“Steep Cuts?”  Even the Left Is Starting to Notice  —  Liberal press outlets are reporting, generally without criticism, the Obama administration's claim that its FY 2012 budget embodies “steep cuts” in federal spending over the coming decade.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words …

South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers  —  A bill under consideration in the Mount Rushmore State would make preventing harm to a fetus a “justifiable homicide” in many cases.  —  Post Comment  —  A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of …

Rep. Ryan: GOP won't allow shutdown due to budget impasse  —  Republicans will pass short-term measures to keep funding the government rather than allow a shutdown, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday.  —  Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said that if the GOP-held House …

KS GOP Rep. Connie O'Brien Says She Can Tell Who Is ‘Illegal’ Because They Have ‘The Olive Complexion’  —  One week ago, the Kansas House Federal and State Committee held a hearing about in-state tuition being granted to the children of undocumented immigrants, which has been the policy in the state since 2004.

House Votes to Extend Patriot Act Provisions  —  WASHINGTON — The House on Monday voted to reauthorize and extend through Dec. 8 three ways in which Congress expanded the Federal Bureau of Investigation's counterterrorism powers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

‘I lied about WMD to topple Saddam’  —  • Man codenamed Curveball ‘invented’ tales of bioweapons  —  • Iraqi told lies to try to bring down Saddam Hussein regime  —  • Fabrications used by US as justification for invasion  —  The defector who convinced the White House …

Truth or Consequences  —  What if Justice Scalia sued the New York Times for libel?  —  The following letter to the editor appeared in the New York Times Friday: … If this is true, Scalia's misconduct is even worse than Fein suggests.  Not only has Congress considered legislation to repeal ObamaCare …

Closed captioning of: Prosecutors gear up to charge Edwards in criminal case  —  >> for two years a federal grand jury has been in fact investigating john edwards and whether he break campaign finance laws to try to cover up an affair with rielle hunter.  now the investigation reached a decisive point.

‘Punisher’ gets its first battlefield tests  —  XM25 ‘performs flawlessly’ in Afghanistan  —  The XM25 has changed the battlefield with only 55 rounds, and earned a new name among soldiers.  They call it “the Punisher.”  —  Since its first contact Dec. 3, the XM25 has been in nine engagements …

Dean Heller poll shows 15 point lead over John Ensign in Nevada  —  Nevada Rep. Dean Heller holds a 15-point edge over embattled Sen. John Ensign in a hypothetical 2012 GOP primary matchup, according to a poll conducted for the congressman's campaign late last month.

Berlusconi Indicted on Prostitution Charges  —  MILAN (AP) — An Italian judge on Tuesday ordered Premier Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl and then tried to cover it up.  —  Judge Cristina Di Censo handed down the indictment with a terse statement.

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood plans political party  —  CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's long banned Muslim Brotherhood said Tuesday it intends to form a political party once democracy is established, as the country's new military rulers launched a panel of experts to amend the country's constitution enough …

Should Republicans Fret Over Their Presidential Field?  —  Republican insiders, reports the Washington Post's plugged-in Jennifer Rubin, are worried about the quality of their slate of presidential candidates for 2012.  Indeed, it has become the conventional wisdom to assert that the Republican field is a fairly weak one.

Vanishing Act: ‘Advisers’ Distance Themselves From a Report  —  Correction Appended  —  A new study backed by pro-business groups takes a harsh stance on rules intended to bring transparency to the $600 trillion derivatives market.  The report, published on Monday, claims that proposed regulation …

THE PROSPECTS OF A ‘GRAND BARGAIN’.... Rumors occasionally make the rounds about a “grand bargain” between Democrats and Republicans.  The idea is based on the notion of an all-inclusive compromise that would encompass deficit reduction, tax reform, the debt ceiling, and giving entitlements some sort of haircut.

Apple to expand iPhone screen size to 4-inches  —  Apple reportedly will change the screen size of iPhone to 4-inch for its fifth generation iPhone to compete with the Google Android platform in the 4- to 7-inch smartphone market, according to upstream component suppliers.

Obama's Media Machine: State Run Media 2.0?  —  White House Hones Online Messaging Operation Ahead of 2012 Campaign  —  As the 2012 presidential campaign kicks into gear, President Obama's White House media operation is demonstrating an unprecedented ability to broadcast its message through social media …

The Experience Economy  —  Tyler Cowen's e-book, “The Great Stagnation,” has become the most debated nonfiction book so far this year.  Cowen's core point is that up until sometime around 1974, the American economy was able to experience awesome growth by harvesting low-hanging fruit.

Mitch Daniels Is No Panderer  —  Indiana governor Mitch Daniels did not get the memo about CPAC, the annual gathering of conservatives in Washington.  The etiquette is that presidential wannabes should hew to a narrow band of harsh and harsher denunciations of liberalism, or anything suspected of having a liberal taint.

Liberals launch anti-Darrell Issa crusade  —  Democrats are understandably obsessed with Darrell Issa — he's built himself up as a one-man investigative machine aimed straight at the Obama presidency.  —  But a handful of liberal political operatives in California — including …

Asteroid defense and libertarianism  —  I agree with Jonathan below that the Constitution (through the spending power) allows Congress to spend tax money to protect the Earth from an asteroid.  —  On the other hand — and at the risk of confirming Mark Kleiman in his belief that libertarians are loopy …

Common Cause Asks Court About Thomas Speech  —  WASHINGTON — Discrepancies in reports about an appearance by Justice Clarence Thomas at a political retreat for wealthy conservatives three years ago have prompted new questions to the Supreme Court from a group that advocates changing campaign finance laws.

Huckabee: Abortion issue trumps all  —  (CNN) - Several likely GOP presidential candidates have spent the bulk of their time stressing fiscal and economic issues, but Mike Huckabee said Monday that for him the issue of abortion still trumps all other pressing concerns facing the country.

Ethics Board Eyes Schmidt  —  The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating Rep. Jean Schmidt's receipt of legal assistance from a Turkish-American interest group that has represented her in a host of proceedings in Ohio, one of the Republican's counsels confirmed Friday.

Companies Warn That Higher Prices Are Looming  —  A package of Oscar Mayer cold cuts.  A pair of Nine West boots.  A Whirlpool washing machine.  —  By the fall, people will most likely be paying more for each of them, as rising prices hit most consumer goods, say retailers, food companies and manufacturers of consumer products.