Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It  —  LINDSTROM, Minn. — Ki Gulbranson owns a logo apparel shop, deals in jewelry on the side and referees youth soccer games.  He makes about $39,000 a year and wants you to know that he does not need any help from the federal government.

TPMDC  —  McConnell: GOP Will Fight To Let ANY Employer Deny Birth Control Coverage  —  Not satisfied with President Obama's new religious accommodation, Republicans will move forward with legislation by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that permits any employer to deny birth control coverage …

Santorum suggests Romney may have rigged CPAC poll  —  Rick Santorum suggested on Sunday that Mitt Romney's campaign may have rigged a straw poll of conservative activists by paying the entrance fee for supporters.  —  Romney beat Santorum by 7 points Saturday in a straw poll of almost 3,500 attendees …

W.H. official: Contraceptive rule stands  —  President Obama's top aide addressed the latest controversy over contraception coverage, saying on CBS News' “Face the Nation” Sunday that the latest iteration of the new rule, which was announced Friday, will go forward.

Fox News Commenters Respond to Whitney Houston's Death With Deluge of Hatred and Racism  —  I don't even know what to say about this any more.  There's a real sickness running rampant in the right wing; the Fox News comment thread on Whitney Houston's death is yet another disgusting deluge …

'Do not follow me down the road to jihad.  Go and get a good education in the West': Osama Bin Laden's extraordinary instructions to his young children  —  Osama Bin Laden told his children to live peacefully in the West where they would get a good education, his brother-in-law has revealed.

We Need a Second Party  —  WATCHING the Republican Party struggling to agree on a presidential candidate, one wonders whether the G.O.P. shouldn't just sit this election out — just give 2012 a pass.  —  You know how in Scrabble sometimes you look at your seven letters and you've got only vowels that spell nothing?

Occupy Oakland Burns The American Flag For The Third Week In A Row...  Time for some veterans to beat some respect into these punks. … See: January 29th, February 5th  —  HT: Marathon Pundit

Trouble in paradise: Maldives and Islamic extremism  —  MALE — At the Maldives' National Museum, smashed Buddhist statues are testament to the rise of Islamic extremism and Taliban-style intolerance in a country famous as a laid-back holiday destination.  —  On Tuesday, as protesters backed …

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Board Unanimously Condemned Gaffney's ‘Reprehensible’ And ‘Unfounded’ Attacks  —  This is the first in a two-part series about the Islamaphobia network and CPAC.  —  Frank Gaffney and John Bolton, who condemned Gaffney in a unanimous ACU resolution