Chances up for federal shutdown  —  The chances of a government shutdown are on the rise.  —  With less than three weeks to strike a deal before government funding for the year is scheduled to expire, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving in opposite directions.

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 …

Romney and the Birthers  —  Birtherism is alive and well within the GOP ranks, and their 2012 nominee preferences tell a story about the difficulty Mitt Romney faces in trying to appeal to an electorate that's a whole lot further out there than he is.  —  Birthers make a majority among …

‘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  —  Read the full story of how the US was duped

Obama Defends Budget: Not Going to Run Up the Credit Card Anymore  —  In First News Conference of the Year, President Tackles Criticism of his 2012 Budget  —  President Obama today defended his 2012 budget proposal amid criticism from Republicans that it does too little to rein …

How penicillin fooled us  —  Perhaps it's the mark of a good book that after you read it, you begin seeing evidence for its thesis in lots of different areas.  Since reading Tyler Cowen's “The Great Stagnation,” I've been seeing a lot of support for a claim that I'd initially resisted …

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.

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.

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.

Michele Bachmann swipes at Michelle Obama  —  Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann ripped Michelle Obama on Tuesday, speculating that the first lady might one day run for office, and accusing her of trying to implement a “nanny state” based on her newest push to get mothers to breastfeed their children …

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 …

More Racism on the Left  —  On Friday, AlterNet—you know, the organization that “confront[s] the failures of corporate media, as well as the vitriol and disinformation of right wing media, especially ‘hate talk’ media”—published a vile attack on conservative businessman Herman Cain, who was the last speaker at CPAC:

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 …

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 …

‘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 …

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 …

Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store  —  Apple® today announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store℠, including magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc.  This is the same innovative digital subscription billing service …

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 …

Lucky Duckies  —  I don't think we should cut Social Security benefits.  But if we are going to cut Social Security benefits, I think it doesn't make sense to do what the Obama administration has done and make “No current beneficiaries should see their basic benefits reduced” one of the bargaining points.

The Base and Bloggers  —  One of the most important facts about present-day American politics is that poor people have essentially no political “voice” in Washington.  They do, however, vote.  And they're also human beings with moral worth and interests who count.

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.

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.

Stop putting off structural budget decisions  —  The president's proposed budget makes significant cuts to several important federal efforts.  —  The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) would see funding drop from $5.1 billion to $2.5 billion, which has rightly prompted concerns …