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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Going Rogue: Independent Group Runs Palin For President Radio Ads In Iowa  —  An independent group is running radio ads on WHO in Des Moines, IA asking Iowans to “vote rogue” for Sarah Palin on caucus day.

Two claim Gingrich lobbied in '03  —  Newt Gingrich personally urged members of Congress to vote for a controversial Medicare expansion bill in 2003, two Republicans who were in the room said this week.  —  Gingrich, who is running for president, has said he never lobbied members of Congress after he resigned as House speaker in 1998.

North Korean Mourners Line Streets for Kim Jong-il's Funeral  —  SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-un, the designated dynastic heir to power in North Korea, walked alongside the hearse of his deceased father, Kim Jong-il, through snow-covered downtown Pyongyang on Wednesday …

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:

In the Future Everything Will Be A Coffee Shop  —  Phil and I ended last week's FastForward Radio show discussing how higher education will change in the coming years.  My conclusion:  —  Universities Will Become Coffee Shops  —  We're faced with an education bubble.

Iowa Republicans to move counting due to security concerns  —  Washington (CNN) - The Republican Party of Iowa has decided to move the counting of returns in next Tuesday's caucuses to a secret location because of security concerns, CNN has confirmed.  —  State party officials refused …