Open Thread

I hope you all are enjoying your New Year's holiday. Let's hope that 2012 is wonderful year full of happiness and success. So let's get started on that with the first open thread of the New Year. Ever hear of a murmuration? Well, you've heard of a murder of crows, right? A murmuration is a grouping of Starlings, and as this video inside shows, their movements are almost otherworldly. It looks like special effects. Meanwhile, Nate Silver has an awesome interactive infotastic Iowa Almanac for 2012. And what would a Santorum or Paul win in Iowa mean for Mitt Romney?

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) told Fox News that Republicans face a tough choice on President Obama's jobs bill: "If we vote for this plan, we'll own the economy with the president, and he desperately needs someone else to blame it on. If we vote against it, he's going to try to say Congress blocked his ability to create jobs." Sounds about right.

Phillies win as Cole Hamels pitches 8 shutout innings and the Cubdom lets out a collective shriek. Cal Thomas recently wrote: This mess has afforded conservative Republicans an opportunity to ask…