Do-Nothing Congress as a Cure  —  A trick question: If Congress takes no action in coming years, what will happen to the budget deficit?  —  It will shrink — and shrink a lot.  This simple fact may offer the best hope for deficit reduction.  —  As federal law currently stands …

Wall Street executives warn John Boehner on debt limit  —  NEW YORK — Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about the impact a bruising fight over raising the nation's $14.29 trillion debt ceiling could have on U.S. financial markets.  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …

Will Daniels seek presidency?  Sounds like it  —  Wearing a green jacket that made him look like he'd just won the Masters, Gov. Mitch Daniels on Tuesday talked about the “savage process” politicians go through when running for president, and about the “certainty of hurtful things” occurring to the families of those seeking the job.

Pray.  Hope.  Prepare.  —  When I was in Cairo during the Egyptian uprising, I wanted to change hotels one day to be closer to the action and called the Marriott to see if it had any openings.  The young-sounding Egyptian woman who spoke with me from the reservations department offered …

Graham Vows To ‘Tie Senate In Knots’ Over $50K Left Out Of Budget Deal  —  Not all Republicans were celebrating Tuesday about the fine print of the $38.5 billion in cuts House Republicans managed to wrangle in last week's 11th-hour budget showdown.  Tea Party loyalists who wanted tens …

Diplomatic Breakdown Amid Bieber Fever in Israel  —  JERUSALEM — The teenage pop idol Justin Bieber became embroiled in a diplomatic imbroglio on Tuesday when it emerged that plans for a meeting between the singer and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had been called off, with the sides differing over why.

Inflation Actually Near 10% Using Older Measure  —  After former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was appointed in 1979, the consumer price index surged into the double digits, causing the now revered Fed Chief to double the benchmark interest rate in order to break the back of inflation.

Lobbyists Won Key Concessions in Budget Deal  —  WASHINGTON — At a quarter till midnight last Friday, with a deal to avert a government shutdown barely an hour old, Senator Harry Reid phoned a fellow Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, at home and startled him with some bad news.

Oops... NY Times Admits That Obama's Economic Policies Have Failed - Then Quickly Scrubs the Line  —  The New York Times released a rare and honest appraisal of of Barack Obama's failed economic policies yesterday.  —  Economix Blog reported: … But, that wasn't posted long.

GE Responds to Public Outcry - Will Donate Entire $3.2 Billion Tax Refund to Help Offset Cuts and Save American Jobs  —  Fairfield, CT, 13th April, 2011- GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt has informed the Obama administration that the company will be gifting its entire 2010 tax refund, worth $3.2 Billion …

Why Obama was forced to give today's deficit speech  —  If President Obama is in political trouble, just wait a minute.  He'll give a speech.  He thinks speech-making is his best skill and clearly prefers campaigning over presidenting at a desk.  —  Oh, look!  Obama's giving another speech this afternoon.

ThinkProgress Leaves Bachmann Speechless: Doesn't ‘Have An Answer’ On Whether Homosexuality Is A Public Health Hazard  —  Yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) — who is seriously considering launching a campaign for the presidency — appeared before the FAMiLY Leader, an anti-gay social conservative group in Iowa.

Sidney Harman 1918-2011  —  Sidney Harman died last night of complications from acute myeloid leukemia at the young age of almost 93.  He first learned of his illness one month ago and remained vigorously engaged as Executive Chairman of Newsweek, and Chairman of the Academy for Polymathic Study …

Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Drink  —  Republicans can make up for a Reagan-era error by returning this issue to the states.  —  'If you get shot at, you can have a shot.  " That's the rationale behind Alaska State Representative—and Vietnam veteran—Bob Lynn's effort to establish …

The Real Housewives of Wall Street  —  Why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley bigwigs?  —  By  —  America has two national budgets, one official, one unofficial.  The official budget is public record and hotly debated …

Rebels Hijack Gadhafi's Phone Network  —  A Group of Expatriate Executives and Engineers Furtively Restore Telecommunications for the Libyan Opposition  —  By MARGARET COKER in Abu Dhabi and CHARLES LEVINSON in Benghazi, Libya  —  WSJ's Margaret Coker reports on efforts by telecommunications executives …