Lancaster, PA, USA. Rick Santorum’s startling surge in Iowa to a near-first-place finish has stunned much of the political world. Governor Romney called it a “virtual tie,” and a virtual tie it was.

For months the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and putative Republican presidential candidate looked like a sure loser. His polls reflected single-digit support. He had little money, even less organization, and no chance of winning the GOP nomination — or so it appeared.

New York, NY, USA. I transitioned in the early eighties in my early twenties. I guess that makes me an early transitioner. It was a time of gatekeepers and group meetings.

I had been seeing my family doctor to start hormone replacement until he became uncomfortable with continuing the treatments and he referred me to the local Dallas psychiatrist that ran a group of people transitioning.

New York, NY, USA. Before I went stealth, people would always ask me the same set of questions. I’d like to take some time to talk about one of those questions because I think it is the wrong question.

It is a good question, but for me it is framed the wrong way. Here’s the question: “When did you first know you were a girl?”

Lancaster, PA, USA. The Wall Street Journal, normally no admirer of Barack Obama, nevertheless is proffering some advice for the embattled president. Drop Joe Biden from the 2012 ticket and replace him with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bye Bye Biden? intones the alliteratively gifted Journal.

The newspaper’s not entirely implausible premise is that Clinton might help Obama in some key states and among some key groups that are critical but questionable for the president’s re-election

Lancaster, PA, USA. As the 2012 presidential election looms ever closer, two hard facts confront American politics.

The first is that Barack Obama — despite enormous obstacles — could still win next year’s presidential election. The second is that he probably won’t.

Both of these propositions deserve close scrutiny.