Catholic blogger Matthew Warner thinks Rick Perry’s new ad about gays in the military is overly simplistic red meat that doesn’t help the pro-marriage cause. (I think Matt’s right.) http://cvote.to/9m  

Non-partisan political analyst Charlie Cook says Newt Gingrich’s campaign fundamentals are very lacking and will hamper his chances of winning the nomination. http://cvote.to/9n

The Saint Louis Police Dept. calmly and quietly cleared out the Occupy Wall Street crowd in their town — without using harsh techniques or causing social unrest. (Sometimes it’s best not to be Clint Eastwood.) http://cvote.to/9o    

Washington Post blogger Jen Rubin also thinks Newt Gingrich needs to explain his changes on embryonic stem cell research. http://cvote.to/9p

Ron Paul is making a major play for evangelical Christians in Iowa. http://cvote.to/9q

The GOP Senate fight in Wisconsin is just between former Gov. Tommy Thompson and former Rep. Mark Nuemann, right? Actually, a third candidate might win the race, says Hotline. That’s State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. http://cvote.to/9r

Awesome News: Abortions in Arizona drop 30% after pro-life law takes effect. http://cvote.to/9s

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says it’s not a ‘holiday’ tree, it’s a Christmas tree. His spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed to the AP that the designation and change from past practices was intentional. “It’s a Christmas tree,” Werwie said. “In all honesty, I don’t know what more to say about it.” Well, nothing more needs to be said!  http://cvote.to/84

Now that he’s running for the Senate seat in Wisconsin, former U.S. Health Secretary Tommy Thompson starts distancing himself from past support for embryonic destructive research. Or is he? http://cvote.to/82

Supreme Court Justices will meet today to consider hearing constitutional challenge to Obamacare this term. http://cvote.to/83

Regarding religious liberty, Maryland Catholic Conference director says, “It’s time to be vigilant.” http://cvote.to/85

NARAL says Obama can win back ‘defectors’ by promoting abortion. (Shows that the economy won’t be the only issue in the campaign). http://cvote.to/86

Tim Carney says Herman Cain showed lack of judgment, prudence in inviting women to evening dinners. http://cvote.to/87

Happy 236^th anniversary to the United States Marine Corps. No need for a link. Just thanking all, including my father-in-law, who have served or are serving in the Corps.

• Hollywood continues to push the envelope. The Parents Television Council, a watchdog group that alerts families to objectionable programming, notes that NBC has stipulated in contract that actors have to be willing to do scenes with nudity or simulated sex for their upcoming TV show “The Playboy Club” set to debut in the fall. The show is set in the 1960s at the infamous nightclub founded by pornographer Hugh Hefner. “NBC is toeing the line by airing the ‘The Playboy Club’ in the fall, a program in which actors were required to sign a nudity clause — virtually unheard of for broadcast television,” said PTC President Tim Winter in a statement Wednesday. The Council also thanked ABC and CBS for changing the titles of two series that previously contained the word “bitch.”
• Former Governor and former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson is the presumptive Republican frontrunner for the Wisconsin Senate seat vacated by retiring Democrat Herb Kohl. But the fiscally conservative Club for Growth is begging for a Republican alternative to Thompson. “Tommy Thompson raised taxes as Governor, supported ObamaCare, and now he wants to run for the United States Senate? April Fools was weeks ago,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. “Wisconsin Republicans should recruit a pro-growth conservative to run, not recall some big-government pro-tax Republican whose time has come and gone. Club members are watching Wisconsin’s Senate race closely.”
• Steve Driehaus, a “pro-life” Democrat who voted for Obamacare and was booted from office in 2010, is still trying to stop a pro-life organization that campaigned against him last year. The Susan B. Anthony List ran ads that said Dreihaus supported the pro-abortion healthcare law signed by President Obama. Dreihaus claims it was not pro-abortion and he tried to get the Ohio Election Commission to punish SBA List for the ads. The case was dismissed but now Dreihaus is suing the pro-life group in court. Marjorie Dannefelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, is confident they will win in court: “Even the liberal ACLU has backed up our right to free speech, writing in an Amicus Brief in our support.”