Conservatives gone wild  —  Mindless slaps at the speaker  —  The most passionately anti-Obama Republican politicians and activists consider themselves the truest and purest of conservatives, and often unleash their scorn and fury on others who also call themselves conservative but differ on strategy and tactics.

Hagel: War for Oil  —  In a post yesterday waxing enthusiastic about Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, Michael Moore called attention to a statement of Hagel that I don't believe had been previously much noted.  Here it is, from September 2007: … This rounds out a Hagelian worldview …

Ex-Officer Is First in C.I.A. to Face Prison for a Leak  —  WASHINGTON — Looking back, John C. Kiriakou admits he should have known better.  But when the F.B.I. called him a year ago and invited him to stop by and “help us with a case,” he did not hesitate.

Have We Lost the War on Drugs?  —  After more than four decades of a failed experiment, the human cost has become too high.  It is time to consider the decriminalization of drug use and the drug market.  —  President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in 1971.

In Reversal, Armstrong Is Said to Weigh Admitting Drug Use  —  Lance Armstrong, who this fall was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping and barred for life from competing in all Olympic sports, has told associates and antidoping officials that he is considering publicly admitting …

Don't call it gun control, says Democrats' point person on the issue  —  (CNN) - The Californian picked to lead congressional Democrats' efforts on gun control says the positions held by some gun rights advocates are unnecessarily divisive, and that government action should go beyond simply outlawing certain weapons.

Joe Manchin: Say... about that gun grabbing thing...  I actually owe Jim Geraghty and his indispensable Morning Jolt newsletter a big hat tip for this story, though we wrote about the roots of it multiple times here.  In any event, astute readers will recall the response of long …

Tax Code May Be the Most Progressive Since 1979  —  WASHINGTON — With 2013 bringing tax increases on the incomes of a small sliver of the richest Americans, the country's top earners now face a heavier tax burden than at any time since Jimmy Carter was president.

Woman hiding with kids shoots intruder  —  Police investigate a home invasion in Walton County  —  LOGANVILLE, Ga. —  A woman hiding in her attic with children shot an intruder multiple times before fleeing to safety Friday.  —  The incident happened at a home on Henderson Ridge Lane …

Gun Show Held Near Sandy Hook Outrages Residents  —  Connecticut residents are outraged that a gun show will take place this weekend just 40 miles from Newtown, where 26 people were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School just weeks ago.  The East Coast Firearms Show is being advertised as the …

More Guns = More Killing  —  IN the wake of the tragic shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month, the National Rifle Association proposed that the best way to protect schoolchildren was to place a guard — a “good guy with a gun” — in every school …

Alabama Lawmaker To Introduce Bill Arming Teachers, Despite Opposition From School Officials  —  An Alabama lawmaker plans to introduce a bill to arm teachers and principals next week, despite the opposition of school administrators.  State Rep. Kerry Rich's (R) proposal would …

Inmates using newspaper's gun owner map to threaten guards, sheriff says  —  Law enforcement officials from a New York region where a local paper published a map identifying gun owners say prisoners are using the information to intimidate guards.  —  Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco …