Ron Paul: 'I Think It's A Losing Position' For Republicans To Focus On Social Issues  —  Ron Paul appeared on CNN's State of the Union today, and in addition to boosting his own candidacy, Candy Crowley asked him about latest frontrunner Rick Santorum and whether or not a candidate like him …

Michigan GOP race tightens  —  The Republican race for President in Michigan has tightened considerably over the last week, with what was a 15 point lead for Rick Santorum down to 4.  He leads with 37% to 33% for Mitt Romney, 15% for Ron Paul, and 10% for Newt Gingrich.

David Koch intends to cure cancer in his lifetime and remake American politics  —  PALM BEACH — David Koch has become the face of conservative America's obsession with weakening organized labor, and for that, he believes, there have been death threats - 100 credible threats last year alone, he says.

Pain Without Gain  —  Last week the European Commission confirmed what everyone suspected: the economies it surveys are shrinking, not growing.  It's not an official recession yet, but the only real question is how deep the downturn will be.  —  And this downturn is hitting nations that have never recovered from the last recession.

How ‘Occupy’ went wrong  —  A trashed house in Brooklyn has become a symbol of a movement that failed to capitalize on popular anger  —  On Dec. 6, nearly 300 members of the Occupy Wall Street movement flooded into East New York to begin what they considered phase two of their efforts.

Notes on an Unfinished Letter of Apology (Or, Does Ed Morrissey Torture Cats?) … When the draft of the e-mail passed the 3,000-word mark, and was still clearly not half-finished, I gave it up.  What had begun as a mea culpa had metamorphosed into a treatise explaining the entire history …

Jihad from jail: Islamic terrorists using network website MuslimPrisoner.com to preach hatred from behind bars  —  Britain's most dangerous Islamic terrorists are exploiting a security loophole to spread their message of hate from behind bars.  —  Not only have they been able to radicalise fellow inmates …

McCain and Graham Plan U.S. Help to Syria Rebels  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — With the Syrian government continuing its deadly crackdown on its citizens, two senior American senators who were on their way to the Middle East spoke out strongly on Sunday in favor of arming the Syrian opposition forces.

Iran stops oil sales to British and French firms  —  (Reuters) - Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions on the Islamic state's lifeblood, oil.  —  “Exporting crude to British …

I just got an email from the Heartland Institute about the “HeartlandGate” documents  —  I just got this email.  I have no way of telling if it is authentic:  —  By e-mail to: greg@gregladen.com  —  By Federal Express to:  —  Mr. Greg T. Laden  —  44788 265th Lane  —  Aitkin, MN 56431-4807

A Third Voice for 2012  —  EVENTUALLY the “circular firing squad” that is the Republican primary will be over and the last man standing will be the party's nominee for president.  If that candidate is Rick Santorum, I think there is a good chance a Third Party will try to fill the space between the really …

Insurance industry could take hit from birth control mandate  —  The insurance industry is concerned it will take a hit from the Obama administration's mandate that they provide birth control in health plans for employees of religious organizations that object to the coverage.