There's no doubt that tonight's State of the Union address will grab most of the day’s headlines as Obama lays out his goals for the coming year. But today is an important one for another reason — it marks the 1,000th day since the United States Senate has passed a budget. While the House has put forth (and passed) its own budget, the Senate has failed to do the same for more than two years.

While the Obama administration is fond of blaming its current woes on a “Do-Nothing Congress,” they are apt to forget that half of the current Congress is controlled by their own party. Today, the “Do-Nothing Democrats” in the Senate have yet again, as Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote, set, "a new standard in dereliction of duty."

On Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC, as guest Rick Santorum criticized President Obama because he refused to support a democracy movement in Iran that might have weakened the anti-America radical Muslim government of Tehran, but, by contrast, supported a democracy movement in Egypt directed against a pro-America government - which resulted in an election that recently handed more power in Cairo to radical Muslims - host David Gregory accused the GOP presidential candidate of being "patently contradictory." (Video below)

Redevelopment agencies were authorized by the California state legislature in 1945 to combat urban blight “in the interest of the health, safety, and general welfare of the people… and of the state."

Another green energy company that was awarded stimulus cash for its survival went belly up this past week. The Obama Administration awarded $43 million in conditional loan guarantees from the Department of Energy to Beacon Power in June 2009. Now it’s bankrupt.

Yahoo Finance reported, via Free Republic:

Beacon Power Corp filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, just a year after the energy storage company received a $43 million loan guarantee from a controversial Department of Energy program.

The bankruptcy comes about two months after Solyndra — a solar panel maker with a $535 million loan guarantee — also filed for Chapter 11, creating a political embarrassment for the administration of President Barack Obama, which has championed the loans as a way to create “green energy” jobs.

Beacon Power drew down $39 million of its government-guaranteed loan to fund a portion of a $69 million, 20-megawatt flywheel energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York.

There are several key differences between the two loans, an Energy Department spokesman said on Sunday, noting the Beacon plant continues to operate, unlike Solyndra, which shut down shortly before filing for bankruptcy.

The Energy Department also had agreed to restructure Solyndra’s debt in a last-ditch effort to keep the company alive, a deal which put taxpayers behind $75 million in private investment. But for the Beacon project, the government loan is the first debt the company must pay, the spokesman said.

But the new bankruptcy will stoke criticism from Republicans in the House of Representatives who are investigating whether Obama campaign donors who were investors in Solyndra played a role in decisions on the loan — allegations denied by the White House and Department of Energy (DOE).

“This latest failure is a sharp reminder that DOE has fallen well short of delivering the stimulus jobs that were promised, and now taxpayers find themselves millions of more dollars in the hole,” said Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican who is leading the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s probe.

When your wife spends $10 million in public funds on a vacation, aren't you entitled to a sweet ride on the taxpayers dime?

President Barack Obama boasted about his taxpayer-funded bus during a stop in Jamestown, N.C. on Tuesday as part of the three-day American Jobs Act tour that some critics say resembles a campaign tour.

As the Occupy Wall Street movement spreads like a, well, financial contagion through global markets, intergalactic Internet sensation Remy and Reason.tv give the movement its anthem.

Sarah Palin joined Greta Van Susteren last night  to explain her decision to not run for President of the United States. The conservative governor told Greta, “I can be more effective in a decisive role to get others elected” including a Republican President, Republican Senators and Republican members of the US House of Representatives. Sarah said she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the right decision.

“You don’t need a title to help bring this country back.”

And here we go again... First it was Happy Meals, now a California teacher is banning “bless you” from his classroom.  He says it’s disruptive and he’s docking students who say it after someone sneezes.

A California teacher has banned students from saying “bless you” when someone sneezes in his class.

Health teacher Steve Cuckovick says it has nothing to do with religious beliefs, he claims it becomes a disruption in class and is serious about enforcing it.
He deducts 25 points from student’s grades every time someone breaks the “bless you” ban. 

“The blessing doesn’t make any sense anymore. When you sneeze, in the old days, they thought you were dispelling evil spirits out of your body. So, they are saying god bless you for getting rid of the evil spirits. But today, what I said is what your doing doesn’t make any sense anymore,” said Cuckovick.

According to the latest GALLUP poll, a record-high 81% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, adding to negativity that has been building over the past 10 years.

Majorities of Democrats (65%) and Republicans (92%) are dissatisfied with the nation's governance. This perhaps reflects the shared political power arrangement in the nation's capital, with Democrats controlling the White House and U.S. Senate, and Republicans controlling the House of Representatives. Partisans on both sides can thus find fault with government without necessarily blaming their own party.

• 82% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.
• 69% say they have little or no confidence in the legislative branch of government, an all-time high and up from 63% in 2010.
• 57% have little or no confidence in the federal government to solve domestic problems, exceeding the previous high of 53% recorded in 2010 and well exceeding the 43% who have little or no confidence in the government to solve international problems.
• 53% have little or no confidence in the men and women who seek or hold elected office.
• Americans believe, on average, that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every tax dollar, similar to a year ago, but up significantly from 46 cents a decade ago and from an average 43 cents three decades ago.
• 49% of Americans believe the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. In 2003, less than a third (30%) believed this.

President Obama on Monday proposed a deficit reduction plan that calls for about $3 in new tax increases for every dollar in additional spending cuts as he seeks to put his imprint on the ongoing talks with Congress over reducing the government’s staggering debt.

President Obama’s idea for a millionaire tax is hardly new. It’s a favorite idea in cash-strapped Democratic states like Maryland and New York and some version of it has been part of Obama’s economic agenda since his candidacy.

Obama is doing something different today, though, as he proposes a 4.5 percent surtax on those with incomes over $1 million in addition to his plan to raise taxes on individual incomes over $200,000 and reduce charitable deduction rates for high earners.

Obama's insistence that his new plan isn't class warfare only reminds us of the infamous line "methinks thou dost protest too much."  Yet putting that point aside, one question remains: Even if Obama taxed ALL AMERICANS at a higher rate, would the revenue satiate the governments hunger for spending?

To find out let's partake in a little thought experiment. We will take a trip in a liberal dream world of total wealth confiscation, where for one year, politicians confiscate profits from major corporations, professional athletes, Hollywood, and the like—all in the name of paying for their big spending ways. Would it be enough? Watch the following Firewall video to find out.