Martin Wolf writes about the great convergence as the people of China and India see their productivity and incomes rise rapidly, thus drawing closer to the people of Western Europe and the United States. The social, political and economic consequences of this convergence are enormous, and Wolf promises to write about it in his next column.

Charlie Gasparino writes about the economic malaise in Europe being driven by the stifling of the private sector economy by the high taxes and tight regulations of the welfare state and warns that we are headed in the same direction.

An article about ESP in a prestigious scientific journal is causing outrage.

John Boehner takes on his new job as Speaker of the House, and at least one pundit is impressed with his opening speech.

The Republican super majority in the New Hampshire House repeals a ban on guns on the premises and looks to remove a Democratic Party official who is also a State Representative. I am not familiar with the constitutional issues that surround the contention that a party official cannot serve as a representative, so I will withhold comment for the moment. As to guns, I remember covering the State House as a reporter in the 90s and it was refreshing to be able to walk in and around the place without feeling like you were living in a police state. Certainly, if someone wished to bring a gun to the place to commit mayhem and murder he would have been able to do a great deal of damage, but that is true whether or not one allows other citizens to be on the premises with guns. In fact, I would argue that allowing others to be armed could result in an intruder being brought down more quickly, rather than less quickly.