Paul Ryan Won't Run for President in 2016  —  In an interview with NBC News, the former VP nominee says he can make a “huge difference” as House Ways and Means Committee chairman instead.

‘Our President Should Have Been There’  —  Cruz is the junior U.S. Senator for Texas.  —  We must never hesitate to stand with our allies.  We should never hesitate to speak the truth.  In Paris or anywhere else in the world.  —  On Sunday, leaders representing Europe, Israel, Africa …

HISTORY WILL BE VERY KIND  —  And if it's not, it will be for a highly ironic reason.  —  Photograph courtesy of the White House  —  Ten and a half years ago, at the Democratic convention in Boston, Barack Hussein Obama was introduced to America as a youthful, magnetic man who had burst suddenly …

Charlie Hebdo's Wednesday edition to include Prophet Mohammed cartoons  —  Wednesday's edition of Charlie Hebdo will ‘naturally’ contain cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, the magazine's lawyer has announced  —  The next edition of Charlie Hebdo, out on Wednesday with a million-copy print run …

Hollande asked Netanyahu not to attend Paris memorial march  —  Absence sought as part of attempt to keep Israeli-Palestinian conflict out of European show of unity; After Netanyahu insisted on coming, French made it clear Abbas would be invited as well.  —  French President Francois Hollande conveyed …

Not a Single Person Has Donated to Dick Morris's Anti-Hillary Super PAC  —  Sixteen months ago, to some fanfare, Dick Morris re-entered the anti-Clinton fray with a new PAC.  He launched Dick Morris's Just Say No to Hillary PAC, registering it from Tampa.  From time to time …

A Peaceful Disclosure - I Am Gay  —  I have read many stories of people who have “come out again” or accepted they are gay after some time in the ex-gay world.  Many of their stories are compelling and well-written.  But, sometimes I wish they would get to the point right off the bat.

Antonio Weiss pulls out of 3rd-ranking Treasury slot; will instead serve as counselor  —  NEW YORK — Antonio Weiss, the Wall Street banker who President Barack Obama had picked to be the third-ranking official at the Treasury Department, has asked that the president not resend his nomination …

I read the French far-right party's platform, and it gets one big thing absolutely right  —  In the wake of the massacre at Charlie Hebdo and a related attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris, it's natural to turn attention to Marine Le Pen and her National Front political party …

Democrats, in a stark shift in messaging, to make big tax-break pitch for middle class  —  Senior Democrats, dissatisfied with the party's tepid prescriptions for combating income inequality, are drafting an “action plan” that calls for a massive transfer of wealth from the super-rich …

Ben Carson's Troubling Connection  —  In March of last year, Dr. Ben Carson, the conservative star considered a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, appeared in a video for Mannatech, Inc., a Texas-based medical supplement maker.  Smiling into the camera, he extolled the benefits of the company's “glyconutrient” products:

House Budget Chair Signals Big Social Security Reforms A-Coming  —  The new House Budget Committee chairman hinted Monday that he had big plans for Social Security reform in the next two years, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  —  A week after the House voted on a rule …

Federal Government Launches Social Media Audit After CENTCOM Hack  —  “More than 800 federal managers” ordered to check their social media security after an embarrassing break-in at the Pentagon.  —  WASHINGTON — Within minutes of the first reports that CENTCOM's social media feeds …

Supreme Court Puts Off Decision On Hearing A Same-Sex Marriage Case For Friday  —  The justices turned down Louisiana same-sex couples' request to skip over the appeals court and take their case directly, but they had no word on the cases out of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Philip Klein's Overcoming Obamacare  —  Let me start off with a full disclosure.  I enjoy Philip Klein's writing immensely.  While I disagree with him often, I've found him to be fair and reasonable.  So when he offered me the chance to read his new book, “Overcoming Obamacare”, I was excited to do so.

It's always better to be candid than coy.  While I am humbled by the widespread encouragement of so many and hold in the highest esteem those who serve us in federal office, I know that my head and my heart, my young family's future, and our unfinished work all remain firmly in the State …