Why I Am Boycotting Pope Francis' Address to Congress  —  It is difficult to convey the excitement I first felt when it was revealed that His Holiness Pope Francis was invited to Washington D.C. to address the world from the floor of the House of Representatives.

Crazy Talk at the Republican Debate  —  Eleven presidential candidates had three prime-time hours on the national stage on Wednesday to tell the American people why they should lead the country.  —  Nobody forced them to be there.  They were there freely, armed with the best arguments …

Last night I went to a bar on Mackinac Island for the GOP Mackinac Conference.  I ran into a guy named Rich Beeson, who frankly I didn't even know who it was at first because he isn't relevant in our political world.  Anyway, he is Marco Rubio's national campaign manager.

What Is Hillary's Greatest Accomplishment?  —  Carly Fiorina dared Democrats to name it. 20 top Dems accepted the challenge.  —  Getty  —  “If you want to stump a Democrat, ask them to name an accomplishment of Hillary Clinton,” Carly Fiorina quipped at Wednesday's Republican debate.

Trump declines to correct questioner who says Obama is a Muslim  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump on Thursday declined to correct a supporter of his who alleged that President Barack Obama is Muslim and not an American.  —  “We have a problem in this country.

The Undercard and the Mane Event  —  Donald Trump's rivals try to give him a haircut, but he ends up trimming himself.  —  Simi Valley, Calif.  —  By the time you see this you will have seen the soundbites, quips and cuts.  You'll have seen the clashes.  So, quickly:

Finger-Pointing, but Few Answers, After a Syria Solution Fails  —  WASHINGTON — By any measure, President Obama's effort to train a Syrian opposition army to fight the Islamic State on the ground has been an abysmal failure.  The military acknowledged this week that just four or five American-trained fighters are actually fighting.

Donald Trump May Not Have a Second Act  —  In 1998, David Mamet, the acclaimed playwright, published a short treatise, “Three Uses of the Knife,” on “the nature and purpose of drama.”  The book, based on lectures he delivered the previous year at Columbia University, is well regarded …

Go ‘nuclear’ to stop Obama's Iran deal, urge 57 House Republicans in letter  —  Dozens of House Republican lawmakers are making a late stab at pressuring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to abandon the filibuster on legislation to block the nuclear deal with Iran.

Sources: Scott Walker's Donors Are Circulating Rumor About Campaign Manager  —  As Scott Walker's presidential bid founders, some in the candidate's orbit are participating in a whisper campaign against his top strategist and campaign manager, Rick Wiley.  —  A number of Walker's donors …

Football Players Who Blindsided Ref Say They Were Following Coach's Orders  — Shares-  —  Play

Nobel director regretted Obama peace prize  —  A former director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute has admitted his regrets about the 2009 award of the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama.  —  Geir Lundestad, who served as Director of the Nobel Institute for 25 years …

Want to know what gay tastes like?  Try Rainbow Doritos!  —  PepsiCo, who make Doritos (through subsidiary Frito-Lay), are producing a homosexual version of Doritos called “Rainbow Doritos.”  Doritos are a product marketed to children, so they make the perfect gateway snack to introduce children to the joys of homosexuality.