Gratifying Signs of Desperation  —  On both sides of the Atlantic, the austerians seem to be freaking out.  And that has to be good news, an indication that they realize, at some level, that they're losing the debate.  —  First up, the sad story of Joe Scarborough, whose response …

Paul Krugman is wrong - but don't take my word for it  —  America's fiscal predicament is serious.  The problem has become obvious in the last few years, but it has been building for decades, largely the result of promises of extensive social benefits without a corresponding willingness to pay for them.

Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul Join Bipartisan Bill To Legalize Hemp  —  While most Republican members of Congress have been lukewarm at best to the prospect of legalizing marijuana, senators introduced a bipartisan measure this week to legalize industrial hemp.

Think Hagel's bad?  Just wait until there's a Supreme Court opening  —  The Hagel battle is actually a dry run for the next justice fight — and it's clear that the GOP will filibuster  —  Compare that Russian meteor hit earlier this week to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.  Got that?

FBI investigating allegations Sen. Menendez patronized prostitutes in Dominican Republic  —  A team of FBI agents has been conducting interviews in recent weeks in the Dominican Republic and the United States, looking into allegations that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) patronized prostitutes …

Ted Cruz Runs Counter to the Senate's Courtly Ways  —  WASHINGTON — As the Senate edged toward a divisive filibuster vote on Chuck Hagel's nomination to be defense secretary, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, sat silent and satisfied in the corner of the chamber — his voice lost to laryngitis …

JEB BUSH: I WOULD GOVERN LIKE LYNDON JOHNSON AS PRESIDENT  —  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said he would strive to be like Lyndon Johnson, the Democrat famous for expanding the U.S. welfare state through the “Great Society,” if he were elected president.

The best choice for pope?  A nun.  —  In giving up the papacy, Pope Benedict XVI was brave and bold.  He did the unexpected for the good of the Catholic Church.  And when it selects a new pope next month, the College of Cardinals should be equally brave and bold.  It is time to elect a nun as the next pontiff.

Incomes Flat in Recovery, but Not for the 1%  —  WASHINGTON — Incomes rose more than 11 percent for the top 1 percent of earners during the economic recovery, but barely at all for everybody else, according to new data.  —  The numbers, produced by Emmanuel Saez, an economist at the University …

1 dead, 3 wounded in 90 minutes Friday night  —  Woman dies in West Side shooting  —  Chicago police were flagged down by a man on the street as they responded to the sound of gunfire Friday night and found a woman lying on the ground, bleeding from gunshot wounds to her upper body.

Rubio embarks on trip to Israel and Jordan  —  Republican rising star Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) departed for the Middle East on Saturday, beginning a journey that could do much to burnish the possible 2016 presidential candidate's foreign policy credentials.

Wal-Mart Executives Sweat Slow February Start in E-Mails  —  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had the worst sales start to a month in seven years as payroll-tax increases hit shoppers already battling a slow economy, according to internal e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News.