Last Call For Meanwhile, In Iran...

Yep, looks like Smart Power and engagement with Tehran keeps on working.

The U.N. nuclear agency said on Sunday that Iran had agreed to start addressing suspicions that it may have worked on designing an atomic weapon, a potential breakthrough in a long-stalled investigation into Tehran's atomic activities.

The development - although limited for now - marked a step forward in an international push to settle a decade-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran says this is peaceful, while the West fears that Iran wants to develop atomic arms. 

The deal could also send a positive signal to separate, high-stakes negotiations between Iran and six world powers which are due to start on February 18 in Vienna, aimed at reaching a broader diplomatic settlement with the Islamic state.

Iran is moving.  Slowly.  But it is moving forward.  Letting UN nuclear inspectors take a look at what Iran is really up to is a big deal, and it's one that's necessary.  Here's hoping there's more to it, as well.

Remember, if the GOP was in charge, we'd already be at war with them.

The Randian Ideal On Immigration

Sen. Rand Paul went to Houston to speak at a fundraiser for the Harris County GOP, and they didn't exactly like what he had to say about immigration.

Sen. Rand Paul on Saturday predicted that Texas would turn blue within a decade if the Republican Party doesn’t become more inclusive.

“What I do believe is Texas is going to be a Democrat state within 10 years if we don’t change,” Paul (R-Ky.), who grew up in Texas, said at a dinner held by the Harris County GOP. “That means we evolve, it doesn’t mean we give up on what we believe in, but it means we have to be a welcoming party.”

What's this?  Rand Paul pitching a pro-immigration message in Texas?  I bet that went over well.

“We won’t all agree on it,” he said. “But I’ll tell you, what I will say and what I’ll continue to say, and it’s not an exact policy prescription … but if you want to work and you want a job and you want to be part of America, we’ll find a place for you.”

There was some quiet applause in the massive hotel ballroom, in which hundreds of Republicans — a mix of high-dollar donors, activists and state officials — were gathered. But Paul remarked that the response was “kind of tepid.”

You don't say.  So if you're wonder what the change of heart is it's simple:  Randian free-market utopias need ditch diggers too after the minimum wage is gone, right?

I bet he just made a major enemy of Malkinvania.  Time for popcorn!