FIRST WALL STREET, NOW THIS: Largest gay rights group in NJ stops donating to Dem. Committees, asks members to do the same.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Get Over It: Birtherism Is Not Journalism. Nope, it’s as if somebody who called himself a journalist developed a sick fascination with Sarah Palin’s uterus. And nobody wants to think about what that would represent. Then again, “According to a new book by John Avlon, ‘Birtherism’ began on the Left.”

Here’s Avlon on the Democratic Party roots of “Birtherism.”

AYAAN HIRSI ALI speaks at Wisconsin.

REP. ALAN MOLLOHAN, targeted.

FAUSTA ON the Argentinean Central Bank Crisis and more.

OH, GOODY: Iran moves closer to nuke warhead capacity.

HMM: Sweet Tea for GOP in Alabama. “While last weekend’s Tea Party convention in Nashville was making national headlines, the real political impact of the grassroots movement was evident among Republicans who gathered Friday and Saturday in Montgomery. . . . A native of Trinidad who came to the United States with his parents when he was 8, Phillip could become the first black Republican elected to Congress from the Deep South since Reconstruction. His message of American exceptionalism and limited government draws enthusiastic applause at Tea Party events and has earned the endorsement of Mike Huckabee.”

JIM GERAGHTY: Obama’s Latest Gallup Numbers Seem Somewhat Late Bushian. “Somehow, this doesn’t seem surprising.”

IRONY ABOUNDS: NOAA: Blizzard Rearranges Climate Change Announcement.

MICKEY KAUS: “So Orszag’s thesis didn’t just sink health care. It also destroyed hopes for peace in the Middle East. … Only half joking.”

HOW THE RIGHT TO ARMS saved the non-violent civil rights protesters.

FIVE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS about women emasculating men. Plus some related thoughts from Ann Althouse: Men Need Pants.

HMM: Iowa Poll: 33% of Iowans support ‘tea party’ movement. “A third of Iowans from across the political spectrum say they support the ‘tea party’ movement, sounding a loud chorus of dissatisfaction with government, according to The Des Moines Register’s new Iowa Poll. Neither party has a lock on these restless advocates of limited government and fiscal control, according to the poll. However, their conservative leanings appear to give Republicans a greater opportunity than Democrats to make gains at the dawn of a volatile election year.”

CHINA’S DEBT BOMB: America’s No. 1 creditor holds the ultimate weapon. Is that really true? Who would suffer more from a U.S. default?

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, government agencies would be keeping secret dossiers on peaceful protesters. And they were right!

A READER EMAILS:

Re the I-35 billboard….

At a Superbowl party last night a gentleman sported a button that read: “Is it 2012 yet?” And this, in a monolithically liberal New York suburb. No violence ensued. Made me wonder how long before we’ll start seeing cryptic bumper stickers designed like odometers reading: 01/20/13.

Not long.

UPDATE: Reader John Casey writes:

The Obama stickers are disappearing in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago. I was shocked a few weeks ago when I realized that I was no longer seeing any Obama stickers during my walks home from the Fullerton el stop which is next to De Paul’s campus. Obviously different dynamics but until 18 months ago “Kerry/Edwards For America” stickers were commonplace as were the ever popular “Some Village Is Missing Its Idiot” stickers.

I’m hearing that from a lot of places.

ANOTHER UPDATE: NPR: ‘Miss Me Yet?’ Billboard With Photo Of Bush Is Real; Not An Internet Trick.

MORE: Reader Brendan Haley writes:

I’m a long-time reader, and first-time writer. Thanks for all of your efforts.

Re: the 1/20/13 bumper sticker, I have one on my car, and have for about 4 months (got mine through CafePress, btw, with an American flag in the background). Not particularly noteworthy, but I thought you might appreciate some recent stories. First: I live in NJ (57% for BO in 2008), in Essex County (76% for BO in 2008), and further still, in Montclair (83% for BO, highest in NJ). As you can imagine, I’ve taken a ton of heat for having the sticker on the car since it went on, but in the last 3 weeks, I’ve had four separate people ask me where I got the stickers, and if I had any left they could have for their own cars. 3 of the 4 voted for BO, and “simply can’t believe how they fell for it”, with “it” defined as you might expect. If his act is wearing thin to former true believers in my neck of the woods, that can’t mean good things…

Indeed. I like Montclair. I had a girlfriend from there when I was in college.

ACORN UPDATE: Under Investigation, ACORN Chief Bertha Lewis Quits Working Families Party.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ FOR YA? Dow closes below 10,000 for first time in 3 months.

NOT AS VEGETATIVE AS WE THOUGHT? Brain Scans Enable Communication With People In Vegetative States. Some interesting discussion in the comments.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Why Fear Big Government?

AT PJTV, Helen and I interview Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft.

MARKDOWNS ON NATURAL AND ORGANIC GROCERIES.

POLIWOOD: A Challenge to Al Gore: Come Defend Your Oscar.

HOUSE GOP RESPONDS TO OBAMA SUMMIT INVITATION: Here’s an excerpt.

We welcome President Obama’s announcement of forthcoming bipartisan health care talks. In fact, you may remember that last May, Republicans asked President Obama to hold bipartisan discussions on health care in an attempt to find common ground on health care, but he declined and instead chose to work with only Democrats. Since then, the President has given dozens of speeches on health care reform, operating under the premise that the more the American people learn about his plan, the more they will come to like it. Just the opposite has occurred: a majority of Americans oppose the House and Senate health care bills and want them scrapped so we can start over with a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs for families and small businesses. . . .

We cannot help but notice that each of the President’s recent bipartisan overtures has been coupled with harsh, misleading partisan attacks. For instance, the President decries Republican ‘obstruction’ when it was Republicans who first proposed bipartisan health care talks last May.

The President says Republicans are ‘sitting on the sidelines’ just days after holding up our health care alternative and reading from it word for word. The President has every right to use his bully pulpit as he sees fit, but this is the kind of credibility gap that has the American people so fed up with business as usual in Washington.We look forward to receiving your answers and continuing to discuss ways we can move forward in a bipartisan manner to address the challenges facing the American people.

Ouch. Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Richard Fernandez on what’s behind Obama’s change in attitude.

RICK MORAN: The Life And Times Of John Murtha.