Cruz Senate Stunt Goes Unpunished as Old Tools Don't Work  —  A growing group of Ted Cruz's Republican Senate colleagues are infuriated with his tactics.  —  So frustrated was Arizona Senator John McCain with the latest, forcing fellow Republicans to take a politically risky vote on lifting …

Inequality, Dignity and Freedom  —  Now that the Congressional Budget Office has explicitly denied saying that Obamacare destroys jobs, some (though by no means all) Republicans have stopped lying about that issue and turned to a different argument.  O.K., they concede, any reduction …

Tom Perkins' big idea: The rich should get more votes  —  Tom Perkins suggested Thursday that only taxpayers should have the right to vote — and that wealthy Americans who pay more in taxes should get more votes.  —  The venture capitalist offered the unorthodox proposal when asked to name …

Biden: 'There isn't a Republican Party'  —  CAMBRIDGE, Md. — Vice President Biden began laying out the Democratic Party's argument for voters in this year's elections Friday morning by suggesting that the Republican Party remains splintered and would quickly seek to pass fiscal policies rejected …

Marriage Equality Opponents Left With Nothing But Tradition  —  2013 was not a good year for opponents of marriage equality.  Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Illinois, New Mexico, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Minnesota were added to the list of states allowing same-sex marriage.

The Golden Egg  —  The school of literary criticism known as reception theory holds that a text should be studied in light of its effect on its contemporaries, that a reader should be aware of the “horizon of expectations” in which a text is produced.  I was reminded of this the other day as I observed …

Rand Paul's Prediction About Future Presidential Elections May Frighten Half the Country  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a bold prediction about the remaining presidential elections in his lifetime during an interview with Glenn Beck that aired Thursday.  —  “I think Republicans will not win again …

Susan Patton: A Little Valentine's Day Straight Talk  —  Young women in college need to smarten up and start husband-hunting.  —  Another Valentine's Day.  Another night spent ordering in sushi for one and mooning over “Downton Abbey” reruns.  Smarten up, ladies.

HIS WORSHIP  —  You may have wondered how it is that Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, has not been shamed from office.  Here's how.  And why, he tells us, things are likely to get even uglier. … Finn O'Hara  —  From the air, Toronto's iconic, late-modern City Hall looks like a wide …

The Only Obamacare Number That Matters  —  The monthly announcement of Obamacare's enrollment figures has become an exercise in confirmation bias, starting with the administration itself.  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted the “encouraging trends” in yesterday's release …

One-Fifth of New Enrollees Under Health Care Law Fail to Pay First Premium  —  WASHINGTON — One in five people who signed up for health insurance under the new health care law failed to pay their premiums on time and therefore did not receive coverage in January, insurance companies and industry experts say.

Scott Hodge: Here's What ‘Income Equality’ Would Look Like  —  Take about $4 trillion from the top 40% of families and give it to the bottom 60%—voilà, no more inequality.  —  President Obama has talked a lot recently about reducing income inequality.

36 Hours On The Fake Campaign Trail With Donald Trump  —  Donald Trump is sitting in the passenger seat of a black SUV packed with four well-dressed yes-men — and me — as we wind through the snowy roads of Manchester, New Hampshire on a quiet Tuesday morning in January.

New Jersey Lawmakers Want To Rename The Sea Of Japan  —  A group of local politicians in New Jersey would like to rewrite maps of Asia.  —  On Monday, five New Jersey Democrats introduced a bill that would rename the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula.  —  Currently, the sea is known as the Sea of Japan.

Former Saints star Darren Sharper charged with drugging, raping two women in Los Angeles  —  Former Saints star safety Darren Sharper was charged Friday with drugging and raping two women in Los Angeles, one in October and one in January, according to a complaint filed by the L.A. district attorney's office.