DEBT REDUCTION IDEA: quit funding the United Nations.

THE THREE RING CIRCUS: In Ring 1, the House passed the Speaker's deficit bill; in Ring 2, the Senate tabled it; and in Ring 3, the President is twittering madly from the sidelines.

Yes, I know the proper term is "tweeting," but "twittering" is so much more descriptive.

SPENDITOL: a cure for the debt crisis.



Senator Tester is not amused.

REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE THAD MCCOTTER: ideology [is] the "Science of Idiocy."

LOST IN SPACE: global warming. Can we convince Al Gore to go get it back?

MONTGOMERY COUNTY (MD) drops the ball on BRAC. For that matter, so has the state of Virginia. I know I'll be telecommuting when (if) I return to work.

DOES PRESIDENT OBAMA even read what is put in the teleprompter before he delivers it?

On Monday night, Obama claimed that "because neither party is blameless for the decisions that led to this problem, both parties have a responsibility to solve it." But just three paragraphs earlier, Obama put the blame for our $14.3 trillion debt squarely on President George W. Bush, claiming that "trillions of dollars in new tax cuts," "two wars" and "an expensive prescription drug program" caused government surpluses to turn into annual deficits. This despite the fact that in only three years Obama's spending has added $3.7 trillion to the national debt.

Almost certainly not; talking points need not be consistent.

BIG GREEN blocks an oil pipeline, sacrificing thousands of jobs.

SHOCKER: South Caroline Governor Nikki Haley isn't white! Best comment: "Bobby Jindal should also be exposed --- his real name isn't Bobby. What is he trying to hide? These two governors have some nerve achieving so much without the help of affirmative action. It makes all those other 'people of color' look bad."

Linked from Instapundit.

NYT COLUMNIST PAUL KRUGMAN (!) calls the Reid plan “a huge victory for the right and defeat for progressives.” So pass the Boehner plan and make it an even bigger victory.

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER: ‘Nobody I know’ has seen Reid plan. Channeling Nancy Pelosi, "They have to pass it before they can read it."

PRESIDENT ON SIDELINES in critical battle over debt ceiling. On Fox News' Special Report a few nights ago, Brit Hume called him a 'potted plant' in the White House. I think that's accurate.

MAYBE APPLE should run the government.

ALLEN WEST: an American hero.

ONLY IF FORCED: Is the President in recovery?

THE GREAT DEBATE: Candidate Obama vs. President Obama. Need more be said?

NEW YORK TIMES reader kills dozens in Norway.

MICHAEL BARONE: "The intended purpose of legislation like the stimulus package and Obamacare was to improve the situations of those least able to take care of themselves -- the young, the less educated, the low-skilled. But it is just such groups that, the Pew Research Center numbers show, have been moving away from the president's party. An instructive achievement, no?"

GOP: The Grinch who stole Christmas. If nothing else, one must admit the Democrats are creative in their excuses for failure.