The Two Sentences That Should Be Part of All Discussion of the Debt Ceiling  —  Here they are:  —  1) Raising the debt ceiling does not authorize one single penny in additional public spending.  —  2) For Congress to “decide whether” to raise the debt ceiling, for programs and tax rates …

Powell: GOP has ‘a dark vein of intolerance’  —  While continuing to identify as a Republican, former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday criticized the GOP for a series of racist attacks against President Barack Obama.  —  “There's also a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party …

Official Statement from the family and partner of Aaron Swartz  —  Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment.  We are in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing.  —  Aaron's insatiable curiosity, creativity …

History suggests that era of entitlements is nearly over … It's often good fun and sometimes revealing to divide American history into distinct periods of uniform length.  In working on my forthcoming book on American migrations, internal and immigrant, it occurred to me that you could do this using …

Mass Paris rally against gay marriage in France  —  The BBC's Hugh Schofield said the organisers did not want to be seen as homophobic  —  Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Paris over plans to give gay couples in France the right to marry and adopt children.

The Obama Synthesis  —  AS both his critics and admirers argue, the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense last week tells us something important about Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy.  But so does the man who was nominated alongside Hagel, to far less controversy and attention …

Beijing Air Pollution Off the Charts  —  BEIJING — One Friday more than two years ago, an air-quality monitoring device atop the United States Embassy in Beijing recorded data so horrifying that someone in the embassy called the level of pollution “Crazy Bad” in an infamous Twitter post.

Like President Obama, Rahm Emanuel pivots on gun control  —  Rahm Emanuel, who put the brakes on gun control in the Obama White House, is now pushing for broad changes to firearm policies in Chicago.  —  Like President Obama, the Chicago mayor has long embraced gun-control policies …

Top Dems urging Obama to raise debt ceiling all voted against increase in '06 … On Friday the Democratic leadership of the Senate — Majority Leader Harry Reid, Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin, Conference Chair Charles Schumer, and Conference Secretary Patty Murray …