Paul Ryan's budget: Social engineering with a side of deficit reduction  —  Here is Paul Ryan's path to a balanced budget in three sentences: He cuts deep into spending on health care for the poor and some combination of education, infrastructure, research, public-safety, and low-income programs.

Humility or Cynicism?  Whatever is Driving Obama is Better Than Nothing  —  Tumbling polls have turned the president into the schmoozer-in-chief  —  President Obama's burst of congressional and public outreach coincides with declining poll numbers.  (AP Photo)

A reality check for Ashley Judd  —  What she's really up against, if she does run against Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.  Inside the numbers and history  —  A report over the weekend suggested that actress Ashley Judd has decided to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky next year.

The troubling things I learned when I re-reported Bob Woodward's book on John Belushi.  —  John Belushi in Animal House, 1978 Courtesy of Universal Pictures  —  A little more than a week ago, during an interview with Politico, Bob Woodward came forward to claim he'd been threatened in an email by a …

Are the Koch Brothers Trying to Buy the Los Angeles Times?  —  The latest rumor about the next owner of the L.A. Times, which is for sale, is a doozy.  A bombshell.  It's a doozy wrapped in a bombshell exploding inside a Drudge siren.  —  Multiple sources tell L.A. Weekly that Charles and David Koch …

Feds Spend $1.5 Million to Study Why Lesbians Are Fat  —  (CNSNews.com) - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $1.5 million to study biological and social factors for why “three-quarters” of lesbians are obese and why gay males are not, calling it an issue of “high public-health significance.”

‘It sounds like a war zone’: Chaos in Brooklyn as 100 teenagers ‘riot’ on the streets following vigil of 16-year-old who was shot dead by NYPD plainclothes cops  — Two plainclothes NYPD officers shot and killed a 16-year-old Brooklyn resident after police say he pointed a gun at officers on Saturday

The ‘fair share’ White House  —  Those who make the rules should play by them.  Especially a White House that lectures the rest of America about the importance of paying your “fair share” of taxes.  —  So we were struck by IRS reports that no fewer than 40 aides to President Obama still owe …

Rush Limbaugh Sides With Rand Paul: ‘The Neocons Are Paranoid’  —  The most popular conservative demagogue in America signals that hawkish foreign policy dogma may be losing its hold on the GOP.  —  In the Spring of 2011, I wrote a widely ignored article arguing that the Republican Party's …

Doubts about Johns Hopkins research have gone unanswered, scientist says  —  Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post - Daniel Yuan, pictured at his home in Laurel, raised doubts for years about the work of his colleagues in a Johns Hopkins medical research lab.  “The denial that I am hearing …

Sarah Palin tackles ‘War on Christmas’ in new book  —  ‘Amidst the fragility of this politically correct era, it is imperative that we stand up for our beliefs before the element of faith in a glorious and traditional holiday like Christmas is marginalized and ignored,’ Palin says.

With Woeful Approval Rating, Pa. Gov. Corbett's Re-Election Hopes Look Dim  —  His constituents down on his job performance, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) approaches his 2014 re-election campaign in a politically precarious position, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Hamas: ‘Declaration Of War’ If Obama Visits Temple Mount  —  WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Hamas is warning that if President Obama visits the Temple Mount it would be a “declaration of war” against the Islamic world.  —  Israel National News reports the terror group made the threat during …

The Administrative State in One Photo  —  The then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and may she remain forever a former Speaker) took a lot of ridicule during the debate over the passage of Obamacare when she said that we'd have to pass the bill to find out what's in it.  I thought the critics had this all wrong.

For Detroit, a Crisis Born of Bad Decisions and Crossed Fingers  —  DETROIT — This city was already sinking under hundreds of millions of dollars in bills that it could not pay when a municipal auditor brought in a veteran financial consultant to dig through the books.

Soda Wars Backlash: Mississippi Passes ‘Anti-Bloomberg’ Bill … Mayor Mike and his public health edicts are having a rough ride.  —  On Monday, a state judge in Manhattan struck down New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's rule capping soda sizes.  And lawmakers in Mississippi are taking …

Romney leads, GOP in Strong Position  —  In a hypothetical Republican Senate primary for the 2014 Michigan U.S. Senate race, Scott Romney (brother of Mitt) would begin the race as an early, though modest, front-runner Romney leads with 26% followed by Congressman Mike Rogers at 17% …

Trump: Ashley Judd ‘a great candidate’  —  Donald Trump thinks actress Ashley Judd would make a “great” Senate candidate, the real estate mogul tweeted on Tuesday.  —  “All reports indicate Ashley Judd will be running for Sen. McConnell's seat,” Trump wrote.  “She's going to be a great candidate. ...

As cardinals gather to elect Pope, Catholic officials break into a sweat over news that priests share €23m building with huge gay sauna  —  A day ahead of the papal conclave, faces at the scandal-struck Vatican were even redder than usual after it emerged that the Holy See had purchased …