Sarah Palin is “Evil”?  [Update]  —  [Update] The last sentence seems to have been removed from below the image now.  Thanks to whoever listened to my complaint.  —  That's right; according to whoever writes the copy over at Yahoo! New Zealand, Sarah Palin is “evil”.

Two separate and reliable source in Texas tell me serious preparations are being made for Governor Rick Perry, 61, to seek the Republican nomination for president.  —  Dave Carney and Rob Johnson — the former top Perry aides who on Thursday left Newt Gingrich's campaign …

Romney rivals slam Ames decision  —  Mitt Romney's prospective Republican opponents are decrying his decision to skip the Ames straw poll and assuring Iowans they won't follow suit.  —  “It is disappointing that the perceived front-runner would choose to disregard Iowa voters and the importance …

Exclusive: Weiner's Messages to Teenage Girl in Delaware Draw Police Attention  —  DEVELOPING: NEW CASTLE, Del. — Police on Friday afternoon came to the home of a 17-year-old high school junior to ask her about direct online communications she has had with Rep. Anthony Weiner.

EXCLUSIVE: JOHN EDWARDS NAILED BY DEAD WIFE's VIDEO TESTIMONY!  —  IN a devastating act of ultimate revenge, a dying Elizabeth Ed­wards recorded a bombshell secret videotape for prosecutors - nailing her cheating husband John as he will stand trial on charges that could land him behind bars for 30 years.

Weiner can't afford to quit the DC day job  —  Even if scandal-stained Rep. Anthony Weiner didn't want to stay in office, he needs to stay in office.  —  Unlike many of his peers in the House, Weiner doesn't have a business or even a law degree to fall back on.

Qaddafi Writes to Congress  —  Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi has written to members of Congress thanking them for criticizing President Obama last week over his involvement in the NATO-led military campaign in Libya.  —  “I want to express my sincere gratitude for your thoughtful discussion of the issues …

Tracy Morgan's Homophobic Remarks In Anti-Gay Stand Up Set UPDATE: Morgan Apologizes … Tracey Morgan , Tracy Morgan , Tracy Morgan Homophobic , Tracy Morgan Homophobic Standup Set , Tracy Morgan Kill His Son If He Were Gay , Tracy Morgan Stand Up Comedy , Tracy Morgan Anti-Gay …

The Price of Taxophobia: Inefficient Taxes  —  Ever since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, American politics has been dominated by the presence of a large and powerful ideological movement that's primarily dedicated to the cause of tax cuts.  One result, as shown by my econ team colleagues' suite …

Companies Spend on Equipment, Not Workers  —  Companies that are looking for a good deal aren't seeing one in new workers.  —  Workers are getting more expensive while equipment is getting cheaper, and the combination is encouraging companies to spend on machines rather than people.

EXCLUSIVE: Obama extends protections to gay couples under Medicaid  —  Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius (Blade file photo by Michael Key)  —  The Obama administration is set on Friday to issue policy guidance to states expanding their ability to offer same-sex couples …

China ratings house says US defaulting: report  —  A Chinese ratings house has accused the United States of defaulting on its massive debt, state media said Friday, a day after Beijing urged Washington to put its fiscal house in order.  —  “In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting …

Matthews: Weiner in Trouble Because His Behavior Offends ‘Culturally Backward’ Christian Conservatives  —  On Thursday's Hardball, Chris Matthews determined that Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner could be in danger of being forced out of Congress by Blue Dog Dems who face uphill battles …

Rule by Rentiers  —  The latest economic data have dashed any hope of a quick end to America's job drought, which has already gone on so long that the average unemployed American has been out of work for almost 40 weeks.  Yet there is no political will to do anything about the situation.

Weiner pens apology to neighbors  —  (CNN)-See full contents of the note after the jump.  —  To our neighbors:  —  Please forgive the inconvenience of all the press outside.  —  I am sorry for all I have done that has now impacted you.  —  Hopefully it will soon pass.  —Anthony

McKinsey refuses White House request for info on study faulting Affordable Care Act  —  The other day, the consulting company McKinsey released a startling study claiming that 30 percent of employers are planning to stop giving health insurance to their workers as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

'I'm a Marxist,' Dalai Lama tells Chinese students  —  Usually what we hear from the Dalai Lama is an insistant yet soothing voice for compassion and peace.  —  So Tsering Namgyal, a journalist based in Minneapolis, was jolted by the Dalai Lama's talk to 150 Chinese students this month at the University of Minnesota.

The fall of the house of Newt  —  Former House Speaker REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS HEADSHOT)The presidential campaign of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was rocked late Thursday by the resignation of more than a dozen senior staffers and key operatives in states like South Carolina and Iowa.

The Money Hole (TUNE IN THIS SUNDAY @8PM and 11PM on the FOX NEWS CHANNEL)  —  Fox News gave me an hour for another special.  —  I titled it after this cute Onion clip: “Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?”  —  We will soon spend ourselves into oblivion.  But finally... movement!

Rocky start for DNC chairwoman  —  Democrats knew they were getting an outspoken partisan when Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz took over the reins of the Democratic National Committee a month ago.  —  But they might not have known just how outspoken.  —  In the four weeks since she succeeded Tim Kaine …

Just In: Katyal Resigning from SG's Office at End of Supreme Court Term  —  The BLT has learned that Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal today submitted his resignation, effective at the end of the current Supreme Court term — which will likely be at the end of this month.

Universal Preschool: An Actually Smart Longterm Deficit Plan  —  Pre-School Valentine's Party by hubertk  —  A new report published in Science found that benefits for early childhood education are substantial and long lasting.  From the abstract: … The study found that the children …

Three Way Race: Democrat 40% Republican 21% Tea Party 18%  —  A congressional race with an official Tea Party candidate in the running appears to be good news for Democrats.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that in a three-way congressional contest …

Stewardship?  Or ideology?  —  The Republicans swept November's midterm election by making it highly ideological, a referendum on two years of hyper-liberalism — of arrogant, overreaching, intrusive government drowning in debt and running deficits of $1.5 trillion annually.  It's not complicated.

The Lone Star Jobs Surge  —  The Texas model added 37% of all net U.S. jobs since the recovery began.  —  Richard Fisher, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, dropped by our offices this week and relayed a remarkable fact: Some 37% of all net new American jobs since the recovery began were created in Texas.