Mitt Romney in striking distance of Iowa win  —  Don't look now, but Mitt Romney suddenly seems like the Iowa front-runner.  —  The former Massachusetts governor has carefully tempered expectations in Iowa all year, visiting only a handful of times and saving the bulk of his television spending for the final weeks of the race.

Well, well, well, the Texas Christmas Day massacre of 7 people, including the killer, was a MUSLIM honor killing, after all.  —  Truth be told, I quickly discounted my initial reaction that Muslims might be involved because the killer was reported to be in a Santa costume.  Stupid me.

‘Liberated’ Gary Johnson seeks Libertarian nomination  —  (CNN) - Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson announced his intention to seek the Libertarian nomination for president Wednesday.  —  Calling his choice “both a difficult decision-and an easy one,” in a statement …

After Watching Citizens United Film, Perry Shifts To Oppose Abortion Even For Victims Of Rape Or Incest  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) declared that he'd experienced a “transformation” following an anti-abortion film and now no longer supports allowing women to get an abortion if they are victims of rape or incest.

North Korea Mourns Kim Jong Il  —  North Koreans have shown extraordinary displays of grief in the days since the death of their leader Kim Jong Il on December 17th.  Today marked the start of a two-day funeral ceremony, as thousands of North Koreans lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang …

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.

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 …

Mitt Romney: The Real Austerity Candidate  —  Over the holidays, Willard Romney has been seeking once again to define himself, a job that is very similar to that undertaken by the people who renovate old country homes.  The first thing you have to do is to tear down the accumulated improvements …

'Don't worry kids, I'll be fine': Marine shot three times in street robbery survives... by plugging bullet holes with his fingers  —  A U.S. Marine officer has told the incredible story of how he survived a street robbery by plugging bullet holes in his body with his fingers.

Poll: Newsletters Not Hurting Paul in Iowa  —  Think about it.  If Ron Paul was suffering and taking damage from the stories about his old newsletters, what sort of voters would abandon him?  Who'd be offended by signed editorials about fleet-footed blacks and skeezy gay men?

Under Obama, an emerging global apparatus for drone killing  —  U.S. Air Force/GETTY IMAGES - A crew chief from the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron completes post-flight inspections of the RQ-1 Predator after one of its sorties in Balad Air Base, Iraq.

Ode to the Welfare State  —  A friend in Texas (where else) sent me the following item, which appeared in the New York Daily News on November 4, 1949, and since it has a Minnesota connection, as well as reminding us that some things about liberals never change, I thought it worth sharing with Power Line's home town readers:

Somalia Faces Alarming Rise in Rapes of Women and Girls  —  A rape victim in Mogadishu hid her identity.  Aid workers say there has been a free-for-all of armed men preying upon women and girls displaced by famine.  More Photos »  —  MOGADISHU, Somalia — The girl's voice dropped …

America's Dirty Little Housing Secret Is Rocking The Suburbs  —  For years, the food pantry in Crystal Lake, Ill., a bedroom community 50 miles west of Chicago, has catered to the suburban area's poor, homeless and unemployed.  —  But Cate Williams, the head of the pantry …