CNN Poll: Romney on top, Gingrich fading & Santorum rising in Iowa  —  Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Did Newt Gingrich peak too early?  —  A new survey of people likely to attend Iowa's Republican caucuses indicates that the former House speaker's support in the Hawkeye State is plunging.

Michele Bachmann chair defects to Ron Paul  —  In a shock announcement Wednesday night, Iowa state senator and onetime Michele Bachmann campaign leader Kent Sorenson declared that he is now supporting Ron Paul for president.  —  Sorenson made the announcement at a Paul rally with veterans …

Gingrich: Campaign worker's signature fraud cost slot on Virginia ballot  —  Algona, Iowa (CNN) - Newt Gingrich cited fraud Wednesday as the reason he didn't get on the Virginia primary ballot.  —  Last week his campaign acknowledged they used paid volunteers to scramble …

Anthony Weiner Wanted Threesome With Another Man, According To Mistress  —  Disgraced former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was caught in online trysts with numerous women, but RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that according to one of his mistresses, he expressed wanting a threesome - with another man.

Repo Men  —  If you're making money on the Wall Street scale — which is nothing like your boring, middle-management in the Fortune 500, Hamptons-and-Mercedes, barely-a-1 percenter type money — then you can buy basically anything.  When real-estate investor Robert Rosania put part …

Tarzan co-star Cheetah dies at Palm Harbor sanctuary  —  Cheetah the chimpanzee, who acted in classic Tarzan movies in the early 1930s, died of kidney failure Saturday at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, a sanctuary spokeswoman said.  —  Cheetah was roughly 80 years old …

Sen. Ben Nelson's Retirement Signals Twilight of Blue Dog Democrats  —  Centrist Sen. Ben Nelson's retirement puts the Democrats' Senate majority in jeopardy and could even spell trouble for Obama's reelection.  But the absence of his and other independent voices in Congress is the real danger.

ONLY ONE CANDIDATE IS RIGHT ON THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES  —  In the upcoming presidential election, two issues are more important than any others: repealing Obamacare and halting illegal immigration.  If we fail at either one, the country will be changed permanently.  —  Taxes can be raised and lowered.

What Moves Republican Crowds in Iowa  —  DES MOINES — The Republican candidates for president are doing a lot of talking in the last week before voting begins.  —  But spending a day observing how the crowds react to the candidates can be just as instructive.

Chavez: U.S. May Be Behind Leaders' Cancer  —  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hinted that the U.S. may be behind a “very strange” bout of cancer affecting several leaders aligned with him in South America.  —  Chavez, speaking a day after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner …

The Times E-Mails Millions by Mistake to Say Subscriptions Were Canceled  —  Updated The New York Times said it accidentally sent e-mails on Wednesday to more than eight million people who had shared their information with the company, erroneously informing them they had canceled home delivery of the newspaper.

Wary Hispanic voters favor Obama over GOP rivals  —  President Obama holds a wide lead among Hispanic voters when matched against potential Republican challengers, even as Hispanics grow wary of his administration's stepped-up deportation policies and less supportive of his overall job performance, according to a new poll.

TODAY, December 28, 2011, Mitt Romney Calls Obamacare “Conservative”  —  This isn't a flash back.  This is today.  Mitt Romney is again declaring the foundation of Obamacare, the individual mandate, “conservative.”  —  To be sure, it is conservative that one takes responsibility for their own healthcare.

GIRL SCOUTS BOOK REFERS READERS TO LIBERAL GROUP MEDIA MATTERS TO CLEAR UP ‘MEDIA MISINFORMATION’  —  In 2010, the Girl Scouts of the USA published a book called “MEdia.”  The publication, designed for girls in grades six through eight, is a guide that apparently offers insight into how young people …

Gingrich urged yes vote on controversial Medicare bill, former congresswoman says  —  Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Another Republican has come forward to say that Newt Gingrich personally pressed her and other members of Congress in 2003 to vote for a controversial Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Jon Swift Memorial Roundup 2011  —  Welcome to a tradition started by the much missed Jon Swift/Al Weisel.  He left behind some excellent satire, but was also a nice guy and a strong supporter of small blogs.  As Lance Mannion puts it: … Here's his 2007 and 2008 editions.  Last year's revival is here.

Perry Pledges To Openly Defy A Supreme Court Decision Striking Down An Anti-Choice ‘Personhood’ Law  —  At a radio forum sponsored by the anti-abortion and anti-birth control group Personhood USA, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said that he would refuse to obey a Supreme Court decision striking down the group's signature anti-choice proposal: