After Rep. Charlie Rangel was recommended for formal censure yesterday, he glumly headed down the hall, chastened, alone, and talking to no one. Who would cheer him up? House Tea Party Caucus founder Rep. Michele Bachmann, strangely enough!

Many newly elected Republican members of Congress explicitly refused to raise the federal debt ceiling during their campaigns. Problem is, the federal debt ceiling kinda needs to be raised, soon! Can John Boehner get these kids to do it?

Only 46% of Americans know that Republicans won control of the House in this year's elections, so maybe it never happened?

Terrible news for America today: House Democrats voted down a bill to defund NPR over Juan Williams' firing, despite unanimous Republican support. For shame! And in minor news, House Republicans blocked an unemployment insurance extension for two million Americans.

The House panel that found Rep. Charlie Rangel guilty on 11 of 13 ethics charges is deliberating which symbolic punishment to give him. Will he receive a "censure," the ultimate strongly-worded letter? We'll see. Rangel, meanwhile, is whining as usual.

House Republicans will indeed force a vote to defund NPR over the Juan Williams firing.

House Democrats have re-elected Nancy Pelosi as their leader, fending off a challenge from terrible quarterback Heath Shuler.

Faced with a hospital lock-down and an incomprehensible captain's log full of clues that might save the world [or at least New Jersey] from a smallpox outbreak, Dr. House turns to his favorite source of emergency consultation.

No one could have predicted, when the group Tea Party Patriots posted the personal cell numbers and email addresses for incoming Republican congressmen online, that the incoming Republican congressmen wouldn't appreciate this. Who wouldn't want hundreds of confusing, unsolicited calls?

Relentlessly bitchy Rep. Charlie Rangel's House ethics trial began in Congress today! And shortly thereafter, Rangel walked out. He didn't have a lawyer and blames this on the ethics committee, somehow. Maybe they could've worked this out beforehand? Video below.

Do any Democrats dare challenge the omnipotent Nancy Pelosi for minority leader? Well, one ultra-conservative Blue Dog who's technically a Democrat may, if that counts. He's North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler: Inexperienced backbencher. Legendarily shitty NFL quarterback. Democratic party savior?

Tea Party groups are pretty worried about their newly elected stars going to Washington and immediately becoming corrupt spineless hacks. So they're hosting their own orientations, to school these incoming freshmen properly. And the inter-Tea Party competition is fierce!

In today's edition of Meet Your Republican Committee Chairs, we look at Rep. Joe Barton — energy industry puppet, BP apologist. He wants to head the powerful Energy and Commerce committee. Why? To destroy those energy-saving lightbulbs that hippies love.

South Dakota Congresswoman-elect Kristi Noem narrowly won the election season's "hottest race" — the one with two under-40 female candidates — last week. And now her drooling male colleagues in Washington may give her a spot in the leadership!

This may be the closest fans of both House and Doogie Howser will get to a crossover putting the two fictional doctors at odds: Tamblyn's character is a genius with degrees in math and art who's currently devouring med school.

Tomorrow's election map looks much like 2006's, but with the parties reversed: the ruling party will probably lose the House, possibly lose the Senate, and probably win a California gubernatorial election for consolation. Here's a preview.

Let's laugh at something a congressman recently said about gay marriage, yes? Because Rep. Steve King, a notable jackass, has a theory: Under legalized gay marriage, children would be raised collectively in "warehouses," a la Ancient Sparta, effectively ending civilization.

Here are chief White House photographer Pete Souza's ten favorite images of the Obama presidency (it's the one-year anniversary of "Photo of the Day"). What nice photos! The one with the little boy! Souza should totally get Hipstamatic, though.

Following in the footsteps of Carl Paladino's probably unhelpful stink-bomb mailer to his constituents, another campaign, that of California congressional candidate Van Tran, has sent out a stinky scratch-and-sniff mailer. And, when engaged, it smells like absolute shit.

You all can figure out the indiscreet implications of this ad from congressional candidate Sean Bielat, depicting an animated version of his opponent, gay Rep. Barney Frank, as, in TPM's words, a "hip-swerving disco queen." But it's still entertaining.