David Kato, an internationally-known gay rights activist, was murdered Wednesday following a Ugandan newspaper's publication of a long list of what it said were the country's "top" gays, along with their photographs and addresses.

Kato was found hammered to death in his home. Police suggested it was a robbery.

Others, apparently including President Obama, suspect otherwise.

Saying that he was speaking on behalf of the American people, Obama said, "LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights."

See the president's full statement below:

Statement by the President on the Killing of David Kato

I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of David Kato. In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work. 

At home and around the world, LGBT persons continue to be subjected to unconscionable bullying, discrimination, and hate. 

In the weeks preceding David Kato’s murder in Uganda, five members of the LGBT community in Honduras were also murdered. It is essential that the Governments of Uganda and Honduras investigate these killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.

LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness and equality for all.     ####

Photos: Associated Press

Like many other governors confronting their legislatures and budget problems these days, Nevada's new chief executive Brian Sandoval (his official biography is here) faced cutting expenses.

"We find ourselves on the new terrain of a changed global economy," he told legislators the other night, "and the crossing is hard."

Taking office 27 days ago, the former attorney general and federal judge found a preexisting budget gap of $1.2 billion. And began adjusting. "I can tell you the process was as painful as it was necessary," he said. Although the problems are common to most states we've examined so far (scroll down for links to previously published state of the State messages), Nevada's solutions are unique.

The new governor outlines them below.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers. My Fellow Nevadans:

It is a special honor to be here for my first State of the State with so many new members of the Legislature. Nevada is fortunate to have these leaders take office when we are in such a time of need. Welcome, all of you.

Welcome, too, all of the many guests who have joined us here in the Assembly chamber. Kathleen and I are honored that you are willing to share this evening with us. Please also allow me to....

Writing a major political speech like Tuesday's Obama State of the Union Address is an extremely complex undertaking typically lasting weeks and involving contributions from dozens of people by the end of the prose assembly process when the elected official reads over a late draft and adds his or her own touches for spoken comfort.

We are told that President Obama had a direct hand in crafting the 6,200 or so words that millions watched on nationwide television with the members of Congress as applauding props in a joint session.

One final trick of good speechwriters is to make their written words sound like somebody else's with the vocabulary, cadence and tone of the boss. That's no easy task and one reason Obama's top speechwriter is paid the $172,000 maximum for presidential aides.

Among the numerous working drafts, the alterations and edits for delivery time, policy or political sensitivities, it's easy for nuances or key words to get dropped unnoticed from a speech as it typically goes from hand to hand.

And, of course, such addresses do not contain the kinds of source credits and detailed footnotes that a diligent Barack Obama would have required when he was elected the first black president of the esteemed Harvard Law Review exactly 21 years ago next week.

During his Tuesday evening address to a joint session of Congress Obama cited....

Fresh from his 62-minute State of the Union oration, President Obama flew out to Wisconsin today to wave and repeat his opening 2012 campaign message of investing instead of spending. If you don't know the difference, that's perfect.

Innovation is also a big theme of the Democrat nowadays. It's positive, optimistic and means he doesn't have to talk specific cuts, which he hopes to force House Republicans to do first and set themselves up as targets.

Obama spoke for only 17 minutes at Orion Energy Systems in Manitowoc, enough to praise innovation, winning the future and sucking it up in tough times, which Americans are good at, he said. And which they better be good at these days, he didn't say.

Of course the president, who's actually a Pittsburgh Steelers backer, made the obligatory...

Of all the major political events en route in coming weeks and months -- President Obama's budget, the Republicans' budget, the debt ceiling fight and the continuing budget resolution -- this State of the Union stuff is the least important.

Thanks to today's media saturation, appointment political events like such speeches to Congress, presidential news conferences and debates garner way too much attention beforehand. It's like good Kansas City BBQ: The anticipation is exquisite. It's great going down. But two days later you're hungry again.

So, a stipulation up front: Obama's 2011 State of the Union address, all 6,200+ words of it, won't matter a whit by Monday. We're chewing on it this morning. TV will have ....

Good evening, my name is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota's 6th District.

Two years ago, when Barack Obama became our President, unemployment was 7.8 percent and our national debt stood at what seemed like a staggering $10.6 trillion dollars.

We wondered whether the President would cut spending, reduce the deficit and implement real job-creating policies.

Unfortunately, the President's strategy for recovery was to spend a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus program, fueled by borrowed money.

The White House promised us that all the spending would keep unemployment under 8 percent.

Not only did that plan fail to deliver, but within three months the national jobless rate spiked to 9.4 percent. And sadly, it hasn't been lower for 20 straight months. While the government grew, we lost more than 2 million jobs.

Let me show you a chart.

Here are unemployment rates over the past ten years. In October 2001, our....

Response to the State of the Union by Rep. Paul Ryan, as provided by Republican Party leadership

Good evening. I’m Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin – and Chairman here at the House Budget Committee.

President Obama just addressed a Congressional chamber filled with many new faces. One face we did not see tonight was that of our friend and colleague, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. We all miss Gabby and her cheerful spirit; and we are praying for her return to the House Chamber. 

Earlier this month, President Obama spoke movingly at a memorial event for the six people who died on that violent morning in Tucson. Still, there are no words that can lift the sorrow that now engulfs the families and friends of the fallen.

What we can do is assure them that the nation is praying for them; that, in the words of the Psalmist, the Lord heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds; and that over time grace will replace grief.

As Gabby continues to make encouraging progress, we must....

Prepared text of President Obama's State of the Union, as provided by the White House

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague – and our friend – Gabby Giffords.

It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there’s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater – something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.

That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won’t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.

I believe we can. I believe we must. That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With....

With House Republican snipers trying to pick off repeal parts of his healthcare legislation, President Obama will attempt to march wend his way through the political minefield briar patch of his next State of the Union address this  evening.

Fully armed With policy talking points, he'll issue a trumpet call to battle stations  arms rally embattled determined Democrats to gear up prepare for the crucial assault run-up on the 2012 presidential election year.

With so many obedient party members debunked diminished destroyed demolished defeated in November's midterm battle struggle as collateral damage for that take-no-prisoners healthcare vote, the Real Good Talker president will have dozens fewer friendly faces gazing up at the podium where Speaker Nancy Pelosi John Boehner now wields holds the gavel.

As usual, Vice President Joe Biden will also be there asleep applauding.

Many of the Supreme Court's nine justices, having been riddled bombarded chided by Obama during last year's speech partisan rally, may opt to stay home tonight and watch an adult a cable channel.

In a new poll of likely voters in advance of the president's rhetorical rant speech, Rasmussen Reports finds that slightly fewer Americans are interested in the annual ritual this year.

An eye-popping Forty-seven percent say these things are mostly for show, if you can imagine such a phony thing on TV in American politics. Forty-four percent find these Capitol Hill dronings addresses ever so important in setting national policy.

Fifteen percent of Americans are dense enough to believe that presidents accomplish most of what they blabber talk about in these appearances.

The president is certain to go on about discuss the professed importance of both parties working together this year because, as he so often says, there's plenty of time for his legions of campaign troops to close ranks campaign in 2012.

In fact, there are still 671 670 669 668 days until the presidential election, so much time in fact that chief political strategist David Axelrod isn't marching rushing back to the Chicago war room campaign headquarters office to take aim at plan for possible aggressors Republican Swiftboaters opponents until next year month.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Pete Souza / White House (Democrat Obama is about to speak).

A president's State of the Union address has by tradition come around halfway to spring on the American calendar, nearly coinciding with another regular rite of winter, Groundhog Day. One event involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of lesser intelligence for prognostication, while the other involves a groundhog. Hey-yoh.

As standard practice as the rhetorical ritual has become, the Constitution actually requires no such address. Article 2 Section 3 simply says: "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Nothing in there about primetime on a Tuesday evening preempting "NCIS," with days of preceding news leaks.

Two hundred twenty-one years and two weeks ago George Washington actually ....

Lang Lang.

Gee, those Americans are really touchy.

Who would have thought that a Chinese pianist entertaining at the Obama White House state dinner last week to promote Chinese-American friendship with Chinese President Hu Jintao could possibly offend anyone by tickling the old ivories with a favorite song about the Chinese People's Liberation Army enduring great hardships but finally killing sufficient enemy troops to win a 1952 Korean War battle against American soldiers?

What's to be offended by such a musical choice unless, perhaps, you're not a Chinese Korean War vet?

The 28-year-old Chinese pianist Lang Lang says he wanted to "bridge cultures" using music. He attempted to explain his musical choice by saying: "It has been a favorite of mine since I was a child," adding, "It was selected for no other reason than for the beauty of its melody."

For sure.

The music comes from a 1956 Chinese movie, "Battle on Shanggangling Mountain," about the heroic people's army following the instructions of the beloved leader and, despite setbacks, becoming victorious in the 1952 Battle of Triangle Hill during the Korean War.

Which, btw, 58 years later still has just a ceasefire, no peace treaty.

A spokesman for the Obama White House says any suggestion that it's an insult to play a patriotic Chinese song that refers to American troops as "jackals" in the U.S. president's house is "just flat wrong."

Good luck selling that one in Wisconsin come Wednesday's presidential trip to Manitowoc.

Our sharp-eyed colleague Paul Richter notes that a Chinese blogger has posted a comment about the song's performance, saying playing it before the U.S. president was "deeply meaningful." But, he adds, "I don't know if the Americans can understand. Ha ha."

As it happens, Lang Lang is scheduled to perform Tuesday evening with the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa, Calif. So, that would seem to preclude a heroic encore during the president's State of the Union Address to Congress.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg (The Obamas greet President Hu at the White House State Dinner, Jan. 19, 2011); Getty Images (Lang Lang).

Like fellow Republican governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, New Mexico's new governor, Susana Martinez, is her state's first female chief executive. She is also the nation's first Latina governor, as Haley is the first woman governor in the United States of Indian descent.

But Martinez is not new to public service, having been a prosecutor for nearly a quarter-century. Her full biography is here. Her husband, Chuck Franco, has also had a long career in law enforcement. See the couple's photo below greeting a little girl.

Last week with Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell's State of the State address, we heard of the strong economy in the country's largest state geographically. (For links to all of the state of the state addresses published on Top of the Ticket so far, please scroll to the bottom.)

With New Mexico, however, we return to the familiar 2011 governmental theme of deficits and the need to cut spending. Martinez hits that theme strongly, imposing several major changes from policies of her predecessor, Democrat Bill Richardson.

She has ordered the state jet sold, cut expenses at the governor's residence by 55%, including letting go the two personal chefs who had been working there, cut her cabinet members' salaries by 10% and frozen all new vehicle purchases, except for law enforcement, among other stringencies.

Martinez even suggested her husband would have to do some of the cooking. (Be sure to read Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' remarks below on his state living within its means, as its citizens do.)

Martinez is also driving a theme heard from many governors, that their state is ...