Democratic Women Boycott House Contraception Hearing After Republicans Prevent Women From Testifying  —  This morning, Democrats tore into House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) for preventing women from testifying before a hearing examining the Obama administration's …

Ohio GOP Primary: Santorum 42%, Romney 24%  —  Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum continues to ride his polling momentum into Ohio where he leads Mitt Romney by nearly two-to-one in the first Rasmussen Reports survey of Republicans in the state.  —  The new statewide telephone survey …

The Colbert Report suspended temporarily  —  The late-night comedy program hosted by Stephen Colbert will suspend production for at least two days this week, POLITICO has confirmed.  —  The Colbert Report, the home of relentless parodying of super PACs and the campaign finance system …

Mitt Romney to skip March 1 CNN debate  —  Mitt Romney will skip the CNN Republican debate scheduled for March 1, just days before Super Tuesday.  —  “Gov. Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday,” Romney press secretary Andrea Saul said in a statement.

Santorum Sugar Daddy Foster Friess Gives ‘Gals’ Contraception Advice: Put An Aspirin Between Your Knees  —  Appearing of MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell today, Foster Friess, the main donor to the Super PAC backing Rick Santorum's presidential bid, dismissed the controversy surrounding President Obama's …

Who Wants to See Tina Korbe's Thighs?  —  The title of this post is not a hypothetical question, because last week the aforesaid Miss Korbe joined her Hot Air colleague Ed Morrissey for a video interview with Rick Santorum, which I didn't see until somebody brought it to my attention yesterday:

Supreme Court should take on New York City's rent control laws  —  James and Jeanne Harmon reside in and supposedly own a five-story brownstone on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a building that has been in their family since 1949.  But they have, so to speak, houseguests who have overstayed their welcome by …

Maine GOP recounting caucus votes  —  The Maine Republican Party, under fire from Ron Paul supporters for its mishandling of the state's recent caucuses, is now re-canvassing counties and municipalities to recount vote totals.  —  POLITICO obtained an email from the State Republican Party …

Senators pledge to back Obama if he attacks Iran to halt nuclear program  —  Sens. Graham and Lieberman introduced a resolution calling on the US to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.  —  A group of bipartisan senators said Thursday they would stand by President Obama if he decided …

Contraception's Con Men  —  By a revolting combination of con men and fanatics, the current primary race has become a demonstration that the Republican party does not deserve serious consideration for public office.  Take the controversy over contraceptives.

The War on Lady Parts Continues in Congress, States  —  That all-male hearing on birth control access over at the House Oversight Committee provoked Democratic women on the committee to walk out of the hearing room.  And Nancy Pelosi responded to the hearing this way:

'Don't Say Gay' bill advances  —  As students protest, House subcommittee reignites debate  —  “Don't Say Gay” Bill Provokes Protest: HB229, or the so-called “Don't Say Gay” Bill, passes subcommittee.  —  A bill to restrict teaching about homosexuality before high school cleared …

The Rise of Intermarriage  —  Rates, Characteristics Vary by Race and Gender  —  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  —  This report analyzes the demographic and economic characteristics of newlyweds who marry spouses of a different race or ethnicity, and compares the traits of those who “marry out” with those who “marry in.”

More Than a Touch of Malice  —  When Barack Obama first announced that he intended to force all employers, including Catholic institutions, to provide contraception and abortifacients as part of the healthcare package they offer their employees, my friend Michael Barone observed …

Leaked Docs From Heartland Institute Cause a Stir—but Is One a Fake?  —  The climate blogs have been swept by quite a scoop in the past few days.  An anonymous leaker identified only as “Heartland Insider” has dumped a cache of documents on climate blogs purporting to reveal the inner workings …

Polls Networks Dare Not Name  —  Just possibly you've heard of a surge Rick Santorum is enjoying in Michigan.  A surge that has now put him ahead of Mitt Romney in Romney's childhood home state.  And quite possibly you've seen the chart above from TPM, or one like it at HuffPost/Pollster or RealClearPolitics.

How I'll Respond to China's Rising Power  —  The character of the Chinese government—one that marries aspects of the free market with suppression of freedom—shouldn't become the norm.  —  Should the 21st century be an American century?  To answer, it is only necessary to contemplate the alternatives.

A Graphic Question: Where Are the Jobs?  —  Tomorrow, February 17, 2012, will be exactly 3 years since President Obama signed his infamous stimulus package into law.  It was a plan designed to create jobs by growing the size of government, and its record has not been good.

Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times, I hope I'm wrong  —  A couple of days ago, I had a conversation with a Jewish official who bitterly complained about the New York Times' choice for its new Jerusalem correspondent.  He didn't even mentioned the name, as far as I remember …

New global deal on climate change  —  Action now on these gases can have relatively fast benefits.  A study in Science last month by an international team of 24 scientists, led by NASA climate modeler Drew Shindell, estimated the effects of initiating 14 methane and black carbon control measures.