Ron Paul

At water coolers across the region, two aspects of the Downtowners club frat party have legs: the ages of the 10 women arrested (the oldest was 51) and the fact that no "johns" were charged. Some see an inequity in the fact that the ladies' photos were paraded in the press, while most of the men in attendance remain anonymous and uncharged. (The pictures have also provided plenty of fodder. As a buddy of mine snickered, "You can tell who charged $30 and who charged $100. ") Of the three guys who were arrested, two were club members allegedly acting as bartenders in the absence of a liquor license, and the third was charged with promoting prostitution.

Whether it was the best decision for him may be debated for some time, but Gov. Christie's announcement Tuesday that he won't run for president this time was good for New Jersey. As Christie said, "There's still a lot to do here. " Had he walked away from the governorship only 20 months into his term, the road would become uncertain for many of the economic and educational reforms he has been promoting. His quitting the job early also could have taken the steam out of a presidential campaign.

NEW YORK - From committed anarchists to zealots for the White House aspirations of libertarian Ron Paul, it takes every kind of person to make up a broad-based occupation of Lower Manhattan in 2011. Although the extreme political fringes were in short supply in Zuccotti Park yesterday, some unique causes were on display, including: * Myra Oppy, 32, a law student from Lincoln, Neb., stood on the corner of Broadway and Liberty with a sign boasting that she'd driven 21 hours in a carpool to get here.

WASHINGTON - Only three Republican presidential candidates are worth any money - campaign money, that is. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, and Ron Paul have banked millions. But the other GOP candidates are struggling or broke, putting their candidacies in question four months before the first nominating contests. Ahead of a critical fund-raising deadline Friday, all the contenders are furiously courting donors. It's a last-minute attempt to pick up cash before they file a three-month summary that will measure one aspect of their campaigns' financial strength.

TODAY is United Nations Peace Day. President Obama is to address the U.N. General Assembly, which passed a resolution 30 years ago naming the observance. Mayor Nutter encourages citizens to observe Peace Day and its "message of nonviolence. " There are events throughout the city. Haven't heard anything from Gov. Corbett, but I'm pretty sure he likes peace, too. Nothing wrong with having a Peace Day, and, internationally, it's a day of cease-fire that allows relief agencies to deliver medical supplies to war-torn regions.

Even people who disagree with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's unvarnished libertarian views can appreciate that he never pulls his punches in expressing them. Of course, there was no need for the Texas congressman to fret about that in Tuesday night's tea-party debate before a crowd of folks who also believe less government is the best government. They applauded Paul, especially when he suggested it was preferable to let anyone who could but didn't buy health insurance stay sick, rather than have taxpayers pay for that person's medical care.

AMES, Iowa - At Rep. Michele Bachmann's encampment Saturday, people lined up for corn dogs, Frisbee-size cinnamon rolls, and a chance to slip into an air-conditioned circus tent to listen to country music star Randy Travis play for an hour. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum drew them in with homemade peach preserves; Buddy Holly's old band, the Crickets; and bagpipers who played stirring airs right out of Braveheart . Texas Rep. Ron Paul had a massive tent city right next to the bus parking lot and served barbecue in a battalion-size mess hall.

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Rep. Ron Paul announced Friday that he would run for the GOP nomination for president in 2012, the third attempt for the man known on Capitol Hill as "Dr. No" for his enthusiasm for bashing runaway spending and government overreach. "Time has come around to the point where the people are agreeing with much of what I've been saying for 30 years. So, I think the time is right," said the 75-year-old Paul, who first ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988. Paul made his announcement during an interview on ABC's Good Morning America from New Hampshire, where he held a rally later Friday.

It's spring, and the marchers are out, right and left, protesting Comcast and the Federal Reserve , taxes and the companies that pay them, or don't. Four days before Ben S. Bernanke gave the first news conference by a Federal Reserve chairman to defend his cheap-money policy, more than 100 descended last weekend on the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia to cheerfully demand that the nation's central-banking system shut down. Supporters of presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas)

Ron Paul to form 2012 committee DES MOINES, Iowa - Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas) plans to announce the formation of a 2012 presidential exploratory committee at an Iowa event. Drew Ivers, Paul's 2008 Iowa caucus campaign manager, said the veteran congressman, 75, would announce his plans Tuesday at a Des Moines hotel. An exploratory committee would allow Paul to raise and spend money toward a 2012 candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. Ivers said Paul also planned to name an Iowa campaign team.