Mitt Romney is the best choice  —  A little more than a year ago, Michigan voters put their trust in a businessman to serve as their governor.  They were looking for someone who understands the private sector and has a plan for reversing the economic decline that had befallen our great state.

Lawmakers reach deal to extend payroll tax cut  —  House and Senate negotiators early Thursday finalized a deal to extend the payroll tax cut, emergency unemployment benefits and the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors.  —  Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) …

Sarah Palin will ‘help’ brokered convention  —  Former Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday that a brokered Republican presidential convention was a possibility and that if it happened she “would do whatever I could to help.”  —  “If one of the nominees, one of the GOPers …

Exclusive: Santorum releases four years of tax returns  —  Rick Santorum said they would come this week, and here are four years worth of his taxes, from years 2007 through 2010.  —  They can be found here, here, here and here.  The returns are the most in number that have been released …

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 …

Iran helping al Qaeda plot attack on West, intelligence sources say  —  LONDON — Iran and al Qaeda's core leadership under Ayman al Zawahiri have established an operational relationship amid fears the terror group is planning an attack against the West.  —  There are concerns such an attack …

OMB director undercuts legal case for Obamacare  —  Testifying before Congress this morning, President Obama's acting budget director Jeffrey Zients directly undercut one of the administration's key legal defenses of its national health care law as it nears a hearing before the Supreme Court.

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.

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.

Intermarriage rates soar as stereotypes fall  —  Virginia leads the nation in the percentage of marriages between blacks and whites, a new study by the Pew Research Center shows, barely four decades after state laws criminalizing interracial marriage were struck down by the Supreme Court.

A Point By Point Commentary On Keith Olbermann's “Debunking” Of The Occupy Rape  —  Before I debunk Keith Olbermann's “debunking,” let's remember what Keith Olbermann said.  It's the standard to which Mr. Olbermann needs to be held: … That is Mr. Olbermann's statement and he hasn't backed down from it.

Op-Ed Contributor: Philadelphia Newspapers Are a Target  —  I LIVE in Philadelphia.  I have for nearly 40 of my 57 years.  It is a wonderful city but also a corrupt one.  Power is concentrated in the hands of a select few, who sometimes act in the public interest but too often act …

OVERNIGHT TECH: Cybersecurity bill headed straight to Senate floor  —  THE LEDE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to bring a cybersecurity bill straight to the Senate floor in the coming weeks, skipping any committee markups, according to Democratic aides.

Unemployment applications drop to a 4-year low  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to the lowest point in almost four years last week, the latest signal that the job market is steadily improving.  —  The Labor Department says weekly applications …

Greece spiralling into catastrophic depression  —  NOTE: WE DO NOT STORE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS(ES) BUT YOUR IP ADDRESS WILL BE LOGGED TO PREVENT ABUSE OF THIS FEATURE.  PLEASE READ OUR LEGAL TERMS & POLICIES  —  Greece is expecting to agree the terms of European leaders for a rescue package …

Rep. West: Democratic handouts an ‘insidious form of slavery’  —  Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Wednesday evening praised the Republican Party for consistently fighting for individual freedom over the last 150 years, and criticized Democrats for pursuing “handouts” to the less fortunate that he said are a modern form of slavery.

Heartland Institute Responds to Stolen and Fake Documents  —  FEBRUARY 15, 2012 - The following statement from The Heartland Institute - a free-market think tank - may be used for attribution.  For more information, contact Communications Director Jim Lakely at jlakely@heartland.org and 312/377-4000.