WASHINGTON — House Republicans will unveil a 2012 budget plan today that slashes tax rates and calls for unprecedented cuts in federal health benefits.

The plan, produced by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, would cut spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in order to produce $4.4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

Judges across the country have been hammering mass file-sharing lawsuits in recent months, with one in West Virginia even going so far as to “sever” every such lawsuit filed in that district. But it's not all bad news for the attorneys bringing these suits, as they managed to score a victory this week. A federal judge in Washington, DC has decided that three such cases can continue, and the ISPs involved need to turn over names in a timely fashion.

An invading force gets bogged down while fighting an insurgency. While it could be ripped from today's headlines, this is actually a book about the American Revolution. It's an excellent history of George Washington's first year as commander of the Continental army. It also provides insights into the conduct of the war and the morale of the armies that provided the ultimate success