ROMNEY: Mitt Romney made his speech about Mormonism without saying one word about what he believes (other than that Jesus is the son of God which he won’t get an argument about from anyone, even Ron Paul, in a Republican Party); about the most controversial thing Romney said was the Founding Fathers supported religious liberty (and so does he). And it may have may have worked: James Dobson, one of the most respected evangelical leaders (who blasted Fred Thompson for being soft on gay-marriage) praised Romney (who’s record on gay-marriage makes Thompson look like a homo-phobe), saying, “His delivery was passionate and his message inspirational.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Not to be outdone by Community Colleges a UNC commission is going to do a ‘study’ not just about admitting illegal immigrants to state universities but charging them in state tuition. My first reaction was Democrats believe education will cure everything from boils to chickenpox so naturally they want to educate illegal immigrants along with everyone else. But on second thought this may not be ideological at all. Because the UNC Commission is made of businessmen who’re anything but starry-eyed idealists. Their logic may run like this: Community Colleges train workers and colleges do too and immigrants – legal or illegal – hold down labor costs and the more we educate them the better. So, this may be a case of practical, hard-nosed business trumping ideology.

RANDY PARTON: State Treasurer Richard Moore gave Halifax County Commissioner’s a thumbs up to issue bonds to borrow $21 million to build a Country Music Theatre. After his decision Moore (I’m sure he’ll argue there’s no connection) got a fundraiser for his campaign for Governor hosted by local politicos, the City Commissioners got their theatre, taxpayers get stuck with the bill and country music impresario Randy Parton got $2.4 million for fees and expenses. Today, the News and Observer reports how Parton spent some of the money: “Parton used taxpayer money to buy booze, attend Las Vegas shows and pay his family while preparing to open the city-owned theatre in Roanoke Rapids.” By Las Vegas the News and Observer means the Bally’s Paris, Bellagio, MGM Grande and Mirage casinos. The big winner: Beverly Perdue who’s running against Richard Moore for Governor.

And in Iraq legislators have stopped work to mark the Muslim Pilgrimage season.