Majority of Conservatives See Romney as “Acceptable”  —  Only Romney now seen as acceptable by majority of Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney is the now the only candidate that a majority of conservative and moderate/liberal Republicans nationwide see as an “acceptable” GOP nominee for president.

Doomsday Clock moves to five minutes to midnight  —  It is five minutes to midnight.  Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face.  In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed.  For that reason, the Bulletin …

A Slate resident feminist hears Gov. Christie talking about oral sex when he's obviously not.  —  What a joke!  Christie — responding to hecklers who used the words “going down” in connection with jobs — said: “You know, something may be going down tonight, but it ain't going to be jobs, sweetheart.”

Lots of people can't fire their insurance companies  —  Governor Romney is getting a lot of heat for a line that appears to have been taken out of context.  I'd like to talk about it in context.  I think that's much more illuminating: … Gov. Romney is not saying that he enjoys telling people that they no longer have a job.

Poll: Americans, 2-1, Fear Obama's Reelection  —  When it comes to how Americans view President Obama going into the new year, there appears to be very little spirit of Auld Lang Syne.  Instead, according to the new Washington Whispers poll, many voters aren't forgetting what they dislike about Obama and want him out office.

Mitt Romney and 100,000 jobs: an untenable figure  —  “In the business I had, we invested in over 100 different businesses and net-net, taking out the ones where we lost jobs and those that we added, those businesses have now added over 100,000 jobs.”  —  Last week, when we first looked …

BREAKING: 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals Declares Oklahoma's Sharia Ban Unconstitutional  —  The 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals struck down Oklahoma's ban on Sharia law today, declaring that the Sooner State's move violated the United States Constitution.  —  In November 2010 …

Gov. Corbett declares war on food stamps  —  Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has announced a major assault on the food stamp program that feeds 1.8 million Pennsylvanians, including 439,245 in Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare announced that on May 1 …

Businessmen and Economics  —  A brief thought on something I'll try to expand on later.  Leaving aside all the questions about what Mitt Romney did or didn't do at Bain — and about his self-aggrandizing double standard — there's an even broader question: why does anyone believe that success …

Salt Lake City named America's ‘gayest’ burg  —  “While those unfamiliar with the Beehive State are likely to conjure images of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to- be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred,” writes Matthew Breen for The Advocate …

New Hampshire polls open in Dixville Notch — with nine votes  —  DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. — The voters of this tiny hamlet, all nine of them, have spoken.  Very briefly.  —  The polls opened here at midnight and closed less than a minute later, and the tally was final by 12:05 a.m. On the Republican side …

Where Are the Liberals?  —  Why aren't there more liberals in America?  —  It's not because liberalism lacks cultural power.  Many polls suggest that a majority of college professors and national journalists vote Democratic.  The movie, TV, music and publishing industries are dominated by liberals.

The Stephanopoulos Standard  —  Republicans can turn media bias to their advantage.  —  A funny thing happened on the way to the New Hampshire primary: ABC moderator George Stephanopoulos embarrassed himself on national television with questions plainly intended to embarrass the Republican candidates.

Man in custody after shootout with police in Alabama City  —  A man thought to be an Islamic extremist is believed to have shot the windows out of at least two businesses in Alabama City early Sunday to lure police officers to the area and engage them in a shootout.

NC Elections Official Resigns Rather than Facilitate the Marriage Discrimination Amendment  —  This thunderous letter of support for equality was sent to PHB and BlueNC by Sherre Toler, who, until last week was the director of elections for Harnett County in my state.

SOPA becoming election liability for backers  —  To the ranks of same-sex marriage, tax cuts and illegal immigration, add this to the list of polarizing political issues of Election 2012: the Stop Online Piracy Act.  —  The hot-button anti-piracy legislation that sparked a revolt online …

For women in business, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease  —  This piece is the first in a three-part series of myth busters about women in business, authored by Catalyst's Nancy Carter and Christine Silva.  —  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, as the saying goes.  But is this true for women in business?

The Crisis We Should Have Had … - Ron Paul's Quest for Victory, Also Known As “Second Place” - Lithwick: The Pressure Is on the Supreme Court To Solve the Nutty Texas Redistricting Fiasco  — Why the Economy Is Still Such a Mess: Banks Won't Give Loans to Small Businesses …

Ron Paul Defends Romney, Lashes Out at His Critics  —  In an exclusive interview outside a Manchester polling place, Ron Paul lashed out at fellow Republicans for making unfair and ignorant attacks on Mitt Romney's business record.  —  “I think they're wrong.

Companies Face Fines for Not Using Unavailable Biofuel  —  WASHINGTON — When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law.

U.S. Economic Confidence Rises to Seven-Month High  —  Americans' outlook for the economy is improving faster than their ratings of current conditions  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Gallup Economic Confidence Index improved to -27 in the week ending Jan. 8, continuing the steady improvement …

Obama 2012: 'Osama Bin Laden Will Never Again Walk the Face of This Earth.  That's What Change Is.'  —  At a campaign event this evening at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., President Obama indicated that he had successfully brought about “change”—an ambiguous 2008 campaign promise …