This week on Politically Indirect:

• The Republicans make a Pledge to America, while the Democrats punt on the Bush tax cuts

• Obamacare went into effect this week- parts of it, anyway

• A spy sits in jail while the Israeli-Palestinian peace process dangles from a thread- what do these two things have in common? You'll have to listen to find out!

Plus! Short Ends! The New York Times article on Afghan girls pretending to be boys, D.C.'s food truck wars, Ahmadinejad's wacky UN speech, and Mike Konczal's piece on Larry Summers (with a dig at Ben Bernanke).