Santorum dodges Friess ‘bad joke’  —  POLITICO's Juana Summers reports on Rick Santorum's reaction to Foster Friess with reporters tonight: … Buzzfeed's Rosie Gray had a bit of this earlier.  —  UPDATE: Friess himself, in an interview with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell …

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul Friendly Amid the Rivalry  —  LAKE JACKSON, Tex. — Once there was a challenge of a softball game from the Ron Paul clan to the Mitt Romney clan.  “They didn't show up,” Mr. Paul says.  “We didn't schedule it.  We really razz them about that, ‘You guys chickened out!’ ”

Blacklisted, But Not Beaten  —  My days as a political analyst at MSNBC have come to an end.  —  After 10 enjoyable years, I am departing, after an incessant clamor from the left that to permit me continued access to the microphones of MSNBC would be an outrage against decency, and dangerous.

Over-regulated America  —  The home of laissez-faire is being suffocated by excessive and badly written regulation  —  AMERICANS love to laugh at ridiculous regulations.  A Florida law requires vending-machine labels to urge the public to file a report if the label is not there.

At Work in Syria, Times Correspondent Dies  —  Anthony Shadid, a prize-winning newspaper correspondent whose graceful dispatches for both The New York Times and The Washington Post covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict and turmoil, died, apparently of an asthma attack …

Virginia's Proposed Ultrasound Law Is an Abomination  —  Under the new legislation, women who want an abortion will be forcibly penetrated for no medical reason.  Where's the outrage?  —  This week, the Virginia state Legislature passed a bill that would require women to have an ultrasound before they may have an abortion.

A Syllabus for the ‘Occupy’ Movement  —  Conservatives are wrong to deride college courses on the anti-Wall Street protests.  Here's a lesson plan and possible reading list.  —  Schools from New York's Columbia to Chicago's Roosevelt University are offering courses on the “Occupy” movement.

Is birth control fight a Terri Schiavo moment?  —  The respected Dem firm Democracy Corps has just published an important polling memo that gets right to the heart of why the birth control battle could matter so much in this year's elections.  —  The firm's poll finds that one of the most …

For those who misunderstood my joke today, here's my quest for forgiveness...  Last week my joke at the Conservative Political Action Conference generated laughter and media attention.  Today on Andrea Mitchell's show, my aspirin joke bombed as many didn't recognize it as a joke but thought …

What are women for?  —  In a simpler time Sigmund Freud struggled to understand what women want.  Today the significant battle is over what women are for.  None of our culture warriors are anywhere close to settling the matter.  The prevailing answer is the non-answer …

Americans Give Record-High Ratings to Several U.S. Allies  —  Iran has the lowest favorable rating; China's declines  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are feeling more favorably toward several of the United States' major allies in 2012 than they have in the past.

Pot-laden plane blows into Obama's air space  —  WASHINGTON - Two Air Force F-16 fighters intercepted a privately owned Cessna airplane that entered the same Los Angeles airspace as Marine One on Thursday as the helicopter was ferrying President Barack Obama.

Business groups launch legal, Capitol Hill attacks on EPA mercury rule  —  Major industry groups have stepped up efforts to scuttle new EPA rules that require curbs on emissions of mercury and other air toxics from coal-fired power plants.  —  The rule's formal publication Thursday …

CNN Poll: Half oppose Obama birth control insurance plan  —  Washington (CNN) - Half of all Americans say they oppose the Obama administration's new policy concerning employer-provided health insurance plans and their coverage of contraceptive services for female employees including …

US taxpayers to subsidise $40bn housing settlement  —  US taxpayers are expected to subsidise the $40bn settlement owed by five leading banks over allegations that they systematically abused borrowers in pursuit of improper home seizures, the Financial Times has learnt.

Left-wing foundations lavish millions on Media Matters  —  Relying on tax returns and websites of wealthy U.S. foundations, a Daily Caller investigation has revealed the sources of more than $28.8 million in funding collected by the liberal Media Matters for America since 2003, the year before its formal incorporation.

To infinity and beyond!  This is the debt chart Obama and Geithner should be ashamed of  —  Testifying before the House Budget Committee today, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Chairman Paul Ryan the following: “We're not coming before you to say we have a definitive solution to that long-term problem.

CBO: Longest Period of High Unemployment Since Great Depression  —  CBO: U.S. enduring the longest period of high unemployment since the Great Depression  —  After three years with unemployment topping 8 percent, the U.S. has seen the longest period of high unemployment since the Great Depression …

THE NON-PROCREATIVE FUNCTIONS OF SEX: “If you're interested in the stability of families, then you should also be a fan of non-procreative sex (which, let's face it, is going to be a majority of sex any couple engages in, even if they're choosing to forgo birth control).