On a Senate Call, a Glimpse of Marching Orders  —  Um, Senators, ever heard of the mute button?  —  Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, Charles Schumer of New York …

Judge again blocks GOP collective-bargaining plan  —  But Van Hollen assistant says law is in effect  —  By Patrick Marley, Bill Glauber and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - For the second time in less than two weeks, a Dane County judge Tuesday issued an order blocking …

Why I Won't Vote to Raise the Debt Limit  —  Everyone in Washington knows how to cut spending.  The time to start is now.  —  Americans have built the single greatest nation in all of human history.  But America's exceptionalism was not preordained.  Every generation has had to confront …

Obama Says ‘Days Are Numbered’ for Qaddafi's Regime to Keep Power in Libya  —  President Barack Obama said Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's reign is nearing its end under pressure from sanctions and the intervention of an international military force.  —  The “noose has tightened” …

Justice Lawyers Cleared in Voting Case  —  The Justice Department's internal ethics watchdog on Tuesday told Congress that it had cleared all department lawyers of wrongdoing in relation to a much-disputed voter-intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party, a black-nationalist fringe group.

Maher on Palin and Bachmann: I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings, but no, I wasn't wrong  —  This may be the first time that this particular permutation of “apology” has been offered for dropping a C-bomb on someone.  A forthright apology would be one thing, a “sorry if you were offended” …

Trump releases his official birth certificate  —  Yesterday I told you that Trump may have deliberately released an unofficial copy of his birth certificate so that he could quickly turn around and release the original.  The idea behind this is twofold.  First, to weaken the argument …

Coburn spars with Norquist over tax breaks for ethanol  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) ripped conservative activist Grover Norquist on Tuesday for defending tax breaks that benefit special interest groups.  —  In a letter to Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform …

Media Ignores Calls For Socialist Revolution at ‘Anti-War’ Rally in Chicago  —  Chicago media reported on a recent march in Chicago as being an “Anti-War” march organized by students and “faith based groups” who “hope to spark change in our democracy.”  What they left out was the clear fact …

Senate vote on proposal to block EPA climate rules slated for Wednesday  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning to hold a vote Wednesday on an amendment to small business legislation that would permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency's climate rules.

Pawlenty: ‘Every One Of Us’ Running For President Has Flip-Flopped On Climate Change  —  As he competes for the Republican nomination for president, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) will have to reconcile why he was for cap-and-trade before he was against it.

Why Obama had to act in Libya  —  “We knew that if we waited one more day, Benghazi - a city nearly the size of Charlotte - could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.  It was not in our national interest to let that happen.

House votes to end HAMP  —  The House Tuesday voted to eliminate the last of four Obama administration housing programs, in an effectively symbolic vote to end the controversial Home Affordable Modification Program 218 to 109.  —  The loan program launched at the beginning …

Sarah Palin Wonders Aloud if Libya Action is a “Squirmish”  —  Madam Malaprop, thy name is Sarah Palin.  Whether by design or accident, she never fails to drop some tidbit that sends the idiocy scale off the charts.  Called in by Fox News to deconstruct President Obama's speech …

Obama to Speak on Energy Policy  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, under pressure to respond to rising gas prices, will outline Wednesday a series of initiatives to cut the nation's reliance on foreign oil, including new initiatives to expand oil production, increase the use of natural gas …

Justice Antonin Scalia ticketed for GW Parkway fender-bender; will he take it to court?  —  Now here's a date in traffic court we'd like to attend: In the matter of Antonin Scalia and the George Washington Parkway pileup.  —  The Supreme Court justice was ticketed early Tuesday for his role in a four-car fender-bender.

Why We're Fasting  —  I stopped eating on Monday and joined around 4,000 other people in a fast to call attention to Congressional budget proposals that would make huge cuts in programs for the poor and hungry.  —  By doing so, I surprised myself; after all, I eat for a living.

Tom Tomorrow:  —  A period of transition  —  I don't really remember the exact date, but at some point in late 1994 or early 1995, I met my editor from the SF Examiner, David Talbot, for lunch at the Rincon Center food court in San Francisco.  Over some cheap take-out …

Drop in home prices in January raises fear of double dip  —  Home prices dropped in nearly all major housing markets in the country in January, according to price index numbers released Tuesday.  Analysts said the decrease might be a harbinger of a double-dip recession in the housing market.

For no-fly zone, four NATO sorties: US military  —  WASHINGTON — Enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya required four sorties by NATO aircraft in the past 24 hours, the Pentagon said Tuesday.  —  As of 1000 GMT, NATO carried out four flights to police the no-fly zone against the Libyan regime …