Perry takes the lead in Iowa  —  Rick Perry is the new leader in Iowa:  —  The race is pretty close four ways in Iowa but Rick Perry is the new favorite among Republican voters in the state.  Among announced candidates he's at 22% to 19% for Mitt Romney, 18% for Michele Bachmann, and 16% for Ron Paul.

Conservative elites pine for 2012 hero  —  It's a tough time to be a conservative intellectual.  —  From the Weekly Standard to the Wall Street Journal, on the pages of policy periodicals and opinion sections, the egghead right's longing for a presidential candidate of ideas …

Rick Perry holds the record on executions  —  Darren McCollester/GETTY IMAGES - PEMBROKE, NH - AUGUST 18: Republican presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry speaks to workers at Epoch Homes August 18, 2011 in Pembroke, New Hampshire.  Perry has been campaigning since he declared …

Rebels Invade Qaddafi Compound  —  TRIPOLI, Libya — Rebel fighters flooded into Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's sprawling compound on Tuesday, overwhelming what remained of its defenses and running pell-mell through the grounds, as the crackle of gunfire and rumble of explosions spread across …

National debt has increased $4 trillion under Obama  —  The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama's watch.  —  The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office.  The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion.

How Democrats Hurt Jobs  —  The airplane's aft section arrived early Monday morning.  That's what they'd been waiting for at the final assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C. They already had the wings, the nose, the tail — all the other major sections of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner.

Spending, not entitlements, created huge deficit  —  It's conventional wisdom in Washington to blame the federal government's dire financial outlook on runaway entitlement spending.  Unless we rein in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the conventional wisdom goes, the federal government is headed for disaster.

5.9 magnitude quake rocks East Coast  —  A 5.9 magnitude quake center in Virginia rocks the East Coast, with tremors felt as far south as North Carolina, as far north as Buffalo and Boston, and as far west as Detroit.  —  Update at 2:30 p.m. ET: The Washington Post quotes a a USGS official as saying …

Here's Why Bank Of America's Stock Is Collapsing Again  —  It's deja vu all over again.  —  The stock of a humongous American bank, Bank of America (BAC), is collapsing.  —  This is stoking fears that Bank of America will go bust, taking the whole economy down with it.  —  Why is Bank of America's stock tanking?

Let's Be Honest: We're in a Depression, Not a Recession, And There's No End In Sight  —  This article is a contribution to ‘Is There Anything That Can Be Done?  A TNR Symposium On The Economy.’ Click here to read other contributions to the series.  —  If the notion that we are merely living through …

How Is Warren Buffett Like the Pope?  —  by Richard A. Epstein (Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow and member of the Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force)  —  They are both dead wrong on economic policy.  —  The terrible economic news from both Europe and the United States …

What's Obama Reading?  —  The reports are in about the books President Obama is looking at on his annual trip to Martha's Vineyard.  According to reports from the Los Angeles Times and the AP, Obama purchased five books on his trip to the Vineyard bookseller Bunch of Grapes: Marianna Baer's Frost …

Rare Strong Earthquake Hits Colorado  —  DENVER — The largest natural earthquake in Colorado in more than a century struck Monday night in the state's southeast corner, but there had been no reports of damage or injuries.  —  The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 and centered …

How to get $12 billion of gold to Venezuela  —  Ever since the news broke last week that Hugo Chávez wanted to transport 211 tons of physical gold from Europe to Caracas, I've been wondering how on earth he possibly intends to do such a thing.  —  There are 99 tons already being held …

Washington Is Eliminating Red Tape  —  New reforms will save Americans billions without sacrificing public health or safety.  —  Early this year, President Obama ordered an unprecedentedly ambitious government-wide review of existing federal regulations, emphasizing that we must “measure …

Debbie's Very Bad Day in Iowa  —  During my Iowa trip, I got lots of photos and videos I wasn't able to upload at the time due to connectivity issues and the very hectic schedule.  One of the items that never made it to the blog was an incident at the Iowa State Fair where DNC Chairwoman …

Gov. Sanford on Emerging From Seclusion  —  A scandal-plagued former governor who was once considered a potential presidential contender for 2012 is instead standing on the periphery, reflecting on what might have been and watching as the Republican primary field continues to take shape.

HHS: Children Are ‘Sexual Beings’  —  (CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is offering advice to parents and teens about sex education, including assurances that teens may “experiment” with homosexuality as part of “exploring their own sexuality,” …

Dean of Columbia College Resigns After Two Years  —  The dean of Columbia College has abruptly resigned over what she called administrative changes that would diminish or eliminate her authority, leaving the undergraduate division of Columbia University without a leader two weeks before the start of classes.

In LD8, Delany derailed by wife's email to Lewis  —  Former Assemblyman Pat Delany abruptly resigned last month from his post representing the 8th district after his wife sent a racially tinged email to senate challenger Carl Lewis, the former Olympic Gold medalist.

Beware the tea party, Jesse Jackson, Frederica Wilson and black Democrats say at jobs meeting  —  Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in Miami Tuesday to host a jobs fair, part of their five-city tour to draw attention to high unemployment, particularly in the black community.