Secret Tape: McConnell and Aides Weighed Using Judd's Mental Health and Religion as Political Ammo  —  A recording of a private meeting between the Senate GOP leader and campaign aides reveals how far they were willing to go to defeat the actor/activist.  —  On February 2, Mitch McConnell …

Did Thatcher Turn Britain Around?  —  There will presumably be a lot of commentary about Margaret Thatcher over the next few days, although probably nothing like the “Reagasm” of 2004.  And there will in particular be many assertions that Thatcher turned around a moribund British economy.

Santorum doesn't think Supreme Court will rule in favor of same-sex marriage  —  He doesn't think it will rule in favor of same-sex marriage.  —  A “chastened” U.S. Supreme Court won't make the mistake of granting same-sex marriage rights, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum predicted in an interview Monday.

Uh-O: Jon Stewart Tears Into Obama's ‘Attractive’ AG Comment And Michelle's ‘Single Mom’ Gaffe  —  Jon Stewart kicked off The Daily Show Monday night by looking at some of the more troubling aspects of President Obama's difficult weekend.  From his unfortunate remarks about California Attorney …

Exclusive: Beyonce, Jay-Z Cuba visit had U.S. Treasury Department OK - source  —  (Reuters) - A visit by American pop star Beyonce and rapper husband Jay-Z to Havana last week was a cultural trip that was fully licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department, a source familiar with the itinerary said on Monday.

Watch Navy's New Laser Cannon, Mounted on a Ship, Kill a Drone  —  The video above is what the Navy's top officers view as the future of their dominance on the surface of the world's waterways.  A laser cannon, its magazine limited only by the amount of energy pumped into it and costing pocket change …

The U.S. has a foreign-policy partner in Iraq  —  Today, on the 10th anniversary of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the debate about whether it was worth it to topple the regime and the direction of the U.S.-Iraqi relationship is influenced by a pessimistic view that the United States has lost Iraq.

Obama back in NYC for cash  —  He won a second term, but Barack Obama isn't done fund-raising.  The president will appear at a cozy reception for fewer than 65 guests with tickets priced at $32,400 per couple at the Manhattan home of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and his designer wife Georgina Chapman …

Obama declares Tuesday ‘National Equal Pay Day,’ despite paying female staffers less than male counterparts  —  President Barack Obama officially declared Tuesday “National Equal Pay Day,” symbolically marking how much extra work women supposedly must perform to reach pay parity with men.

The Vigorous Virtues  —  The 1990 Tory coup against Margaret Thatcher was the most intense political event I've covered.  The Conservative politicians who were trying to remove her from party leadership and the prime minister's office knew they were toppling a person who was their political and moral superior.

American Conservative Union Fighting Spending Cuts  —  As one of the country's largest and oldest conservative advocacy groups, the American Conservative Union has long fought to rein in federal spending and limit the size of government.  —  But behind the scenes, the group has formed …

New gun control strategy: Tax 'em  —  State and local officials are pushing a new way to expand gun control: taxes.  —  Gun owners in and around Chicago last week started paying a new $25 tax on every firearm they purchase.  In California, a statehouse panel on April 15 will hear testimony …

Rand Paul's Play to Win Over Black Voters at Howard University  —  How the libertarian-minded senator is received will indicate how well GOP is making inroads with minorities.  —  The GOP minority outreach efforts continue: This time, it's Sen. Rand Paul taking the message to a historically black university.

Man Faces Charges After Defending Himself from a Bear in His Own Yard  —  Richard Ahlstrand, of Auburn, Massachusetts, faces criminal charges after encountering a bear in his back yard and shooting the damned thing to avoid being mauled or eaten.  Specifically, as noted at Reason 24/7 …

Washington Post Editors Get Mixed Up On Iran's Nuclear Program  —  An editorial in today's Washington Post gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credit for the Iranian government's decision to stop short of accumulating enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon.

Michael Bloomberg group's gun-control scorecard will give lawmakers letter grades  —  New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, one of the nation's most committed and deep-pocketed gun-control proponents, is ratcheting up pressure on lawmakers by launching a new system to grade them based on their votes and statements on gun issues.

Why do people hate deficits?  —  People really don't like deficits.  Polls measuring national priorities tend to find that the deficit/debt is the second most important issue to voters, after “the economy” generally and ahead of health care, guns, foreign policy and immigration.

America's Most Profitable Export Is Cash  —  Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul.  He is the author of “The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform - Why We Need It and What It Will Take.”

News Corp. Threatens to Make Fox Cable-Only Amid Aereo Dispute … LAS VEGAS-News Corp. president and COO Chase Carey told the opening gathering at the NAB Show Monday that if Fox does not prevail in the Aereo case, it will consider turning its network into a subscription service.