AMES, Iowa (AP) - Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won a test vote of Iowans on Saturday, a show of strength five months before the state's caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating season.

The result is the first indication of what Iowans think of the field of Republicans competing for the chance to challenge President Barack Obama next ( Read more... )

Tax Flight Is a Myth
Higher State Taxes Bring More Revenue, Not More Migration

Attacks on sorely-needed increases in state tax revenues often include the unproven claim that tax hikes will drive large numbers of households - particularly the most affluent - to other states. The same claim also is used to justify new tax cuts. Compelling ( Read more... )

Senator Al Franken Completely Discredits Focus on the Family's Testimony, Makes Everyone Wish He Were Their Senator While Doing SoDuring [yesterday] morning's Senate DOMA hearings, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) destroyed Focus on the Family's Tom Minnery's argument that children are better off with opposite-sex parents by demonstrating how Minnery ( Read more... )

The Hot Spotters
If Camden, New Jersey, becomes the first American community to lower its medical costs, it will have a murder to thank. ( Your daily bit of race fail under the cut... )

Several states in the Union are discussing bankruptcy, despite opposition in Washington. How bad is it? The Daily Beast crunches the numbers of all 50 states to find who's in the deepest debt-and it isn't who you think.

( Where does your state rank? )

Councils facing 9.9% core funding cut
Councils in England are to face cuts of almost 10% next year in their core central government funding. 
The coalition said the "formula grant" from Whitehall would be reduced by 9.9% in 2011/2012 and by 7.3% in 2012/2013.
The cuts are ( Read more... )

For years I have been trying to persuade supporters of the other major American party to change their mind and vote with me, to no avail. That is, until last week, when three politically minded friends came over for an evening of snacks and politics, and, halfway through the evening, I unleashed my new one-two approach to political persuasion ( Read more... )