt's Brutal Crackdown  —  The open Internet's role in popular uprising is now undisputed.  Look no further than Egypt, where the Mubarak regime today reportedly shut down Internet and cell phone communications — a troubling predictor of the fierce crackdown that has followed.