Going After Rick  —  America is going bankrupt, Iran is going nuclear, the Obama administration is going after religious liberty.  And Mitt Romney is going after Rick Santorum.  —  Which is fine (sort of).  Romney's in a political fight, and politics ain't beanbag, as Romney has tried to say.

Why birth control is a good wedge issue against the GOP  —  Some time around the end of February, the Senate will vote on the Blunt-Rubio amendment, which would allow insurers and employers to deny coverage for birth control or any other medical services simply on the grounds that they find them morally objectionable.

PolitiFact responds to Rachel Maddow  —  Rachel Maddow made yet another stinging attack on PolitiFact last night, calling the Tampa Bay Times' fact-checking project “a disaster” (see video).  —  Via email, PolitiFact editor and Tampa Bay Times Washington bureau chief Bill Adair responds to the criticism:

Media Matters tax-exempt status may face new scrutiny from Congress  —  Congressional Republicans are now interested in examining the Media Matters For America's tax-exempt status, The Daily Caller has learned.  Doing so would cause the GOP to wade into the complex world of tax laws that govern …

Santorum: Birth control ‘harmful to women’  —  Yesterday I speculated on some of the reasons Rick Santorum has problems with women voters.  This interview from 2006 sure isn't going to help  —  For starters, does he realize that married women (men too!) use birth control?

Does the GOP care about Latino voters?  —  When it comes to Latino voters, Republicans must have un impulso suicida.  —  What else but a death wish could explain the party's treatment of the fastest-growing voting bloc in the nation?  First was the wave of Arizona-style immigration laws.

Food police reject preschooler's homemade lunch... in favour of chicken nuggets  —  A preschool girl was told her homemade meal wasn't healthy enough - so a school cafeteria monitor made her eat chicken nuggets instead.  —  The rejected meal consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread …

Health Costs, Gov't Regulations Curb Small Business Hiring  —  Nearly half of small-business owners name these issues  —  PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. small-business owners who aren't hiring — 85% of those surveyed — are most likely to say the reasons they are not doing so include …

White House issues veto threat for House transportation bill  —  The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a wide-ranging transportation package from House Republicans.  —  The administration raised concerns about a provision to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, and argued …

Gingrich's Main Backer Plays Two Angles  —  Casino Mogul Adelson Weighs New Funding to Boost Former Speaker and to Help Romney Keep Santorum at Bay  —  Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, by far the biggest financial backer of Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, is preparing to open his wallet again.

Federal funds flow to clean-energy firms with Obama administration ties  —  Sanjay Wagle was a venture capitalist and Barack Obama fundraiser in 2008, rallying support through a group he headed known as Clean Tech for Obama.  —  Shortly after Obama's election, he left his California firm …

Chavez allies attack new opponent Capriles as Jewish, gay  —  Venezuelan presidential hopeful Henrique Capriles, seen at a rally in La Guaira Jan. 27, has been attacked over his sexuality, Jewish ancestry and his selection as opposition candidate.  —  Allies of President Hugo Chavez …

Why Do Democrats Want to Protect Voter Fraud?  —  Suffrage: A new study finds that nearly 2 million dead people remain on voter registration rolls.  So tell us again why Democrats oppose voter ID laws that would help prevent these errant registrations from being exploited?

Obama administration estimates 86 million people benefited from health law's prevention benefits last year  —  About 86 million Americans took advantage of the healthcare reform law's prevention benefits for Medicare beneficiaries and people with private insurance last year …

Deported Dad Begs North Carolina To Give Him Back His Children  —  Every morning since the first of his three boys was born in 2007, Felipe Montes would wake early and prepare breakfast for his wife and children, get his boys ready for their day, change them, feed them and when he could not arrange …

Female Passengers Say They Were Targeted for TSA Body Scanners  —  TSA agents in Dallas singled out female passengers to undergo screening in a body scanner, according to complaints filed by several women who said they felt the screeners intentionally targeted them to view their bodies.

Boehner delays highway bill vote  —  Speaker John Boehner is delaying a vote on the $260 billion transportation bill that was scheduled this week.  —  Boehner (R-Ohio) told his conference Wednesday morning that it was “more important that we do it right than that we do it fast” …

Kathleen Sebelius says she didn't talk to bishops  —  HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that she didn't consult with the Catholic bishops on the latest version of the contraceptive coverage rule.  —  At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Obama administration's budget request …

Heartland Institute Exposed: Internal Documents Unmask Heart of Climate Denial Machine  —  Internal Heartland Institute strategy and funding documents obtained by DeSmogBlog expose the heart of the climate denial machine - its current plans, many of its funders, and details that confirm …