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.

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 …

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 …

‘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

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.”

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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% …

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 …

Erin Burnett to Laura Bush: Should America Accept Anti-Semitism To Affect Change In Middle East?  —  CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday asked former first lady Laura Bush a truly disgusting question.  —  In a segment about the George W. Bush Institute's Women's Initiative Fellowship Program …