Politics

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  New York Times

• Obama Reminds Nation of Military’s Diversity

  By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:38 am

  President Obama, extending condolences to Fort Hood, Texas, reminded Americans that people of “every race, faith and station” serve in the military — an oblique attempt to prevent a backlash against Muslims.

• Democrats Gird for Health Debate, With No Deal on Abortion

  By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ROBERT PEAR

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:24 pm

  As both parties girded for a historic debate on the House floor, Democratic leaders implored the undecided to vote yes on a bill that they said would be remembered as a landmark achievement.

• National Briefing | Washington: Bill Seeks Terrorist-Proof Chemicals

  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:18 pm

  The House passed legislation that would give the government the authority to force companies to replace chemicals that terrorists could use in attacks with safer alternatives.

• Political Memo: On Health Care, Democrats Play Down Election Results

  By ADAM NAGOURNEY

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:11 pm

  Even politically vulnerable Democrats in Congress said the party’s losses in two governor’s races this week were not big influences on their decision on health care.

• Pelosi Faces Competing Pressures on Health Care

  By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:09 pm

  Speaker Nancy Pelosi raises funds in part to help re-elect her most vulnerable members, many from Republican-leaning districts leery of liberal health care proposals.

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  Washington Post

• U.S. is reaching out to East Asia's powerful nations

  John Pomfret

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Ever since taking office, President Obama has signaled that the United States wants to improve relations with the powerhouse nations of East Asia, and he'll put his personal imprint on that when he travels to the region for the first time next week.

• Democrats round up health bill votes

  Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  House Democratic leaders pushed with mounting confidence Friday toward a historic vote on expanding the nation's health-care system, and President Obama joined an intense last-minute lobbying campaign to pick up the last few votes needed to secure the measure's passage.

• Inquiry begins into motive of shootings suspect Hasan

  Scott Wilson, Carrie Johnson and Spencer S. Hsu

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Investigators on Friday bore down on the possible motives of Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood gunman, to determine whether his actions were driven by stress related to his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan or to an Islamist political ideology.

• House Republicans plan to vote unanimously against health-care measure

  Perry Bacon Jr.

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  The 177 Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to unanimously oppose health-care legislation that would constitute the biggest expansion of insurance to Americans in decades, illustrating the huge divide that remains between the two parties on key issues and setting up a major debate in...

• GOP senators want to query attorney general on reporter-shield legislation

  Walter Pincus

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee want to question Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. about his support of a compromise reporters' shield law before they vote on it, according to congressional sources.

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  Daily Kos

• Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:41 am

  Saturday opinionizing. Charles Blow: This is now Obama’s crisis, and it carries political consequences. During Tuesday’s gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, nearly 9 in 10 voters said that they were worried about the direction of the nation’s economy in the next year. And the majority of those who held that view [VA/NJ exit poll] voted for the Republican candidates. This could portend a flashback to 1994. In NJ, those who picked economy/jobs as most important issue voted for Corzine 58-36. In VA it was 57-42 McDonnell. Terence Samuel on Tuesday's election…

• Friday Night Whip Count for Health Care Bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:11 pm

  [bumped - BarbinMD] David Dayen has done tremendous work today keeping track of public statements from House members in health care. These are those he has as definite no votes: Adler, Baird, Boren, Bright, Childers, A. Davis, L. Davis, Gordon, P.Griffith, Herseth Sandlin, Kissell, Kosmas, Kratovil, Marshall, Massa, Matheson, McMahon, Melancon, Minnick, Peterson, Skelton, Stupak, Tanner, Taylor, Teague Normally, I don't recommend calling representatives other than your own. But there's a big exception on that list for the netroots community. While Larry Kissel wasn't among the candidates on…

• Open Thread and Diary Rescue

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:20 pm

  Tonight's Rescue Rangers, who mined for these beautiful undernoticed gems, include BentLiberal, HoosierDeb, dopper0189, dadanation, and YatPundit, with jlms qkw setting them into this post. Here are this evening's rescued diaries: VeloVixen expresses her righteous outrage at the self-righteous, who are flippant in exploiting Hell on Earth.....Dachau Remembered. (HoosierDeb) David A Love sees a rancid link between money and politics that is killing democracy in Absolute Corruption is the Rule in America. (dopper0189) hannah explores some assumptions that form the underpinnings of our social…

• Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 11/6/09

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:50 pm

  You might have noticed as of late that the Wrap-Up has taken on a very predictable cadence. The polling news comes first, with numbers and analysis. Then, in bullet form, the political news of the day soon follows. Well, there is good news and bad news on this Friday afternoon/evening. The bad news: near as I can tell, there is no new polling to report today (not surprising: after exhausting themselves on a quartet of races during Election week, they are all probably on a beach somewhere right now). The good news: it looks like I will get to start my weekend early, as well!! Just kidding.

• And Now, A Word From A Spokesjerk

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:10 pm

• 
  DRUDGE REPORT

• FREDDIE MAC posts $5 billion loss...

  By Al YoonNEW YORK (Reuters) - Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE - News; NYSE:FRE - News), the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted [Discuss] [Link]

• 'Islam not responsible'...

  No summary available. [Discuss] [Link]

• Police: LA celebrity burglaries led by 19-year-old...

  No summary available. [Discuss] [Link]

• [Headline] - Final vote could be delayed Sunday or beyond...

  (For full coverage of U.S. healthcare reform, click [nN20512341]) * Democrats still hunting for 218 House votes on health * Hoyer says we're very close to the needed support * Says final vote could [Discuss] [Link]

• THE MOTHER WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE FORT HOOD KILLER...

  A police officer and mother of one was hailed a heroine yesterday after it emerged that she almost single handedly ended the massacre at America’s biggest military base. [Discuss] [Link]

• 
  Talking Points Memo

• Bachmann's Fight against Terror Health Care

  Josh Marshall

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:18 pm

  On the one hand it seems funny that a bunch of GOP Reps. would blow off a vote to strengthen the Patriot Act so they could hang out and speak at Michele Bachmann's Capitol Hill tea party event. On the other hand, since you have Republicans saying health care reform is a bigger threat than terrorism, maybe the whole thing makes sense?

• You Betcha!

  Josh Marshall

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:05 pm

  Is it appropriate for Tea Partiers to use images of concentration camp victims to illustrate the horrors of health care reform? "You bet," says former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO). Late Update: I went back watched the video in question several times. And though Tancredo said "you bet" to the "appropriate" question, it seems to me that he got confused in the cross-talk between him and the interviewer David Shuster. In context, I think Tancredo meant to say it was inappropriate, in other words, the opposite. The perils of live smash-mouth television. Don't worry. Tancredo said lots of other crazy…

• Dancing to Her Tune

  Josh Marshall

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:02 pm

  How did Michele Bachmann's Tea Party extravaganza end up being embraced by the whole House GOP House conference? Find out here.

• The Unending Crisis

  Josh Marshall

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pm

  Daniel Levy looks at this week's bumps on the never-ending road to peace in the Middle East.

• The Freak Show We Live In

  Josh Marshall

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pm

  It's a pretty unhappy commentary that it has to be reported as news that people are taking issue with the use of pictures of the Dachau death camp as an illustration of the horrors of health care reform. But, alas, such is the world we're living in. Today Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) criticized Rep. Bachmann for the Holocaust imagery --- and really, what the hell is going on here? People carrying banners with Dachau and the crowd chanting "Nazi, Nazi" when the President and key Dems are mentioned. And GOP leaders just stand their whooping it up like it's all good stuff? Anyway, pardon the…

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  Washington Monthly: Political Animal

• A reminder on why bipartisanship hasn't worked

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am

  A REMINDER ON WHY BIPARTISANSHIP HASN'T WORKED.... In general, it's wise not to pay too much attention to every little press release issued by House Republicans about health care, but this one, from the leading GOP member of the House Ways and Means Committee, was illustrative of a larger truth. Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as…

• Cantor's subtle criticism of Leader Limbaugh

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:40 am

  CANTOR'S SUBTLE CRITICISM OF LEADER LIMBAUGH.... Congressional Republican leaders are generally reluctant to criticize right-wing tactics and efforts, so I suppose Eric Cantor deserves some credit for yesterday's mild and indirect rebuke. I'm just not sure if he'll stick to it. The second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, Eric Cantor, criticized some comments by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh as inappropriate and said his party needs to be inclusive. "The Republican Party in its roots is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard," Cantor,…

• The effects of the abortion 'compromise'

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  THE EFFECTS OF THE ABORTION 'COMPROMISE'.... As of late yesterday, House Democratic leaders were still short of the 218 votes needed to pass health care reform. Odd as it may seem, after six months of debate, hearings, meetings, and negotiations, the biggest hurdle was the wording on a measure dealing with the fungibility of public funds as it relates to abortion services. Pro-choice Democrats said the bill already restricted direct public funding of abortion. Democrats who oppose abortion rights said it wasn't enough, and without a prohibition on indirect funding, they would kill the entire…

• Friday's Mini-Report

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pm

  FRIDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits: * More details emerge in the Fort Hood massacre. * Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who took down Nidal Malik Hasan, is being hailed as a hero. * The gunman in Orlando was apprehended this afternoon. * Afghanistan: "More than 25 international and Afghan troops were wounded Friday in western Afghanistan -- possibly by friendly fire -- during a search operation for two U.S. Army paratroopers who had gone missing, according to the military." * The White House issued an SAP (statement of administration policy) in support of the House health care reform…

• Don't follow Texas' lead

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:45 pm

  DON'T FOLLOW TEXAS' LEAD.... The Washington Post ran an op-ed today on health care policy co-written by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas). That, in and of itself, is a little odd -- when I think of conservatives with credibility on health care, Gingrich (a disgraced former Speaker who shut down the government 14 years ago, in part over cutting Medicare) and Perry (a Glenn-Beck-loving right-winger who recently raised the prospect of secession) aren't the first names that come to mind. Nevertheless, they have a case to make. Congress seems intent on…

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  The New Republic - Top Stories Feed

• ‘With Them or With Us’

  Abbas Milani

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am

  Almost three decades ago, a group of radical Islamist students, dressed in army fatigues or covered in scarves and black chadors, forced their way into the American embassy in Tehran. According to some accounts, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then a student at a second-tier technical college in Tehran, was invited to join the hostage takers. He declined, saying he would join only if they would also occupy the Soviet embassy in Tehran. “No to the West, No to the East” was in those days the much-touted slogan of the regime.

• The Insider

  John B. Judis

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am

  In the wake of defeats in New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats and the Obama administration are being advised to move to the center. I think the Republicans are well advised to take that advice, but I am not sure about the Democrats, and I am not sure what the "center" means in this case. In Virginia, I've argued, Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds, who on his record and on the issues had much to recommend him, suffered at least in part from identification with Obama and the national party.

• Buying Time

  Sarah A. Topol

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Yitzchak Newman is in the market for his first house. For now, the young IT project manager lives with his wife and toddler in a rented basement apartment. Space is limited and the family yearns to attain the middle class ideal of owning their own home. But unlike most aspiring home-owners, the Newmans are determined to enter the real estate market in what may be the world’s most politically sensitive strip of land. Whether to fulfill a religious prophecy or to live in blissful suburbia, the Newmans and thousands like them are eager to live in one of the dozens of Jewish enclaves in the…

• Numb

  E.J. Dionne Jr.

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Tuesday's elections were a rebuke to the right wing and a warning to Democrats.  They were also a timely reminder that President Obama needs to tune up his celebrated political organization and find a way to make Americans feel hopeful again.

• The Ingratiator

  The Editors

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Scott Gration is an embarrassment. As Barack Obama's special envoy to Sudan, Gration has a dual mission: to help win justice and peace for the nearly three million Darfuris who currently live in camps after being subjected to genocide by Sudan's government; and to prevent that same odious government from initiating another slaughter in southern Sudan, where a 2005 peace agreement is looking more tenuous by the day.

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  Articles on National Review Online

• Centuries in the Making -- By: Conrad Black

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Twenty years ago, like scores of millions of others, I watched in delight as the Berlin Wall came down. A huge crowd stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate, waving the flag of the Federal Republic and singing the current words of the country’s stirring national anthem, composed by Haydn. This piece is still better known outside Germany as “Deutschland über alles,” but now extols peace, unity, and freedom.It was a rare, seismic event, and it produced a kaleidoscopic variety of perspectives on Germany, Europe, and the whole world. For Germany, it was clear that the imposture of the…

• The Hole at the Heart of Our Strategy -- By: Mark Steyn

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  Thirteen dead and 31 wounded would be a bad day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and a great victory for the Taliban. When it happens in Texas, in the heart of the biggest military base in the nation, at a processing center for soldiers either returning from or deploying to combat overseas, it is not merely a “tragedy” (as too many people called it) but a glimpse of a potentially fatal flaw at the heart of what we have called, since 9/11, the “War on Terror.” Brave soldiers trained to hunt down and kill America’s enemy abroad were killed in the safety and security of home by,…

• A Few Good Democrats -- By: The Editors

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Republicans have made a good case against the Democrats’ health-care bill, and they have offered a decent alternative. But given the majorities enjoyed by Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate, Republicans can do only so much. The minority whip, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, has promised that not a single Republican will vote for the monster of a bill that Democrats are pushing through the House. But Republican party discipline is not the magic bullet that will stop Obamacare. What’s needed is a few good Democrats -- either moderate “Blue Dogs” who are experiencing…

• The Party at the Wall -- By: Flashback

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

  EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece by Bennett Owen appeared in the December 22, 1989, issue of National Review. (You can dig into NR’s archives anytime here.)  West Berlin It began as a trickle. On East German TV, a government spokesman had ended an evening press conference by saying that citizens of the GDR could travel freely, and by 9:30 p.m. on November 9, the first East Berliners strolled across a bridge at Bornholmer Strasse. They’d heard the news in a bar and walked down to the nearest crossing to see if it was really true. It was. A small crowd greeted them as they reached the Western…

• Painting the Gulag -- By: Hans A. von Spakovsky

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

  My Russian father and German mother, who survived some of the worst wars and atrocities of the last century, came close to death many times. But I recently experienced a visual reminder of just how lucky they were, despite the many hardships they endured.The Heritage Foundation is exhibiting a “new” collection of 50 paintings of the Soviet Gulag, the infamous penal system for political prisoners and slave laborers. They were painted over a 40-year period by Nikolai Getman, a Ukrainian who spent eight years in Soviet concentration camps in Siberia and Kolyma. His only crime was being…

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  ProPublica: Government & Politics

• In Face of Bankrupt Trust Funds, Virginia Cuts Unemployment Benefits, Nevada Weighs Options

  ProPublica

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm

  by Olga Pierce, ProPublica - Unemployment insurance trust funds in Nevada and Virginia have gone belly up. Nevada and Virginia join 22 other states that, so far, have borrowed a total of more than $20 billion from the federal government to keep unemployment checks in the mail. States have until 2011 before they have to start paying interest on their unemployment trust fund loans, but most will struggle to pay them back without raising taxes on employers or decreasing benefits to workers – just as their economies are trying to emerge from recession. The result of a historical compromise,…

• U.N. Responds to Our Story

  ProPublica

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:35 pm

  by T. Christian Miller, ProPublica - Yesterday, we published a story about a draft audit showing that the U.N. was unable to account for tens of millions of dollars sent to the Afghan elections commission. The United Nations Development Program has submitted the following formal response: Your article fails to capture the scope and depth of the UN Development Programme's assistance to the Afghan people during this electoral process. UNDP, and the international community, has made a conscious decision to work through Afghans and Afghan institutions, including the Independent Electoral…

• The Battle Over Tired Truckers: Obama Ditches Another Bush Rule

  ProPublica

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:26 am

  by Alexandra Andrews, ProPublica - The Obama administration has overturned several midnight regulations ushered in by the Bush administration during its waning months. The latest rule to get the boot was finalized in December 2008 and upped the number of hours truckers could stay behind the wheel, despite safety concerns about driver fatigue. Whatever you want to say about the Bush administration, you can't say it wasn't tenacious. It issued the same rule three times, even though the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., struck it down in both 2004 and 2008. In March of this year, a…

• U.N. Can’t Account for Millions Sent to Afghan Election Board

  ProPublica

  29 Oct 2009 | 7:15 am

  by T. Christian Miller and Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - The United Nations cannot account for tens of millions of dollars provided to the troubled Afghan election commission, according to two confidential U.N. audits and interviews with current and former senior diplomats. (Read both audits.) As Afghanistan prepares for a second round of national voting, the documents and interviews paint the fullest picture to date of the finances of the election commission, which has been accused of facilitating election fraud and operating ghost polling places. The new disclosures also deepen the questions…

• Company Won’t Drill in NYC Watershed

  ProPublica

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:31 pm

  by Sabrina Shankman, ProPublica - For now, New York City’s water appears to be safe from drilling. Responding to mounting concerns that chemicals from natural gas drilling could contaminate drinking water, Chesapeake Energy Corporation declared it will not drill in the city’s upstate watershed, the pristine water source that supplies unfiltered water to 9 million downstate residents. “Our research has shown we are the only leasehold owner in the New York City watershed, and so Chesapeake is uniquely positioned to take this issue off the table,” Chesapeake CEO Aubrey…

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  New Majority - David Frum

• Conservatives Heart Nuke Power

  David Frum

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm

  First Brad Plumer in the New Republic, then Matt Yglesias on his site have marveled at the supposedly strange enthusiasm of conservatives for nuclear power. What’s strange about it? It’s pure cold economic rationality. If you wish to move away from carbon-emitting electricity sources, nuclear is far and away the cheapest choice. If we’re not going to rely more on nuclear power, then the reduction in carbon emissions will have to imply some dramatic reductions in standards of living. Nor is it true, as Matt contends, that only an active state can deliver nuclear power. The…

• A Dose of Defeat is Just the Medicine for Obama

  David Frum

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:28 am

  The spokesman for the Department of Defence now has his own Twitter feed!” That thrilling news was imparted by a French journalist in a TV panel discussion this week. The continental Europeans on the panel all agreed that President Obama had “transformed” US politics. I challenged them to name one specific transformational accomplishment. Et voilà. In fairness, my French counterparts underrated Mr. Obama. In the year since his election, the President and the huge Democratic majority in Congress have done some substantial things. Obama did enact a huge fiscal stimulus at the beginning…

• Obama’s Anniversary

  David Frum

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:20 am

  I have a piece in the London Times today assessing the presidency on the anniversary of the 2008 election. Excerpt: In the year since his election, the President and the huge Democratic majority in Congress have done some substantial things. Obama did enact a huge fiscal stimulus at the beginning of his presidency. He continued the Bush policy of extending huge credits to troubled financial companies. He bailed out Chrysler and General Motors. (On Wall Street, the latter now carries the cruel nickname, “American Leyland”.) The trouble is that most of Mr. Obama’s main accomplishments are…

• Fort Hood Shootings

  Sean Linnane

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:38 am

  I was out in the field this afternoon when the news broke on the shootings at Fort Hood.  By the time I returned to the office and logged on, I learned the terrible news.   The immediate reaction in the room was that this must be Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Of course, the first reports indicated three gunmen – this turned out to be wrong, of course, but I commented that PTSD is a solitary phenomena; it does not manifest itself in groups.   As it turned out, this just might be the first ever recorded case of PRE-TSD; it turns out that Hasan was under orders, but had not yet…

• The Shootings at Fort Hood

  David Frum

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  Here are some images everybody should keep in mind today:

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  Michelle Malkin

• Liveblogging: The new Imperial Congress votes on Pelosicare

  Michelle Malkin

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:09 am

  Read this post »

• Friday open thread

  Michelle Malkin

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:13 pm

  Am traveling. [...] Read the rest »

• Wall Street and swine flu favoritism?

  Michelle Malkin

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am

  Hmmm. [...] Read the rest »

• Democrats and the death of deliberative democracy

  Michelle Malkin

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:56 am

  Read this post »

• The massacre at Fort Hood and Muslim soldiers with attitude

  Michelle Malkin

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm

  Scroll for updates…7:39am Eastern press conference…Ft. [...] Read the rest »

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  Swampland

• Is Nadal Malik Hasan's Religion Relevant?

  Amy Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

  Despite the fact that solid information about yesterday's mass shooting at Fort Hood are just starting to trickle in--heck, it was only 12 hours or so ago that we learned that the shooter wasn't actually dead--speculation has swirled today about whether Nadal Malik Hasan's brutal act was linked to his Muslim faith. In general, conservatives have [...]

• LOL

  Joe Klein

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:52 am

  The wingnuts are already promoting a--bogus, of course--link between the Fort Hood shooter and the President. I would recommend that this post be read in conjunction with a look at the brilliant Jon Stewart impersonation of Glenn Beck posted by Amy Sullivan below. Can't you just see it?

• Save Glenn Beck's Appendix!

  Amy Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:03 am

  A much-needed lighter moment, courtesy of last night's Daily Show, an instant classic: more about "Save Glenn Beck's Appendix!", posted with vodpod

• Another Afghan Problem

  Joe Klein

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am

  I've been wondering if the U.S. military's projections about the training of Afghan security forces haven't been a bit rosy, and the New York Times today raises many of the same questions. I've heard conflicting reports on the Afghan National Army in recent months: On the plus side, they are said to fight well. On [...]

• Re: Fort Hood

  Karen Tumulty

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:17 am

  I agree with Joe: That this tragedy happened at Fort Hood adds an extra level of significance and sadness. Last night, I had a brief conversation with Congressman Chet Edwards, who is chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. More importantly, he represented Fort Hood for most of his [...]

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  Politico

• Saturday Pulse: A Democratic drama

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:57 am

  Democratic leaders are gambling that Friday's abortion deal will be just the breakthrough they need to get 218 votes.

• Turning New Jersey red

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:58 am

  In an Ideas piece, Schriefer says independents were open to a Republican message in New Jersey.

• A 2010 survival guide for Democrats

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:57 am

  In an Ideas piece, Hickman summarizes 10 things every Democrat should do to prepare for next year.

• Sunday talk show tip sheet

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:57 am

  The White House takes a week off from the Sunday talk shows, as health care and Fort Hood dominate.

• Whipping floor votes into shape

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:54 am

  "Herding cats" may be a cliche, but it is also a pretty good description of what it takes to secure votes.

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  USA Today: On Politics

• Lawmakers give Yanks a Bronx cheer

  John Fritze

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm

  Between healthcare, climate change and the deficit, there isn't much on Congress' plate these days that Democrats and Republicans can agree on. So it was unusual to see a bipartisan group of House lawmakers -- either 17 or 47 large,...

• Vulnerable Democratic freshman abandon the health care bill

  Kathy Kiely

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:36 pm

  Some of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House are starting to flake off the health care bill. There are a dozen first-term Democrats representing districts that Republican presidential nominee John McCain won last year. So far, six have announced...

• Rep. Owens takes oath of office

  Eugene Kiely

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pm

  Democrat Bill Owens, the winner of Tuesday’s special congressional election in New York’s 23rd District, was sworn into office by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shortly after 1 p.m. today. After taking swearing-in ceremony, Owens said, “I most especially want to...

• Sen. Castle? Not so fast.

  Eugene Kiely

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pm

  Everybody knows that Republican Rep. Mike Castle will be a formidable Senate candidate in Delaware next year. But nobody is ready to call him senator just yet -- or are they? Our colleague Nicole Gaudiano of the Gannett Washington Bureau...

• Hoyer: Health care vote could slip

  John Fritze

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:12 am

  Just how sure are Democratic House leaders of a vote on their $1 trillion plus health care legislation Saturday? On a conference call this morning House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said his expectation is that the vote will...

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  CNN

• House Democrats win round on abortion

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:59 am

  Anti-abortion Democrats will be allowed to offer an amendment during the House health-care debate set for Saturday.

• Inside Fort Hood center, where horror unfolded

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:38 pm

  I was in the building at Fort Hood, Texas, in June where 43 people were shot this week.

• Valerie Jarrett balances roles of friend, official adviser to Obama

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:21 pm

  Valerie Jarrett is fiercely loyal to Obama, as one of his closest friends. But she also advises him as president and is one of the White House's ultimate insiders.

• House votes to extend jobless benefits

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:13 am

  Unemployed Americans are set to get up to 20 additional weeks of benefits, while new homebuyers' $8,000 tax credit will extend into next year, CNNMoney reports.

• Landing a job like getting into Harvard

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:45 am

  Samuel Sherraden says the latest jobless numbers show the odds are against you if you're seeking a job.

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  Yahoo! News: Politics

• Fort Hood suspect said his goodbyes before rampage (AP)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

  AP - As if going off to war, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan cleaned out his apartment, gave leftover frozen broccoli to one neighbor and called another to thank him for his friendship — common courtesies and routines of the departing soldier. Instead, authorities say, he went on the killing spree that left 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, dead.

• AP Sources: Rampage gun purchased legally (AP)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:42 pm

  AP - A 5.7-millimeter pistol used in the Fort Hood shooting was purchased legally by suspect Nidal Hasan at a Texas gun shop, law enforcement officials said Friday.

• Obama firm on Taiwan: aide (AFP)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm

  AFP - President Barack Obama, set for a mission to China this month to boost warming ties, will stay firm on the US policy of supporting but not recognizing rival Taiwan, an aide said Friday.

• House Dems struggle for final votes on health care (AP)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:20 pm

  AP - Amid intense lobbying by the Obama administration, House Democratic leaders struggled Friday for the final votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation, working to ease concerns among Hispanic holdouts and abortion foes.

• Ex-Rival: 'Bigger Name' Bennett Challenge Brews (CQPolitics.com)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:20 pm

  CQPolitics.com - After dropping out of the race against Utah Sen. Robert F. Bennett, state Attorney General Mark Shurtleffsays he's looking for another way to help defeat the three-term senator in next year's Republican primary.

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  First Read

• Abortion key to health vote

  Domenico Montanaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:17 pm

  From NBC's Domenico Montanaro, Mike Viqueira, and Luke RussertHouse Democrats "intend" to bring the health-reform bill to a vote tomorrow on the House floor. But as many as 20 to 30 votes could hinge on abortion. Fix abortion, the bill passes, one Democrat said. Don't fix it, it doesn't. Many of these members are waiting for a yay or nay from the Conference of Catholic Bishops on the abortion language. Moderates Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), two of the central figures in this...(read more)

• Week Ahead: Congress' prescription

  Domenico Montanaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:23 pm

  THE WEEK AHEAD: Health vote nears ... Obama heads to Asia ... Plouffe book out ... Pawlenty to Mexico ... Spitzer talks ethics? ... Meet the Press has Barbour/Rendell Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy...(read more)

• Clinton addresses policy forum

  Domenico Montanaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:22 pm

  From NBC's Ali Weinberg and Wendy JonesSecretary of State Hillary Clinton today addressed the first public policy forum of NoLimits.org, an education foundation focusing on issues like work-family policies, healthcare reform and human rights. The nonpartisan group was founded by Ann Lewis, whose brother is House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank. Clinton said she recognized many friends in the audience, including her best friend from sixth grade, as well as many whom she met "in the cauldron of the 2008 election." She called Lewis Rep. Frank's "long-suffering sister," joking…

• Health reform sticking points

  Domenico Montanaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:03 pm

  From NBC's Doug AdamsWith word that the healthcare reform vote may slip in the House, it's clear that Democrats are still scrambling to get to enough of their members on board. With the assumption that no Republicans will support the bill, Democrats (who now number 258) need to keep their defections to under 40 in order to get to a bare majority of 218 votes. There are a couple of different factions. Many of the moderate Blue Dog Democrats think the overall bill is too expensive and chances are a big handful of them will vote against the bill. Then, there are some Democrats in marginal…

• House Dems expect vote tomorrow

  Domenico Montanaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:54 am

  From NBC's Domenico MontanaroDemocratic House leadership contends there will, in fact, be a vote tomorrow on health-reform legislation -- despite reports suggesting a vote could be pushed back to Sunday or even next week. An aide told First Read that "assuming all goes well," they are aiming for a vote late afternoon/early evening tomorrow. The aide, however, conceded the vote could slip later into tomorrow evening. "We still expect to vote on health care tomorrow," the aide said. The only thing that could push it off -- aside from not having the votes, and Dems don't have those yet -- are…

• 
  Political Irony

• The Long Road

  Iron Knee

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:24 am

  © Clay Bennett Please Share / Save No related posts.

• Late Night Political Humor

  Iron Knee

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:10 am

  “A year ago today, Barack Obama was elected president. It’s been a year, can you believe that? Yeah. A lot’s happened. Yeah. In one short year, Obama’s slogan has gone from, ‘Yes, we can,’ to ‘Wow, this is freakin’ hard.’” – Conan O’Brien “Do you believe it’s been a year since Barack Obama was elected president? Amazing, huh? Well, actually, there’s been some changes. His new slogan is now, ‘Yes, we can, but don’t hold your breath.’” – Jay Leno “Reporters are saying President…

• Thank Heavens for Olympia Snowe!

  Iron Knee

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:57 am

  © Steve Sack © Joel Pett Please Share / Save Related posts:A Snowe-Ball’s Chance in Hell © Steve Benson Please Share / Save...Snowe Flaked © Steve Breen Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine became...Promises, Promises © Joel Pett Please Share / Save...

• A Snowe-Ball’s Chance in Hell

  Iron Knee

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am

  © Steve Benson Please Share / Save Related posts:Snowe Flaked © Steve Breen Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine became...Thank Heavens for Olympia Snowe! © Steve Sack © Joel Pett Please Share /...Is Congress perhaps growing a proto-spine? Hell No! Bush is currently trying to ram his $700 Billion give-away...

• When someone says “I am not a racist” they probably are

  Iron Knee

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:55 am

  An interracial couple in Louisiana went to a justice of the peace to get married, but were turned down, being told “We don’t do interracial weddings or marriages.” But the ironic part is that in an interview with a local newspaper, the justice of the peace, who is an elected official, said he was not a racist, he was merely concerned for the children who might be born of the relationship since in his experience most interracial marriages don’t last. Um, someone needs to tell him that most marriages don’t last. Laws against interracial marriage were struck down…

• 
  Politics Daily

• Director of '2012' Destroys Rome, Spares Mecca

  David Gibson

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: Iran, Religion, Terror, Culture, Disputations, News MediaNo one would ever accuse director Roland Emmerich of being subtle or shy. The German-born filmmaker has blown up or mowed down just about everything on Earth in movies from "Independence Day" (bye-bye, White House!) to "Godzilla" (sayonara, Manhattan!) to "The Day After Tomorrow" (welcome to our world, Antarctica!). As for religion, he also takes no prisoners. He is openly gay and a fairly "outlandish provocateur," as he himself boasts. His London home features a wax sculpture of Pope John Paul II laughing as he reads his…

• What's in Michelle Obama's Closet?

  Lynn Sweet

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: The Daily FLOTUS with Lynn Sweet What's inFirst Lady Michelle Obama's closet?  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

• Obama Visits Wounded Soldiers At Walter Reed Army Medical Center

  Lynn Sweet

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  The day after a massacre at Fort Hood, President Obama visited the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington late Friday. The visit was planned before a shooting rampage left 13 people killed and 30 wounded. Still, the contrast is striking: soldiers hurt while fighting two wars, and those killed and hurt Thursday at a Texas military post, where the suspect is an Army major. The visit was private and lasted 30 or 40 minutes longer than the hour Obama had been expected to spend visiting wounded soldiers. Deputy Press secretary Tommy Vietor told the print pool, ``While at Walter Reed, the…

• Hillary Clinton To Lead U.S. Delegation At Berlin Wall

  Christopher Weber

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Foreign Policy, Obama AdministrationSecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will lead the U.S. delegation to Germany for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the White House has announced The delegation for next week's ceremony will include the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Philip Murphy, and German Marshall Fund President Craig Kennedy, the Associated Press reported. Also traveling with Clinton will be Brett Scowcroft, a top aide to Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush, and President Carter's aide Zbigniew Brzezinski. The German capital will be…

• Men's Group Tells Rihanna to 'Woman Up'

  Helena Andrews

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: Woman Up, Culture On Thursday, the National Coalition for Men (yeah, me neither) released a statement calling on pop princess Rihanna, the very public victim of physical abuse at the hands of her fellow chart-topping ex-boyfy Chris Brown, to "woman up" and accept responsibility for her role in their now infamous battle royale. In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, which airs at 10 tonight on "20/20," Rihanna will for the first time talk about what happened that night, and the NCFM says the "Disturbia" singer isn't telling the whole truth. "According to court records and other…

• 
  AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

• Ocampo to request Kenya trials

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:19 am

  ICC prosecutor cites "strong evidence" to charge individuals over post-poll unrest.

• Kabul rejects 'foreign criticism'

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:19 am

  International demands on government "violate national sovereignty", foreign ministry says.

• Tunisian blogger detained

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:13 am

  Fatma Riahi, known as Arabicca, held by police and denied access to lawyer, sources say.

• Iran rejects nuclear deal, MP says

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:57 am

  Politician's remarks are not Tehran's official response to uranium swap, official says.

• Youth lured to fight in Somalia

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:24 am

  Kenya accused of secretly training young men of Somali origin to battle al-Shabaab.

• 
  THE HUFFINGTON POST

• Allison Kilkenny: Focus On The Family's 'Youth Revolution' Funds Anti-Gay Referendum, Loses

  Allison Kilkenny

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:21 am

  While much of the nation's attention has been focused on the sad story of Prop 1 in Maine, another much happier story has been unfolding in Washington where the gay and lesbian community took another step toward equality with the approval of Referendum 71. R-71 expands domestic-partnership rights, and has been called the "everything but marriage" bill. The referendum expands the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of registered domestic partners and their families to include all rights, responsibilities, and obligations granted by or imposed by state law on married couples and their…

• Health Care Vote: Latest Updates

  The Huffington Post News Team

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am

  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is trying to close the deal in the House on his health care overhaul, facing a make-or-break vote that's certain to be seen as a test of his presidency. Obama scheduled a visit late Saturday morning to meet with House Democrats, who planned a rare weekend session. The legislation is intended to remake the health care system by extending coverage to tens of millions uninsured people and banning insurance company practices such as denying coverage based on medical problems. Late Friday, House Democrats cleared an abortion-related impasse blocking a vote…

• Mike Stark: Cantor & Nazism; H1N1 & Wall Street; Billionaires for Wealthcare

  Mike Stark

  7 Nov 2009 | 1:48 am

  I spent the day on the Hill interviewing Representatives about Wall Street and how they were able to jump the line to get the H1N1 flu vaccine before pregnant women and children. Yesterday, I spent the day with the Billionaires for Wealthcare and witnessed some truly scary moments. When I got home today, I saw TPM reporting that Eric Cantor has come out against Rush Limbaugh's Nazi rhetoric. I was surprised. When I asked him about it several weeks ago, Cantor (and John Boehner, and Virginia Foxx and Michelle Bachmann and Jean Schmidt and scores of other republicans) remained silent. Congress…

• Democrats Clear Impasse Blocking Health Care Vote

  The Huffington Post News Team

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:30 pm

  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is trying to close the deal in the House on his health care overhaul, facing a make-or-break vote that's certain to be seen as a test of his presidency. Obama scheduled a visit late Saturday morning to meet with House Democrats, who planned a rare weekend session. The legislation is intended to remake the health care system by extending coverage to tens of millions uninsured people and banning insurance company practices such as denying coverage based on medical problems. Late Friday, House Democrats cleared an abortion-related impasse blocking a vote…

• Compromise Reached On Health Care Bill: Anti-Abortion Amendment To Be Given Floor Vote

  The Huffington Post News Team

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:13 pm

  As the House of Representatives inches toward a final vote on comprehensive health care reform this weekend -- the most dramatic domestic policy debate in several generations, a reorganization of a sixth of the economy - the only thing the parties can talk about is abortion and immigration. "It tells you something about our country," remarked one distressed member of Congress, who didn't want to be named speaking ill of this fine land. What it tells isn't pretty: The ranks of the uninsured are steadily being filled, with the number approaching 50 million. Health care costs are rising at a…

• 
  msnbc.com: Politics

• Hoyer: House vote may be pushed back

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm

  House Democrats acknowledged they don't yet have the votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or early next week.

• Obama will push health bill in Sat. Hill visit

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:16 am

  President Barack Obama still expects to have a health care overhaul bill to sign by year's end and plans to personally lobby for it in a visit to Capitol Hill on Saturday, the White House said.

• Cheney blasts probe of CIA interrogations

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am

  Former Vice President Dick Cheney held back no criticism Thursday of President Barack Obama, strongly questioning the administration's policy in Afghanistan and its approach to combating terrorism.

• Wash. state OKs gay partnership law

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:52 pm

  Washington state voters approve a new "everything but marriage" law, marking a significant expansion of rights for gay couples who are registered as domestic partners.

• Obama: U.S. must reverse course with Indians

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:35 am

  President Barack Obama assured American Indians on Thursday that they have a place in his White House and on his agenda, telling tribal leaders their marginalized community deserves more from its government.

• 
  FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right

• Unemployment Hits 10.2 Percent

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:11 am

  Oops. Back in August, I said that I thought there was only about a 1 in 3 chance that unemployment would break the 10 percent barrier. I think it was a well-reasoned analysis, but sure did turn out wrong.The data from the establishment survey -- which is completely separate from the household survey by which the unemployment rate is calculated -- wasn't quite as bad. This is the figure that the markets tend to trust more, which is one reason the Dow is slightly up today (although I do think it's somewhat overvalued and has been for a month or so). Still, even the "good" report had the economy…

• Skipping Elections, Strategic Vision Has Not Polled Since Controversy Arose

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:55 am

  Several weeks ago, I ignited a controversy by pointing toward statistical evidence that Strategic Vision, LLC, a Blairsville, Georgia based public relations firm that until recently had issued political polls, may have been faking its results. Strategic Vision vehemently denied my interpretation of the evidence and made public threats to sue me. But no lawyer has contacted me, and in fact, Strategic Vision has not conducted any further public polling since that time.The firm's last poll was issued on September 24th -- one day before the controversy arose. It was a poll of the governor's race…

• The Big 2010 Question

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pm

  Just attended a morning-long presentation by the team over at the Cook Political Report--namesake Charlie Cook, affiliated pollster Tom Riehle, gubernatorial/Senate specialist Jennifer Duffy, and House specialist David Wasserman. I have lots of details, plenty of stats and trends and other goodies to share and unpack for you, and will do so in a series of posts in the coming days.But as I walked back from the Watergate to my Logan Circle neighborhood, I became increasingly convinced that the big question for both parties--and particularly the Democrats--is one I raised this morning on MSNBC's…

• Independent Voters and Empty Explanations

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:05 am

  Karl Rove:The trend here is that suburban and independent voters moved into the GOP column. The overall shift away from Democrats was 13 points in Virginia, 12 points in New Jersey, and eight points in Pennsylvania. [...]Looking ahead, the bad news for Democrats is that the legislation that helped lead to the collapse of support for their party on Tuesday could yet inflict more pain on those foolish enough to support it.The Washington Post:But moderate and conservative Democrats took a clear signal from Tuesday's voting, warning that the results prove that independent voters are wary of…

• Congressional Foreign Politics

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  One vote that occurred this election day did not pit Democrats and Republicans against one another in an effort to win seats or change policy. Instead, it was a widely bi-partisan effort, meant to show solidarity with a U.S. ally. In a vote under suspended rules (requiring 2/3 majority) the U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday in favor of a resolution that called on "the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration" of the UN-endorsed Goldstone Report which investigated whether violations of human rights law were committed by…

• 
  Media Matters for America - Latest Items

• Karl Frisch: Media Matters: The right-wing media's election analysis just ain't that good

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm

  Back in 2001, conservative media figures were adamant. Democratic Party victories at the ballot boxes during the off-year elections had little national significance. Fox News contributor Dick Morris said at the time, "[I]f you have a Republican president, people are going to vote Democrat, and if you have a Democrat president, they're going to vote Republicans." Proffering further spin of the GOP losses, Fox News contributor Mort Kondracke said, "We have no way of knowing" how the 2001 outcome would affect the 2002 midterms, a sentiment echoed by conservative writer Michael Barone, who…

• Greg Lewis: The Friday Rush: For conservatives, $400 million buys defeat at the ballot box

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pm

  If you're a masochist, like me, then I know exactly where you were last Sunday morning: in front of your television, eyes fixed to Rush Limbaugh's 30-minute tee-ball interview, courtesy of Fox News Sunday and Chris Wallace. If you're a regular listener of The Rush Limbaugh Show -- or, better yet, a regular reader of Media Matters' Limbaugh Wire -- then you probably recognized that every morsel Limbaugh fed to ratings-hungry Wallace on the subject of Obama's destruction of the economy was just a regurgitation of what Rush passes off as compelling radio on a daily basis. But aside from…

• Media continue to misrepresent abortion provisions in health reform bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm

  Media figures continue to falsely claim that a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the House health care reform bill would only have the effect of prohibiting government money from being used to pay for abortions, echoing a myth previously advanced about a proposed amendment to a prior version of that legislation. In fact, language in the current House bill already segregates federal money so it cannot be used directly to fund abortions, and the proposed amendment would effectively ban abortion coverage for some who have it now. Media advance false, misleading claims on abortion language,…

• Right-wing media respond to Fort Hood shooting by attacking American Muslims

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:18 pm

  Right-wing media figures have used the shooting at Fort Hood as an excuse to attack Islam and American Muslims in particular, with Debbie Schlussel, for example, urging readers to think of the alleged shooter "whenever you hear about how Muslims serve their country in the U.S. military." Additionally, commentators have blamed the shooting on "political correctness," with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade suggesting the implementation of "special debriefings" for Muslim American soldiers to prevent future attacks.Right-wing media respond to attack by demonizing Muslims Schulssel: Think of Hasan…

• Farah falsely claimed official "confirm[ed]" WND falsehood that alleged shooter "advised Obama transition"

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pm

  WorldNetDaily CEO and editor-in-chief Joseph Farah claimed that WND's false report that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan "advised" the "Obama transition" -- previously debunked by Media Matters for America -- had been subsequently "confirm[ed]" by an official with the Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) at George Washington University, which had listed Hasan as a member of its Presidential Transition Task Force "Event Participants." But the updated article reported only that the official confirmed that the Hasan listed as a "participant" was the alleged shooter, not that he had…

• 
  Wide Angle

• World Links: Equatorial Guinea Pardons Simon Mann, Claude Levi-Strauss Dies at 100

  lauren feeney

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:34 am

  Czech President Vaclav Klaus signs the Lisbon Treaty, an agreement meant to streamline European Union decision-making that includes the establishment of an E.U. president. Klaus was the last hold out on the document, which required the unanimous support of all 27 E.U. member states. The treaty could now take effect as early as December. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic appears at his war crimes trial at the Hague after having boycotted it last week, but asks for 10 months to prepare his defense. Judges temporarily adjourn the case while they decide what to do. The European Court of…

• World Links: Karzai Declared Winner in Afghanistan, Opposition to Renew Challenge in Iran

  lauren feeney

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm

  President Hamid Karzai is declared winner of Afghanistan’s disputed elections after his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdraws from the race. Suicide attacks hit two of Pakistan’s largest cities — thirty people are killed in a blast in near  Pakistani army headquarters in Rawalpindi, and two suicide bombers and a policeman are killed in a car bombing at a police checkpoint in Lahore. French-Senegalese writer Marie NDiaye becomes the first black woman to win France’s top literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for her book Trois Femmes Puissantes (Three Powerful…

• World Links: Haitian PM Ousted, Honduran Rivals Agree to Deal

  lauren feeney

  30 Oct 2009 | 9:08 am

  Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and defacto leader Roberto Micheletti agree to a deal that could lead to the creation of a power-sharing government with Zelaya resotred to the presidency. The deal, already hailed as “an historic agreement” by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, must now be approved by the Honduran congress. In one of the biggest changes in the forty-year history of the Internet, web addresses written in non-Latin characters will soon be allowed. Former French President Jacques Chirac is ordered to stand trial on corruption charges dating back to his…

• World Links: Iran Responds to Nuclear Deal, Race for E.U. President Begins

  lauren feeney

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:36 pm

  Iran hands over an initial response to a draft deal with the U.N. under which the country’s uranium would be sent abroad for processing. Iran is seeking two crucial changes to the plan — a slower timetable for delivery and the “simultaneous exchange” of nuclear fuel in return — but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the country is ready to cooperate. The Taliban and Al Qaeda deny involvement in yesterday’s bombing that killed over 100 people in a crowded market in Peshawar, Pakistan. Kuwait’s highest court rules that female parliamentarians do…

• World Links: Nearly 100 Dead in Peshawar Blast, Six U.N. Staffers Killed in Kabul

  lauren feeney

  28 Oct 2009 | 10:07 am

  Nearly 100 people are killed in a massive car bombing in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier. The blast hit a popular market full of fabric and clothing shops frequented mostly by women, and many of the dead are women and children. The attack comes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits the country. Six U.N. staffers and two Afghan security guards are killed in an attack on their guest house in central Kabul. A Taliban spokesman takes credit, siting the U.N.’s involvement in Afghanistan’s presidential elections as the reason for the…

• 
  The WIP: Byline portal + WIP Contibutors

• Patent Lies: Who Says Saving the Planet Has To Cost a Fortune

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:26 am

  by Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck, Spiegel Online, Germany - When the host of a party predicts a flop, it rarely inspires much confidence in a good bash. With just over a month to go before international climate talks start in Copenhagen,

• Africa's Diamond Trade Under Scrutiny

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:22 am

  by Celia Dugger, New York Times, - The viability of an effort endorsed by the United Nations to halt the trading of so-called blood diamonds that have fueled conflicts across Africa is on the line this week, and the test case is Zimbabwe.

• Europe's Quiet Leader

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:11 am

  by Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, USA - Did you know that there were elections in Germany a month ago? Were you aware that the German Socialists were soundly defeated?

• Art Imitating Life: Berlin Through the Eyes of Käthe Kollwitz

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  by Brittany Shoot - Denmark - Kollowitz's sculpture, Pietá. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Celebrations for the historic occasion have been planned for months, and next week, Angela Merkel – Germany’s first and now second-term female chancellor – will lead festivities at the historic Brandenburg Gate. The massive symbolic structure, which was previously located in East Berlin, was the site of Ronald Reagan’s famous speech to Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, in which he instructed the former Soviet leader to…

• Baghdad's Underground Shelters Help Iraqi Women Escape Violence and Abuse

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pm

  by Anna Badkhen, Utne Reader, USA - On a bullet-scarred side street in Baghdad’s downtown, where U.S. Marines famously helped tear down the statue of Saddam Hussein in April of 2003, an inconspicuous entryway tucked between a steel-shuttered shop and a rickety candy stall leads to a flight of steep concrete stairs. Operated despite recurring death threats and lack of government support by a team of 35 Iraqi activists who call themselves the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), the shelters offer a glint of hope for civil society.

• 
  The Progressive

• Obama Needs a Full-Employment Policy

  Matthew Rothschild

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:37 pm

  By Matthew Rothschild, November 6, 2009 The new unemployment figures are a stinging indictment of the Obama economic policy. Standing now at 10.2 percent, the highest in 26 years, the rate is much worse than Obama’s advisers predicted.read more

• Basta Dobbs Campaign Turns Up the Heat

  Elizabeth DiNovella

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:35 pm

  By Elizabeth DiNovella, November 6, 2009 A coalition of Latino groups has been going after CNN host Lou Dobbs for spreading misinformation and fear about immigrants and Latinos. This week the coalition announced that 100,000 people have joined it in demanding that Dobbs be dismissed from the network. CNN and Dobbs are feeling the heat.read more

• Crunch Time for Planet Earth

  Amitabh Pal

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:43 am

  By Amitabh Pal, November 6, 2009 The Obama Administration has been disappointing on global warming, and much of the American public is in full denial mode.read more

• President Obama Comes to School

  Ruth Conniff

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm

  By Ruth Conniff, November 5, 2009 In that crowd-pleasing, humorous-but-firm paternal style, the President described how he and his wife hold their own kids to high standards. But progressive protesters outside were none too happy with him.read more

• House Shames Itself on Goldstone Report

  Matthew Rothschild

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am

  By Matthew Rothschild, November 4, 2009 Until most members of Congress show some respect for international law and some humanity toward Palestinians, there’s no reason for Israel to.read more

• 
  Jack & Jill Politics

• President Obama’s Weekly Address

  b-serious

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

• Saturday Open Thread

  rikyrah

  7 Nov 2009 | 1:38 am

  hat tip -Booker Rising Good Morning. As you go through your weekend spending time with family and friends, don’t forget JJP. Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too. And always, have a peaceful day.

• Evening Open Thread

  rikyrah

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:03 pm

  hat tip-Michelle Obama Watch the First Lady is interviewed by Katie Couric Watch CBS News Videos Online Good Evening. Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too. And continue to have a peaceful day.

• Nidal Malik Hasan: The Madness Time

  Marcus Toussaint

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am

  Jeffrey Dahmer: Sociopath. And White. John Allen Muhammed: Sociopath. And Black. Richard Ramirez: Sociopath. And Mexican. Seung-hui Cho: Sociopath. And Korean. Do we see the commonality here? Upon first hearing about the tragedy at Fort Hood yesterday, my first thought was that intra-army conflict is terrible for morale in the face of two wars being waged abroad. When members of a volunteer army start shooting bases up, that is not a good. Sporadic reports of the aftermath flowed in until the mother lode came through: the suspected gunman’s name. Nidal Malik Hasan (which was first reported…

• Your Help Needed STAT — Healthcare Up for Vote in House!

  jilltubman

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:02 am

  This is It — (paging Michael Jackson). Wonder Twins Power — Activate! Form of — a phone call. From Organizing for America: This is it — the House of Representatives will vote on health insurance reform tomorrow. All signs point to it being incredibly close, possibly even coming down to a single vote. With the clock ticking, insurance company lobbyists are going all out to stop reform. Please call your rep now. Today, President Obama is visiting the House to call for reform, and I hope you’ll add your voice to his. If you haven’t called before, now is the…

• 
  digg.com: Stories / Political News / Popular

• Wall Street's Real Corporate Criminals are Going Unpunished

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:50 am

  Despite Obama's promises of change, corporate crooks are still going unpunished for their roles in the financial collapse. Bernie Madoff and the other accused Ponzi schemers like Allen Stanford are mere pickpockets compared with Wall Street's institutional buccaneers, who, so far, have carted off up to $12.7 trillion.

• What Reagan Was Really Trying To Do At The Berlin Wall

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  The president is remembered for his impassioned plea for Gorbachev to 'tear down this wall.' But his intention was to improve relations with the Soviet Union so the Cold War could end.

• Unemployment Rate Jumps to 10.2%

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:24 pm

  The October unemployment rate has just been released and it has jumped to double digits at 10.2%, the worst rate since 1983. Any higher unemployment rate would make this the worst recession since the Great Depression. So how is the Associated Press reporting the growing unemployment numbers? "The economy is rebounding." I kid you not.

• Michele Bachmann reveals her info sources

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:21 pm

  Yes, Bachmann's "wider background of knowledge" goes from the conservative blog RedState -- led by a guy whose idea of a brilliant political tactic is sending fake dog poop to a Democratic congressman

• Sacked UK Drug Czar David Nutt: 'The population is with me'

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  The man at the heart of the row over the relationship between politics and science appeared relaxed and unrepentant.

• 
  The Nation: Editor's Cut

• Can We Get Some Small-d Democracy?

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:54 am

  I have long advocated for a strong pro-democracy agenda to repair and strengthen our broken electoral system. The needs are many--from creating an Election Day holiday, to requiring voting machines that produce a voter-verified paper trail, to re-enfranchising former felons who have served their sentences, to public campaign financing. Just this past week, when my 18 year old daughter was back from college for fall break and told me it was too complicated to go register this Tuesday, I realized why we need another important reform I've written about for these last few years--same day voter…

• Around The Nation

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:11 pm

  It's hard to believe that a year ago this week we were watching President Obama's stunning victory. At 'The Nation', we were jubilant about a new era of possibility opened up by the election. New York City was filled with crowds cheering in the street. Since then it's been a bracing year - filled with promise and disappointment. This coming Thursday in 'The Nation', we'll be taking a look at one critical element of Obama's success: Young people. While pundits and strategists have raised ill-informed criticisms of "Generation Obama" in the past months - "where were they at the healthcare town…

• Investigating the Mortgage Crisis

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:39 am

  In a press release last week, Chairman Edolphus Towns of the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform announced a major investigation "into whether mortgage companies employed deceptive and predatory lending practices, or improper tactics to thwart regulation, and the impact of those activities on the current crisis." This investigation is much needed, and frankly, overdue, as the foreclosure crisis has now hit record levels.   The Committee has requested--and will subpoena if necessary--records from Wells Fargo, Bank of America (including Countrywide), JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup,…

• Around The Nation

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  25 Oct 2009 | 2:25 pm

  When former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's autobiography, 'Going Rogue: An American Life', comes out on November 17th, it won't go unanswered. Two of 'The Nation''s top editors, Richard Kim and Betsy Reed, are co-editors of 'Going Rouge: An American Nightmare', published by OR Books for release the same day. The cover may be tongue in cheek, but the anthology is no parody. Featuring essays from some of 'The Nation''s standout writers (Katha Pollitt, Max Blumenthal, John Nichols, Chris Hayes, Naomi Klein, Pat Williams, Gary Younge and JoAnn Wypijewski) and from some of the leading thinkers on…

• NoEscalation.org

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  23 Oct 2009 | 7:36 am

  President Obama will soon make what could be the defining decision of his presidency. The course he chooses in Afghanistan will tell us a lot about the kind of country we will become during his administration. We have already been fighting in Afghanistan for twice as long as we fought in World War II. In fact, the United States and its NATO partners have had more than 40,000 troops in Afghanistan since 2006 and have spent more than $300 billion on military and civilian operations. At this perilous moment, as we attempt to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the…

• 
  Nukes & Spooks

• Gates gets H1N1 vaccine; Obama does not

  Nancy Youssef

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pm

  Believe of not, who gets an H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine – and who chooses not to in light of the vaccine shortage – has become a political issue in this town.  The White House announced that President and Mrs. Obama would not get the vaccine until “needs of the priority groups identified by the CDC – including young people under the age of 24, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions – have been met.”  A White House physician administered vaccines obtained through the D.C. Department of Health to the Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha.  On Wednesday, Pentagon…

• Iraq combat deaths near record low

  Warren Strobel

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:15 am

  Reporting from Baghdad -- With U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan at all-time highs, and terrorist attacks like last week's spectacular bombing against government ministries still common in Iraq, it's easy to overlook one important face: U.S. combat deaths in Iraq are at their lowest level since the March 2003 invasion. In October, there were two U.S. combat-related fatalities in Iraq, according to the website Globalsecurity.org. That continues a trend that began last year, and accelerated with the departure of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities in June 30 of this year.

• Cheney attacks Obama on Afghanistan: rewriting history.

  Jonathan Landay

  22 Oct 2009 | 4:38 pm

      Bush administration veterans and their partisans have launched a frontal assault on President Barack Obama over the war in Afghanistan and what former Vice President Dick Cheney called Obama's "dithering" and "waffling" on whether to send more U.S. troops.    Do we smell a campaign of historic revisionism by those widely seen as primarily responsible for the disaster in Afghanistan that has prompted Army Gen. Stanley A. McCrystal's request for up to 80,000 more soldiers?    It was, after all, the Bush administration that failed in 2001 to deploy U.S.

• The State Deparment says invest in Iraq -- sort of

  Nancy Youssef

  21 Oct 2009 | 2:45 pm

  This week, Washington hosted a U.S.-Iraqi business conference, which featured such notables as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones, President Barack Obama’s national security advisor. The message was clear: Iraq is a vibrant country now filled with investment opportunities! Get in on the ground floor!Here’s what Clinton had to say:  “We believe strongly that Iraq is a land where generations of scientists, doctors, astronomers, engineers built a tradition of scholarship and inquiry that lives on in the Iraqi people…

• Where's Dick?

  Warren Strobel

  19 Oct 2009 | 3:28 pm

  We're in the midst of the biggest political crisis in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. Pakistan has launched a major offensive into the South Waziristan tribal area, a move that was preceded by a string of murderous terrorist attacks against Pakistani security forces. U.S.-Pakistani relations almost went thermonuclear over a U.S. aid bill that Pakistani military saw as a hammer against it. Where then is Richard C. Holbrooke, the president's Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan? The hard-charging Holbrooke is hardly known as a shrinking…

• 
  Wonkette

• Tom Tancredo Will Not Sit And Let This Communist Blogger Insult Him!

  Jim Newell

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:50 pm

  There is no reason, ever, to invite racist ex-Congressman failure Tom Tancredo onto any television show, or at least the political ones. So thank you Tom Tancredo for graciously acknowledging your unimportance and leaving the set mid-interview! The fun starts around 2:45 when Tancredo suggests that everyone in the military past or present hates their free government health insurance. Then that mean blogger Markos Molasses says, I was in the military, unlike you, who got a deferment from fighting in your beloved Vietnam War, because of sadness. Tancredo responds, yeah, well fuck this,…

• DC-Area Male Pines For The Tender Lips Of Ezra Klein

  Riley Waggaman

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm

  Knock-knock! Ezra Klein, are you there? So. There is sexual predator that rides the same bus as you. He knows your name. He likes you. In a sexual way. Next time you take the bus, look around you. Is there a strange man staring at you as he touches himself? THAT’S HIM! [DCist] (more…) Three months into the fiscal year and Metro is already $20 million over budget. Time for a bake sale! [Washington Times] DC BLOG WAR! Dave Stroup called Prince Dan Silverman of Petworth a shameless Fenty-sympathizer and then Dan e-mailed Dave and was like, “It’s cute that you’re so…

• Here’s The Most Fun Aspect Of John Boehner’s Health Plan!

  Jim Newell

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:01 pm

  Now now, liberals, you can no longer smugly declare in political arguments, “the Republicans don’t even have a health care plan,” because they do! John Boehner released the GOP alternative plan a few days ago, and the CBO scored it, to much fanfare. It is but a modest (Very Responsible Centrist) plan to save America from the Muslims. One of its central tenets — and the health care thing you’ve been hearing Republicans blab on about most, after they’ve exhausted tort reform — is to allow consumers to purchase health care plans across state lines.

• Europe Shows Off And Photos Take Over DC

  Arielle Fleisher

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:32 pm

  Saturday, November 7 through Sunday, November 29: Lost In Yonkers, a play about a very dysfunctional Jewish family, will make you 1) regret your decision to go home for Thanksgiving and 2) crave a delicious corned beef sandwich. [Theater J] (more…) Saturday, November 7: An event called the “American Freedom Festival” is happening at George Mason University’s Patriot Center.  We’ll let you imagine the topic, but it seems like it’s a guaranteed “fun” way to spend a Saturday night. [American Freedom Festival] Saturday, November 7 through Sunday,…

• Sarah Palin Giving Extremely Secretive Speech Tonight

  Jim Newell

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pm

  If you live in Wisconsin, then… sorry? What were we going to write about here… ah, yes: if you live in Wisconsin, then you should go see Sarah Palin speak tonight! She will be making an appearance in Milwaukee on behalf of Wisconsin Right to Life, presumably the anti-capital punishment outfit up there. Only caveat: you cannot bring anything to this event. Anything at all. After tonight, Sarah Palin would like there to be no proof that she was ever in Milwaukee. (And maybe she isn’t!) From the event website: NOTICE - YOU MUST HAVE A TICKET TO ENTER No tickets will be sold at…

• 
  Hot Air

• Jail time for not buying coverage?

  Ed Morrissey

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am

  Read this post »

• Pelosi caves to Stupak

  Ed Morrissey

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:25 am

  How desperate has Nancy Pelosi become for enough votes to pass her ObamaCare proposal this weekend? [...] Read the rest »

• NARN, the Weekend Vote Edition!

  Ed Morrissey

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:08 am

  The Northern Alliance Radio Network will be on the air today, with our eight-hour-long broadcast schedule starting at 9 am CT. [...] Read the rest »

• Quotes of the day

  Allahpundit

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm

  Read this post »

• Video: Footage shows Hasan in November at … Homeland Security event

  Allahpundit

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:11 pm

  Even worse: It was a presidential transition event. [...] Read the rest »

• 
  MOMocrats™

• A Word on Gay Marriage

  Meghan Harvey

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  As everyone celebrates the one-year anniversary of the historic election of President Obama a lot of us, especially here in California are sadly reminded of another anniversary this week. The anniversary of the passing of Proposition 8, which was made even more painful after a similar vote passed in Maine on Tuesday. Writing this, I still can’t wrap my mind around the one burning question that keeps haunting my thoughts. Why? Why are people voting on the right for other people to marry? Why do people care? And why are people so stupid? Yes, I said stupid. Sue me. One of my favorite books in…

• "Off With Their Heads!" (Hey, They Aren't Using Them Anyway)

  Melissa

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:42 am

  I'm sure by now most MOMocrats readers have seen the video of Billionaires for Wealth serenading Bill McInturff as he speaks to America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). But, if you haven't yet witnessed the spectacle, please feast your eyes:I saw the video on Rachel Maddow. "Gleeful" might be too weak a word to describe my reaction. My husband, ever the professor, reminded me that I'd be all kinds of annoyed if someone interrupted a meeting of say, Trust for America's Health or the National Partnership for Women and Families. I thought about that all evening. You know what? He's right. I…

• A cry for help

  Karoli

  19 Oct 2009 | 8:38 pm

  Here's the letter I faxed to my representatives. I understand they pay more attention to handwritten letters than emailed or typed letters. Click for the large version. It's my last shot at trying to get them (especially Rep. Gallegly and Senator Feinstein) to get a clue about how desperate we are. $4,700 - colonoscopy. $500/mo, ongoing supplies/meds. Health care reform I can actually afford? Priceless. All we have now is a train wreck. Related articles by ZemantaPlease Call Your Senators Now for Real Health Care Reform (iflizwerequeen.com) Health-Care Reform: Uninsured Young Adults Are a…

• Go Watch It: Rachel Maddow Takes on Americans for Prosperity

  Jaelithe

  16 Oct 2009 | 10:02 am

  In August, I wrote about how astroturfing groups funded by big business and staffed by GOP political operatives and corporate lobbyists — like the Koch Industries-funded group Americans for Prosperity — are influencing the national debate on health care by helping to organize and promote Tea Party gatherings and town hall protests at the local level. Last night on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow took on Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips in a scathingly direct interview. If you're concerned about the involvement of corporate lobbyists in the health care debate, don't miss this…

• Hear My Story: I’m insured (for now), but I want health insurance reform

  Julie Pippert

  13 Oct 2009 | 10:00 am

  MOMocrats are honored and happy to welcome successful author and advocate Melissa Stanton as a guest blogger covering the ongoing health care reform discussion. Today, the Senate Finance Committee is voting on the health bill. It's a landmark day, and hopefully the Senate will hear voices such as Melissa's on this topic. She offers the perspective so many of us can relate to: a "rags to riches to rags to riches. . ." history of on again/off again health care. Read on for Melissa's story. . .I’m very lucky. I have health insurance through my husband's corporate job. That coverage, though,…

• 
  NPR

• Could Big Donors Break Obama's Fundraising Record?

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:43 pm

  The Obama presidential campaign rewrote the playbook for raising campaign cash in 2008. The Supreme Court may change it again before 2010: An upcoming decision could potentially curb the growing influence of small donors in favor of corporate America.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Week In Politics Reviewed

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  This week, Republicans took governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, and Democrats won a long-held GOP House seat in New York. Also, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing for a possible health care vote this weekend. E.J. Dionne, of The Washington Post, and David Brooks, of The New York Times, discuss the week in politics. » E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Jump In Jobless Rate Puts Spotlight On Obama

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am

  News that the jobless rate has crossed the psychologically important 10 percent mark comes in the same week that Democrats suffered a sobering Election Day. Some experts say it dims Democratic prospects not just for 2010 but for the health care vote this weekend.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Ahead Of Debate, Health Care Battle Lines Drawn

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:49 am

  Democratic House leaders are keeping lawmakers in town over the weekend to work on their health care bill. President Obama is expected to rally support on the Hill on Saturday. With every step this legislation takes toward becoming law, the fervor — on both sides — gets stronger.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Rep. Dingell: The House's Link To Health-Care History

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:45 am

  The health care legislation in the House is named for John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan. He is the longest-serving member in the history of the House, and he was there when Medicare was passed. Dingell's father first introduced a bill calling for universal health coverage in the 1930s.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• 
  FamousDC

• Closing Bell: SeeBolt

  fdc

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm

  Share on Facebook Related posts:Closing Bell: AloneClosing Bell: Couldn’t Stop a One Car ParadeClosing Bell: Fisticuffs at the Washington Post Related posts:Closing Bell: AloneClosing Bell: Couldn’t Stop a One Car ParadeClosing Bell: Fisticuffs at the Washington Post

• MSNBC Twitter Account Hacked: “Barack Obama is a Stupid F’g Socialist”

  nolongerfamous

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pm

  MSNBC Twitter account hacked .  Hilarity ensues. Share on Facebook Related posts:New JibJab Video: He’s Barack ObamaBarack Obama Prank Calls Florida RepBarack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize Because His Last Name Isn’t Bush Related posts:New JibJab Video: He’s Barack ObamaBarack Obama Prank Calls Florida RepBarack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize Because His Last Name Isn’t Bush

• If I Had a Million Dollars …

  fdc

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems Brian Montopoli: 237 Millionaires in Congress Share on Facebook Related posts:If Michelle Had $508 Dollars …How Many Emus Can You Buy For $1.273 Trillion Dollars?Democrats Win: Score Runs Faster Than They Spend Your Tax Dollars Related posts:If Michelle Had $508 Dollars …How Many Emus Can You Buy For $1.273 Trillion Dollars?Democrats Win: Score Runs Faster Than They Spend Your Tax Dollars

• Famous Friday [Round Up]

  fdc

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:15 am

  The Tea Party hit Capitol hill, Senator Boxer went nuclear, Moira Bagley is joining Tucker Carlson’s new site, Martin Eisenstadt lives, 9 arrested in Lieberman’s office, Laura and Jenna kick it with Leno, Woah, Ted Metzger and Jessica Rummel got engaged, Matt Latimer offers up the “Canada Option,” William Beutler thinks New Jersey’s newest governor [...] Related posts:Famous Friday [Round Up]Famous Friday [Round Up]Famous Friday [Round-up]

• Hyper Hill

  fdc

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am

  Need More FamousDC? **Twitter** Facebook FamousDC Daily Email Share on Facebook Related posts:Hyper HillHyper HillHyper Hill Related posts:Hyper HillHyper HillHyper Hill

• 
  Electoral-vote.com

• Wed, Nov. 04 Electoral Vote Predictor

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Virginia and New Jersey Follow Historical Pattern     Permalink Republicans Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie won their gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, respectively. With stories spinning in all directions about the predictive value of yesterday's elections, perhaps a look at the historical record of the Virginia and New Jersey off-year elections will prove of interest. In all eight gubernatorial elections since Ronald Reagan's first term, Virginia has given the party of the incumbent President a loss. In New Jersey, the President's party has lost six…

• Fri, Oct. 30 Electoral Vote Predictor

  30 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am

  House Health-Care Bill Unveiled     Permalink Yesterday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rolled out a $896 billion dollar health-care reform bill (HR 3962) that will go to the House floor for an up-or-down vote within 2 weeks. A summary has been posted online. Some of the key features include: Coverage People who like their current plan may keep it. Individuals not covered and some small business may buy insurance at new exchanges. One of the offerings at these exchanges will be a nonprofit public plan. A committee chaired by the Surgeon General will draw up a list of benefits all…

• Tue, Oct. 27 Electoral Vote Predictor

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am

  Senate Bill Will Contain a Public Option     Permalink Reversing his position of only three weeks ago and despite some foot dragging on the part of the White House, majority leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that the merged bill he will bring to the Senate floor will contain a "public option," that is, a government-run health insurance system analogous to medicare. The bill will allow states that don't want to participate to opt out. The "opt out" part is an idea due to Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and pushed hard by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). It provides cover for red-state…

• Mon, Oct. 26 Electoral Vote Predictor

  26 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am

  Republican Split in NY-23 Becomes a Chasm     Permalink An otherwise sleepy special election in the sprawling NY-23 congressional district hard by the Canadian border has become the main event in next week's election, overshadowing the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. The battle to capture the seat that opened up when John McHugh (R) resigned to become Secretary of the Army has fractured the Republican party badly. The Republican nominee, assemblywoman Deirdre "Dede" Scozzafava, was chosen by the 11 Republican county chairman in the district with an eye to winning…

• Wed, Oct. 21 Electoral Vote Predictor

  21 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am

  Health-Care Bill with Public Option Still Possible     Permalink While there has been little public news about the health-care bill lately, behind the scenes, much is going on. The two bills that passed Senate committees are now laboriously being merged by majority leader Harry Reid. Although a recent poll shows that 57% of all Americans now back a public option, a handful of Democratic senators are opposed to it, making it difficult for Reid to assemble the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture to stop a promised Republican filibuster. However, it now appears that the opposition of…

• 
  mcclatchydc.com: Politics

• Many House Democrats still resist health care bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:18 pm

  WASHINGTON — Democrats in the House of Representatives struggled Friday to find enough votes to pass sweeping health care legislation, as lawmakers prepared for an all-day debate and perhaps a final vote on the bill Saturday.

• North Carolina's Blue Dogs and health bill: It's complicated

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:18 pm

  WASHINGTON — Surely, the chants this week of "Kill! The! Bill!" from thousands of conservative protesters outside Congress floated up to the ears of North Carolina House members who were inside considering their views on health care.

• Texas Republicans unlikely to vote yes on health care

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm

  WASHINGTON — The outlook for a House vote on health care reform is shaky at best — even Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, continues to be undecided — and the Texas Republicans who represent portions of Tarrant County are solidly against the bill.

• Idaho congressmen to vote against health care bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:01 pm

  WASHINGTON — Both of Idaho’s congressmen will vote against the health care overhaul bill coming before the House of Representatives as early as Saturday.

• Opponents say they have votes to block U.S. tourism to Cuba

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

  WASHINGTON — Opponents of opening Cuba to American tourists are touting a letter signed by 53 Democrats in the House of Representatives, saying it shows that they have the votes to derail an effort to lift the ban on travel to the island.

• 
  MSNBC: MEET THE PRESS

• Sunday's Meet the Press guest list

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

• Nov. 1: Tim Geithner, David Plouffe, roundtable

  1 Nov 2009 | 9:12 am

  Transcript of the November 1, 2009 broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press," featuring Tim Geithner, David Plouffe, Jon Krakauer, Jim Miklaszewski and Andrea Mitchell.

• Oct. 25: Cornyn, Schumer, Burnett, Sorkin, roundtable

  25 Oct 2009 | 9:18 am

  Transcript of the October 25, 2009 broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press," featuring John Cornyn, Charles Schumer, Erin Burnett, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jane Mayer, Joe Scarborough, Dan Senor and Tavis Smiley.

• Oct. 18: Jarrett, Dodd, Kyl, Shriver, Podesta

  18 Oct 2009 | 9:07 am

  Transcript of the October 18, 2009 broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press," featuring Valerie Jarrett, Chris Dodd, Jon Kyl, Maria Shriver and John Podesta.

• Oct. 11: Levin, Graham, McCaffrey, Myers, roundtable

  11 Oct 2009 | 9:26 am

  Transcript of the October 11, 2009 broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press," featuring Carl Levin, Lindsey Graham, Barry McCaffrey, Richard Myers, Ron Brownstein, Paul Gigot, Katty Kay and Bob Woodward.

• 
  MyDD

• The U-6

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:53 pm

  Earlier in my post on US Unemployment Reaching a 26-Year High, I said this about the U-6: Among all groups, the U6 underemployment rate -- a broader measure of the jobs shortfall which includes people whose hours have been cut, those working part-time for lack of full-time work, and those who have given up looking -- is 17.5 percent. This is the number that I prefer to use as the real unemployment number. This reflects those individuals who can no longer find work in their chosen careers and have instead been forced back to school or to take lower paying jobs in the service sector. The lack…

• Senator Sanders Introduces a TBTF Bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:31 pm

  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the left-leaning Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, today introduced legislation that would give the government the power to identify and break up financial firms that are "too big to fail." The story from Reuters: An independent U.S. senator on Friday introduced a bill that would give the government the power to identify and break up financial firms that are "too big to fail," an idea that is catching on. "If an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist," said Senator Bernie Sanders in a statement. "We should break them up so they are no…

• NY-13 Representative Michael McMahon to Vote No

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 pm

  Congressman Michael McMahon, the first term Representative from the NY-13 Congressional District that covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, will vote against the historic Democratic healthcare legislation that the House leadership intends to bring to floor as early as this weekend. From Staten Island Live: Rep. Michael McMahon will vote against the sweeping health care reform bill, in an expected House vote tomorrow, bucking the White House and Democratic congressional leaders who are heavily invested in seeing it pass. "As a candidate for Congress in 2008, I ran on the platform of…

• Gore: Optimistic on Enacting Climate Legislation

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:34 pm

  Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has given an interview to the UK Guardian in which he expresses his optimism that the US will enact meaningful climate legislation. He notes that "I was in China two days ago, and the premier of China asked me, in essence, why I'm optimistic that the Senate will pass legislation when the conventional wisdom says otherwise. And the answer is that I have been a part of conversations between Democrats and Republicans that give me a very different view from what the consensus is in the journalistic community." Gore then cites the recent…

• DiFi Pondering

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:24 pm

  Per the San Jose Mercury News: Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday she will base a decision on whether to run for California governor next year largely on the solutions the announced candidates put forward to deal with the state's fiscal problems. Polls indicate she would be a heavy favorite if she chooses to run. Feinstein told The Associated Press in a brief interview that she is grateful for that support, but it will not be a significant factor in her decision. "What does affect it is watching to see what precise programs are put forward by various candidates to handle what is a…

• 
  The Economist: Daily news and views

• After the horror at home

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Is there any lesson to be drawn from the shootings at Fort Hood?FORT HOOD is one of the largest army bases in America, sprawling over more than 300 square miles (some 780 square kilometres) of nondescript central Texas grassland between Austin and Waco. It is home to more than 50,000 active-duty soldiers, many of whom pass through on their way to Iraq or Afghanistan. One of their errands before deploying is to stop at the Soldier Readiness Processing Centre for last-minute medical and dental checks. It was here, on Thursday November 5th, that soldiers preparing for and returning from war…

• This week's top stories [06 November 2009]

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  Our top articles ranked by reader popularity.Out from storageOut of the runningThe week aheadA prepackaged pratfallTricks of the tradeBack in his old hat?An electoral testHow to change the systemRed alertPutting competition first

• Jobs gloom, with glimmers

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:31 am

  America's jobless rate passes 10% but the job market should start to improve soonIT WAS widely expected to happen at some point, but not yet. The unemployment rate in America jumped to 10.2% in October, up from 9.8% the month before, an increase that was far more dramatic than most economists had projected.The grim milestone demonstrates that, even though the recession is apparently over, for the average worker it remains in force. The misery is actually greater than the headline number suggests: an alternative unemployment rate that includes those who would like to work but are not looking…

• For peat's sake

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am

  The world’s wetlands are big sources of greenhouse gasesPEATY wetlands emit about 1.3 billion tonnes of CO2 a year as a result of human activity that drains them and thus exposes them to the oxidative effect of the atmosphere. This figure does not include the effect of fire on dried-up bogs, which can double the amount. That, at least, is the conclusion of a report published by Wetlands International, a lobby group, this week. Drained peat occupies 0.3% of the world’s land surface, but is responsible for 6% of man-made CO2 emissions. Indonesia is the biggest emitter, but richer…

• Fighting fire with fire

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:40 pm

  Wildfires are getting fiercer and more frequentAS WOODLANDS in the warmer parts of the northern hemisphere come to the end of their fire season and their counterparts south of the equator prepare for the worst, people have begun to rethink how best to fight the wildfires, which seem to be getting fiercer and more frequent. With less winter snow on mountains as average temperatures rise, woods in many regions are drying out and becoming ever more vulnerable to fire. The deadliest wildfire in Australia’s history, which scorched a broad swathe of the landscape north-east of Melbourne…

• 
  Democracy Now!

• Actor, Playwright Anna Deavere Smith Weaves Multiple Stories of Healthcare Struggles into New Solo Performance "Let Me Down Easy"

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:45 am

  Over the past eight years, acclaimed actor, documentarian and playwright Anna Deavere Smith has interviewed hundreds of people—doctors and patients, celebrities and regular folks, Americans and people from around the world—about their struggles with illness, pain, mortality and the healthcare system. She has distilled a sampling of their emotionally charged stories into her latest powerful solo show, Let Me Down Easy. [includes rush transcript]

• Breaking with Former Employer, Actor and Self-Described Insurance Industry "Spokesjerk" Andy Cobb Calls for Public Healthcare

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am

  As House Democrats prepare to vote on their version of a healthcare reform bill this weekend, a man who used to be the face of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida decided he’s had enough with the way the health insurance industry is impeding reform. Actor and comedian Andy Cobb used to promote Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. But now he’s broken with his former employer and is speaking out against the entire private health insurance industry that has strongly opposed any government-run health plan. [includes rush transcript]

• In Worst-Ever Shooting of Its Kind, 13 Dead, 30 Wounded at Ft. Hood Military Base; Suspect Had Reportedly Complained of Anti-Muslim Bias

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:15 am

  In the worst mass killing at a military base in the nation’s history, thirteen people have been killed and another thirty wounded at Fort Hood, Texas. The suspect, Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan, had reportedly complained of being harassed for being a Muslim and had tried to leave the military. It was the second such attack in the past six months, following the May shooting deaths of five US soldiers at Camp Liberty in Iraq. We speak to Qaseem Uqdah of American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council and independent journalist Aaron Glantz, author of The War Comes…

• Headlines for November 6, 2009

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  13 Killed, 30 Wounded in Texas Military Base ShootingHouse to Vote on Healthcare BillRight-Wing Groups Protest Healthcare ReformObama Hails AARP, AMA Endorsements9 Arrested at Lieberman Office Sit-inHouse OKs Extension of Jobless BenefitsSenate Panel Approves Climate Measure9 Afghans Killed in NATO AttackUN to Relocate Hundreds of Staffers in AfghanistanZelaya: Honduran Unity Deal CollapsesGeneral Assembly Endorses UN Gaza InquiryAbbas Won't Seek Re-Election as Palestinian LeaderWashington Voters Expand Rights for Gay CouplesKerik Pleads Guilty Under Plea DealMass. Town Votes to Welcome…

• "GM's Money Trees": Displacement of Rural Brazilians Highlights Consequences of "Cap and Trade" System

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

  With the Copenhagen climate summit just a month away, a new investigative series looks at how rural Brazilians are being displaced so their forest can be turned into carbon offsets for some of the world’s biggest polluters, including General Motors and Chevron. With deforestation amounting to a fifth of the world’s emissions, planting and preserving trees are seen as key elements to offset pollution. We speak to Mark Schapiro of the Center for Investigative Reporting. After traveling to Brazil, Schapiro writes, “People with some of the smallest carbon footprints on earth are…

• 
  NYT: The Caucus

• Obama Quietly Visits Wounded Troops

  By Jeff Zeleny

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:56 pm

  During a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the president awarded two Purple Hearts.

• Gibbs on Protests, Jobs

  By Kate Phillips

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pm

  The White House press secretary responds to Republican contentions about the health care bill.

• Kerry on Afghanistan, Running Mates

  By Kate Phillips

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:34 am

  The Democratic senator talks about a variety of issues in a new video interview.

• Two New Lawmakers Join House Democrats

  By Kate Phillips

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:10 am

  Bill Owens became the second of two new Democratic congressmen in the House of Representatives early Friday afternoon.

• A Challenge for the Commander in Chief

  By Jeff Zeleny

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:21 am

  President Obama faces a delicate question in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings.

• 
  Outside The Beltway | OTB

• Taking “No” As Iran’s Answer

  Dave Schuler

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:27 am

  The editors of the Washington Post articulate a position similar to the one that I took yesterday: The Obama administration and European governments have set the end of the year as a deadline for the transfer of the uranium out of Iran and for progress in the overall negotiations. But the administration must consider whether it makes sense to grant the regime two more months of grace. On Tuesday, after all, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly rejected the overtures he said he had received from President Obama, declaring that negotiating with the United States was “naive and…

• Update on the Fort Hood Massacre

  Dave Schuler

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:19 am

  The picture that is emerging of Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the American-born Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others at Fort Hood yesterday is of a deeply troubled and conflicted individual: As authorities scrambled to figure out what happened at Fort Hood, a hazy and contradictory picture emerged of this son of Palestinian immigrants, a man who received his medical training from the military and spent his career in the Army, yet allegedly turned so violently against his uniformed colleagues. Hasan was born in Arlington and grew up in the Roanoke Valley of southwestern…

• OTB Latenight – Soft Cell

  Dodd

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pm

• Caption Contest Winners

  Rodney Dill

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pm

  The ♬ Louie Louie ♬ Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over. (AFP/File/Pius Utomi Ekpei) ✰ THE WINNERS ✰ First: Maggie Mama – Although he’s still dithering about Afghanistan, President Obama decided that a replacement for the USS Sequoia is essential? Second: yetanotherjohn – The justice department found no reason to suspect any voter intimidation based on the photos. Third: charles austin – There are no atheists in fo’c’sles. HONORABLE MENTION Stormy Dragon – o/~ A three hour tour… A three hour tour… o/~ DL…

• Breaking: Shootings at Fort Hood (Updated)

  Dave Schuler

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:19 pm

  Seven people are reported to have been killed and twenty injured in a shooting at Fort Hood in Texas: At least seven people are dead and 20 wounded in a mass shooting Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, and at least one suspect is believed to be holed up in a building and shooting at SWAT team members, NBC News and affiliate KCEN reported. It was unknown whether the victims were all soldiers or civilians at Fort Hood, one of the largest military complexes in the world. One gunman was reportedly in custody and another was on the loose, NBC News said. A third shooter may be involved, according to NBC…

• 
  Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines

• Dems Make Final Push for Health Bill Votes

  editor@truthdig.com

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:16 pm

  By Friday evening, it wasn’t clear whether Saturday’s scheduled vote on the famous health care reform bill would happen on time in the House of Representatives, but Democrats were busy wooing any remaining potential supporters among their congressional ranks.  —KA AP via Google News: “We’re very close” to having enough votes to prevail, said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, although he added a scheduled Saturday vote could slip by a day or two and sought to pin the blame on possible Republican delaying tactics. “Nice try, Rep. Hoyer, but…

• America Performs Its Familiar Role of Propping Up a Dictator

  editor@truthdig.com

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:43 pm

  By Robert Fisk Could there be a more accurate description of the Barack Obama-Gordon Brown message of congratulations to the fraudulently elected Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan? Now we have the venal, corrupt, sectarian Karzai in power after a poll far more ambitiously rigged than the Iranian version, and – yup, we love him dearly. READ THE WHOLE ITEMRelated Entries November 6, 2009 ‘Left, Right & Center’: GOP Scores; Unemployment Up; Fort Hood Fallout November 5, 2009 Conservatives Descend on Capitol for ‘House Call’ Protest November 4, 2009 Carly Fiorina Taking On…

• ‘Daily Show’ Insta-Classic: What Lurks Within Glenn Beck?

  editor@truthdig.com

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:02 pm

  It’s not so much that Jon Stewart is lampooning Glenn Beck for the heck of it that makes this clip from Thursday night’s “Daily Show” so inspired, it’s that he practically out-Glenn-Becks Glenn Beck, all the while stealing a potential conspiracy theory that the excitable Fox News showman might soon have cooked up if left to his own devices. READ THE WHOLE ITEMRelated Entries November 6, 2009 ‘Left, Right & Center’: GOP Scores; Unemployment Up; Fort Hood Fallout November 5, 2009 Conservatives Descend on Capitol for ‘House Call’ Protest…

• ‘Left, Right & Center’: GOP Scores; Unemployment Up; Fort Hood Fallout

  editor@truthdig.com

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:59 pm

  Unemployment reaches 10.2 percent—do we need a bigger stimulus? What do the GOP victories in Virginia and New Jersey mean for both parties? Will the House’s historic health care bill pass, and, if so, why wait till 2013 to implement it? READ THE WHOLE ITEMRelated Entries November 6, 2009 ‘Left, Right & Center’: GOP Scores; Unemployment Up; Fort Hood Fallout November 5, 2009 Conservatives Descend on Capitol for ‘House Call’ Protest November 4, 2009 Carly Fiorina Taking On Barbara Boxer for Senate Seat October 30, 2009 ‘Left, Right & Center’:…

• Another Deadly Shooting: Orlando Gunman Opens Fire in Former Office

  editor@truthdig.com

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pm

  On Friday, Jason Rodriguez, a 40-year-old engineer who had been fired from an Orlando, Fla., construction firm two years ago, went back to his former office and opened fire, killing at least one person and wounding at least five others before fleeing to his mother’s house, where he was tracked down and arrested.  —KA The Orlando Sentinel: After the arrest, the suspect was greeted by reporters just outside the police department’s doors. “Why did you do it?” one television reporter asked. “Because they left me to rot,” Rodriguez said. He was asked…

• 
  PunditMom

• All Politics is Personal

  PunditMom

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:17 pm

  While the PunditFamily is recovering from the swine flu, here’s a lighthearted reminder about the personal nature of politics! Which makes me wonder as I st here among my  tissue boxes, meds and cups of tea — are the people who are opposed to the public option for health insurance OK with receiving their free H1N1 vaccine? Yeah, I thought so.

• I am Not a Pre-Existing Condition

  PunditMom

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:35 am

  The National Women’s Law Center has made today a national day of action to call on our lawmakers to demand that they get rid of the ridiculous inequities in the health care system that impact women, calling their campaign “I am Not a Pre-existing Condition.” A couple of weeks ago, I shared my story about domestic violence and wondered what would have happened if I had needed care and had been turned away, as many women are, musing with only half-hearted humor that soon just being alive would be considered a pre-existing condition. We’re really not so far away from that…

• I *Heart* Dede Scozzafava

  PunditMom

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:22 am

  It seems that Sarah Palin has decided that she is not only going to rear her head and peer into Alaska from time to time to keep an eye on Vladimir Putin, but now she can also see New York State from her back yard! (Must be some weird northern lights phenomenon). I have to assume that’s why she thought she had a right to butt into the special Congressional election in New York State, causing the moderate Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava to drop out.  Even though the GOP AND uber-conservatives John Boehner and Newt Gingrich had endorsed her, that wasn’t good enough for that…

• Not “America’s Next Great Pundit” — Yet!

  PunditMom

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:17 am

  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t make the cut for finalists in the Washington Post’s “Next Great Pundit” contest. I’m not quite sure why the Washington Post is doing such a thing. Last time I checked with Katie Orenstein from The Op-Ed Project, major newspapers didn’t exactly have a shortage of good opinion material to choose from — most submissions never even see the light of day because they receive so many. But I figured that this contest was just made for me, even though the pessimist/realist in me knew it…

• PunditMom Photo Saturday — Even in a Recession, We Can Be Polite

  PunditMom

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:54 am

  Mr. PunditMom and I did eat at this establishment on a quick 24 hour getaway to Virginia.  And the sandwiches were DEE-licious!

• 
  Top Stories from CQ

• Ex-Rival: ‘Bigger Name’ Bennett Challenge Brews

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:20 pm

  After dropping out of the race against Utah Sen. Robert F. Bennett, state Attorney General Mark Shurtleffsays he’s looking for another way to help defeat the three-term senator in next year’s Republican primary.

• Obama Poised to Discuss Korean Trade Agreement, but Lawmakers Are Anxious

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:51 am

  With President Obama set to travel to east Asia next week, administration officials insist that he wants to secure congressional approval of a long-stalled trade agreement with South Korea, a high priority in Seoul.

• Democratic Leaders Push Ahead With Medicare Physician Payment Legislation

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:50 am

  House Democratic leaders intend to approve a rule Friday that would govern debate on legislation to change the way doctors are paid under Medicare, but Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said the bill would not be considered until the week of Nov. 16.

• Hoyer: Health Care Bill’s Passage Expected This Weekend

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:48 am

  House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer predicted passage of a health care overhaul bill would come Saturday evening even as House Democrats worked Friday to corral the needed votes to pass the measure.

• Love and Marriage, Law and Reality

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pm

  Maine is a politically quirky state, to say the least.

• 
  Think Progress

• Tom Tancredo storms off the set of MSNBC during debate with DailyKos’ Markos Moulitsas.

  Amanda Terkel

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:22 pm

  Today on the Ed Show, former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo tried to argue that all veterans are unhappy with their health care under the Veterans Administration — as proof of why government-run care doesn’t work: Every veterans group I ever went and talked to complained about the Veterans Administration and the way it was a bureaucratically-run program that didn’t serve their needs. They would much rather have vouchers that would let them go out and buy their insurance in a private marketplace. When the other guest on the program, DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas,…

• Rep. Foxx: ‘All of us want all Americans to have health insurance and access to good health care.’

  Igor

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  During this afternoon’s Rules Committee hearing to determine which amendments would be introduced during floor debate of the House health care bill, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced that everyone can agree that Republicans want “all Americans to have affordable health insurance and good quality health care”: FOXX: I think we should start with the premise that I have felt all along, despite being questioned on this by my colleagues, that all of us want all Americans to have health insurance and access to good health care. Again, despite accusations made against me, I think…

• Jewish Organizations Condemn GOP For Standing By As Tea Party Protesters Waved ‘Vile’ Anti-Semitic Signs

  Think Progress

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:20 pm

  One of the most disturbing images from yesterday’s Tea Party rally against health care reform on Capitol Hill was a protester’s gruesome sign showing a pile of dead Holocaust victims. The banner — captured by ThinkProgress here — read: “National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany – 1945.” Another sign said that “Obama takes his orders from the Rothchilds [sic],” a reference to the famous Jewish banking family often implicated in conspiracy theories. Today, Nobel Prize winner and Holoacaust survivor Elie Wiesel strongly condemned the signs,…

• Pence: ‘We Actually Do Deal With Pre-Existing Conditions’ In The GOP Health Bill

  Amanda Terkel

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  This week, House Republicans officially released their alternative health care legislation, which the Congressional Budget Offices estimates would still leave 52 million Americans uninsured by 2019. The plan has been met with widespread criticism, focusing around the fact that the plan doesn’t bar insurers from rejecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Today on Fox News, however, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) tried to whitewash this point and simply insisted, “We actually do deal with pre-existing conditions in our bill”: PENCE: You know, the Speaker has said it…

• Former Blue Cross Blue Shield ‘Spokesjerk’ Cuts Ad In Favor Of Health Reform

  Zaid Jilani

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  The House is nearing a vote on health care legislation that is expected to be very close. At this critical juncture, a former Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson is doing what he can to help pass reform. Actor and comedian Andy Cobb, who used to be the spokesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, has teamed up with Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films project “Sick for Profit” to produce a new ad in favor of health care reform. In the ad, Cobb calls himself a former “spokesjerk” for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, and says that his job was to…

• 
  Slate Magazine

• Why Arby's is so low on the restaurant food chain.

  7 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am

  Some companies came through the recently ended recession with flying colors. In the fast-food realm, we've argued, McDonald's was a victor. But in a time of pinched consumer spending, business has frequently been a zero-sum game. In every sector, it seems, if there's a winner, there's got to be a loser. And in the fast-food industry, it sure looks like Arby's has been one of the losers of this recession.[more ...] McDonald - Business - Fast food - Restaurant - Hospitality

• How does the government keep track of job-loss numbers?

  7 Nov 2009 | 7:57 am

  The Labor Department announced Friday that the unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October, the first time since 1983 that it has been in the double-digits. Two government surveys suggested that the month's job losses reached 190,000 and 558,000, respectively. That's not far off from the results back in August, when the economy lost about 300,000 jobs. In an "Explainer" column first published two months ago, and reprinted below, Brian Palmer goes over where these numbers come from.[more ...] Government - Unemployment - Economy - Employment - United States

• Profit not Satanic, says wealthy banker.

  7 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am

  A summary of what's in the major publications.[more ...] Research - Education - Colleges and Universities - Canada - Simon Fraser University

• On Denialism and the role of science in America.

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:54 pm

  Let Truth and Falsehood grapple.[more ...] Educational Resources - Denialism - Philosophy - Philosophy of Logic - Truth Definitions

• Can you carry a concealed weapon on military bases? And other Fort Hood questions answered.

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:37 pm

  Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the only suspect in Thursday's lethal spree at the Fort Hood, Texas, military base, reportedly killed 13 people and wounded 30 before a civilian police officer shot him four times. The incident raises many questions, a number of which we try to answer here.[more ...] Fort Hood - Military base - Army - Police officer - United States

• 
  MoJo Blog Posts: mojo

• GOP Health Care Gives Us All Munchausen Syndrome

  By James Ridgeway

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm

  Going into the House health care debate today, it pays to keep in mind what the Republican party has identified as the real problem with American health care. Steve Benen in the Washington Monthly sums it up succinctly, quoting former Congressman Dick Armey, the guru of the tea party crowd: “The largest empirical problem we have in health care today is too many people are too overinsured.” There it is, the right’s philosophy on American health care in 17 words. Most of us think the problem with the existing system is that we pay too much, get too little, and leave…

• Senate Unanimously Confirms Controversial Mining Pick

  By Kate Sheppard

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:23 am

  The Senate on Friday unanimously confirmed the nomination of Joseph Pizarchik to serve as Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. As we recently reported, Pizarchik is a controversial figure whose nomination was protested by many coal-field activists in his home state of Pennsylvania. Pizarchik has served as the director of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Mining and Reclamation since 2002, where he has overseen mining permits and the enforcement of environmental rules related to mining and waste disposal. Residents of Pennsylvania mining areas say that he was too cozy…

• The Economy's Future—and Obama's

  By Nick Baumann

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am

  Photo by flickr user Tony the Misfit used under a Creative Commons license.When it comes to electoral predictions, I'm kind of old-fashioned: I think that most elections are determined by the economic situation, and that if the economy is bad, people tend to want to throw the bums out. Whoever the bums are at a given moment isn't particularly relevant. Big news today is that the official unemployment rate is now over 10 percent. Paul Krugman worries that President Obama's agenda was far too modest (i.e., the stimulus was too small) and that "the fateful decision, early this year, to go…

• Low Standards

  By Nick Baumann

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:36 am

  Photo by flickr user dionhinchcliffe used under a Creative Commons license.Kevin is sarcastically celebrating the Senate's passage of unemployment insurance extension (which was packaged with the homebuyer tax credit that pretty much every expert thinks is a bad idea): And Democrats only had to break three separate filibusters in the Senate to get this passed! The first filibuster was broken by a vote of 87-13, the second by a vote of 85-2, and the third by a vote of 97-1. The fourth and final vote, the one to actually pass the bill, was 98-0. Elapsed time: five weeks for a bill that everyone…

• Congressional Oversight Panel: Guarantees Carry "Enormous Risk"

  By Nick Baumann

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:34 am

  Government-backed guarantees of financial assets carry "enormous risks" and created perverse incentives for businesses, but taxpayers will probably turn a profit from them, according to a report [PDF] released Friday by Elizabeth Warren's Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), which is charged with monitoring the bank bailouts. "At its high point, the federal government was guaranteeing or insuring $4.3 trillion in face value of financial assets" in the guarantee programs of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Treasury, according to a COP press release. That number means…

• 
  Crooks and Liars

• Mike's Blog Roundup

  Mike Finnigan

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Corrente: One Down: Schlecher County jury convicts Jessop of child rape. And speaking of convictions... Open Left: Only fiscal conservatives would say we can't afford to reduce the deficit TPMMuckraker: Patriot Games: GOP lawmakers skip national security votes to toast tea baggers Oliver Willis: Eric Cantor, soon to be pimp slapped...watch, ring, and all David Rees:10 jokes about Joe Lieberman ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: Brad Jacobson's investigative series..."Official" media criticism...A perfect match...Odd couple...Coming Sunday: NYT does something unprecedented...WaPo Co.

• Open Thread

  Nicole Belle

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:30 pm

  From Imagine Peace: The World March for Peace and Nonviolence. Prague – November 3, 2009. Thousands of people have gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to participate in the biggest event in the country organized as part of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence: Harlem Gospel & SuperStar singing Imagine. It was the last and the biggest event that concluded a three day stay of members of the World Marchs Base Team in the Czech Republic. More... Open Thread below...

• Late Night Music Club with Dream Warriors

  Stella Barkwell

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 pm

  Title: My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz StyleArtist: Dream WarriorsHip hop jazz and toasting from Toronto. Who knew? I kid, I kid. They’re actually very polite. My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style I love the fusion of jazz and hip hop. Both are dynamic styles, whose artists make up new rules as they go along. Hip hop looked to jazz for funky hooks, break beats and themes to create tonal beat driven backdrops for rhymes. In the 60s, a wave of bossa nova and cha-cha raced through the states and this was reflected in old standards being ‘Latinized’ and in new compositions, based on…

• Wanker of the Week

  John Amato

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pm

  Village social secretary Lady Stuart Frothenberg.

• Federal Trade Commission Takes On Bait And Switch Credit Report Scams

  Logan Murphy

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:45 pm

  Ben Stein was axed by the New York Times last year for ethics violations when he appeared in a commercial for a bait and switch credit report scam. The ad claimed that consumers could get a free credit report, but in reality, they had to pay to see the real numbers. Well, the FTC is now getting into the act and going after similar companies with some catchy commercials intended to emulate those of a popular advertising campaign by a similar bait and switch scam: AnnualCreditReport.com is the ONLY authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law. The Fair Credit…

• 
  Scholars and Rogues

• Nil Desperandum

  Guest Scrogue

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:42 pm

  by Ann Ivins if legitimate news only gives you the blues and to cogitate causes distress if crazed peroration fills you with elation and bile never fails to impress if your pupils dilate during civil debate as you long for a rushian screed and the times and the post and the bleeding heart host are far too much trouble to read no need to be glum, simply wriggle your thumb as you point at the idiot box let the clicking device transport you in a trice to the magical land of the fox where a mad hatter shrewd comes adroitly unglued (though he’s trapped in falafel fixation) while a sweaty…

• Gay marriage loses in Maine: the campaign finance scorecard

  Dr. Denny

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am

  On Nov. 3, 299,483 citizens of the state of Maine were persuaded to tell women who love women and men who love men that they cannot marry. Those Downeasters who voted “Yes” on Question 1 — to repeal a same-sex marriage law — bashed gays, but with a referendum rather than a fist. Those 267,574 people who voted “no” — which would approve the same-sex marriage law — were not dissuaded by an anti-gay coalition of conservatives and churches wielding more than $3 million, including more than $2 million from out-of-state donors, according to a report by the National…

• Your Friday weirdity: why Koreans shouldn’t be allowed to play baseball

  Dr. Slammy

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  What. The. Fuck. Click here to view the embedded video.

• Happy Birthday to The Commonwealth: could this be Britain’s future?

  wufnik

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  I was surprised to learn that 2009 is the 60th anniversary of The Commonwealth—the association of former British colonies that still, amazingly, continue to work with each and talk to each other on a variety of issues. This would be a cause for celebration, one would think. And it appears there have been some. But I only learned about it when we visited Marlborough House, which is where the Commonwealth members meet from time to time to have their pictures taken, and who knows what else. It’s actually difficult to know, because the UK government has made no effort to publicise this event,…

• Exclusive: Pentagon pursuing new investigation into Bush propaganda program

  Brad Jacobson

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:26 am

  The Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General is conducting a new investigation into a covert Bush administration Defense Department program that used retired military analysts to produce positive wartime news coverage.

• 
  Power Line

• The Circle Game

  Scott

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:58 am

  Visiting a friend in Boston in the fall of 1968 I caught a live show with James Taylor opening for Joni Mitchell in a basement dive with benches for seats. It was an incredible show for the price of the $3.00 ticket. Taylor's debut album on Apple hadn't even been released yet, but both Taylor and Mitchell had developed followings based on the songs they had contributed to Tom Rush's "Circle Game" album earlier that year. (According to Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us, Mitchell's affair with Taylor followed shortly after.) Mitchell was the star of the show I saw. She had only recently arrived on…

• The 1959 World Series, Game Six -- improbable champions

  Paul

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:19 pm

  Sometimes you hear it said that baseball's post-season reveals weaknesses in teams that went undetected during the regular season. I've never really subscribed to this view. The 162 game season (and its 154 game predecessor) should expose any true weaknesses. The much shorter post-season (only four to seven games in the old days) has more to do with chance than with revealing hidden truths about a squad. On the other hand, I believe the post-season can reveal things about managers who, due to the pressure and the format of an elimination series, can find themselves managing quite differently…

• Uighurs In Paradise, Part II

  John

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:17 pm

  The Uighurs are Muslims from East Turkmenistan who no doubt have legitimate grievances against the Chinese who have conquered and colonized their country, if such it ever was. But some of them decided to pursue jihad against China and went to Afghanistan to train with al Qaeda. They were there at the end of 2001 when we routed the Taliban and captured a number of terrorists and terrorist trainees. The Uighurs fell in the latter category. The Uighurs posed no great threat to the U.S., notwithstanding their extreme Muslim beliefs, and the Bush administration would have been happy to let them…

• Tune In Tomorrow

  John

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Tomorrow I'll be on the radio from 11 to 1 central, as usual, with my radio partner Brian Ward on AM 1280 the Patriot. You can listen on the internet here. At 11:30 central, 12:30 eastern, we'll be interviewing Michael Barone. Tune in to hear Michael's thoughts on Tuesday's results and the new edition of his Almanac of American Politics.

• Living in a World Gone Mad

  John

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:40 pm

  Mark Steyn, at The Corner: The Headline of the Day, from the BBC: Shooting Raises Fears For Muslims In US Army Really? Right now the body count stands at: Non-Muslims 13 Muslims 0 ...Even if you take the view that it would be grossly unfair if all Muslims were to be tarred by Major Hasan's brush, it is, to put it at its mildest, the grossest bad taste to default every single time within minutes to the position that what's of most interest about an actual actrocity with real victims is that it may provoke an entirely hypothetical atrocity with entirely hypothetical victims. The BBC article is…

• 
  Informed Comment: Global Affairs

• Start A War

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:51 am

  A new piece on Swat/Waziristan/Baluchistan and the current Pakistani military operation is up at The Review.The true crisis facing Pakistan is not the Taliban: it is the rupture between the federal state and its constituent parts, and Islamabad’s refusal to accede to the legitimate needs and demands of its citizens in places like Swat and Baluchistan. It is a rupture, indeed, that is written into the very fabric of the state, and the reason why Bangladesh seceded from West Pakistan in 1971, after it was denied political legitimacy by the military regime and then brutalised by an oppressive…

• NEWSPAPERS IN THE NEWS

  28 Oct 2009 | 9:13 pm

  PHILIP J CUNNINGHAMThe latest gloomy news from journalism's battered front lines is that the prestigious New York Times (NYT) is laying off 100 members of its newsroom staff. Paper-and-ink newspapers are in deep trouble, there's no doubt about that. But the NYT, as comprehensive as its news coverage sometimes is, is hardly in a position to offer the real story on its current woes, anymore than a psychoanalyst is able to objectively analyze him or herself.CONTINUE READING HERE...

• Afghanistan: A Special Issue

  23 Oct 2009 | 12:43 am

  The Afghanistan: A Special Issue, Nov 9, 2009, includes a short piece by me. I especially draw your attention to the Priya Satiya and Selig Harrison. And Stephen Walt. And, all.

• The American Foreign Policy Project: Focus on Iran

  22 Oct 2009 | 5:34 am

• BLOWING IN THE WIND

  20 Oct 2009 | 6:50 pm

  by Philip J Cunningham Is Japan changing for real? To get a better sense of how Japan is and isn't changing with the urbane Yukio Hatoyama at the helm, in the wake of the Democratic Party of Japan’s stunning electoral victory over the entrenched Liberal Democratic, consider these news stories from around the Japanese archipelago. First, zoom in on the half-unfinished Yamba Dam in rural Gunma, to see how a multi-billion dollar boondoggle can be stopped dead in its tracks. The LDP, incumbents of a half-century standing, have made an art of pouring money, largely in the form of cement, to…

• 
  The Lang Report

• The International Religious Freedom Report

  Michael Lang

  29 Oct 2009 | 10:25 pm

  The International Religious Freedom Report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998.

• 29 Oct 2009 | 10:24 pm

  Michael Lang

  29 Oct 2009 | 10:24 pm

  Social Bookmarking

• The Future of Music

  Michael Lang

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:16 pm

  Long ago in a land not so mythical or far away as some would have you believe, certain corporate types over the age of 30 were intent on "engineering" a 'music scene' in San Francisco. It came to pass of an evening (in the vicinity of a stage) that a...

• “Amelia” Earhart: A Different Kind of “Chick Flick”

  Michael Lang

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:18 pm

  I had the opportunity this weekend to catch a movie filled with adventure, romance, suspense and period glamor. As with so many films, the story literally flew out of the pages of our history books and onto the silver screen

• President Obama’s News Capsules

  Michael Lang

  26 Oct 2009 | 4:53 pm

  Here is The Lang Report's weekly array of news capsules on President Barack Obama as he navigates his first year in office.

• 
  The Daily Dish: Andrew Sullivan

• We Are All Authors Now (And Publishers Too)

  Andrew Sullivan

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:06 am

  Seed magazine:By 2000, there were 1 million book authors per year. One million authors is a lot, but they are only a tiny fraction, 0.01 percent, of the nearly 7 billion people on Earth. Since 1400, book authorship has grown nearly tenfold in each century. Currently, authorship, including books and new media, is growing nearly tenfold each year. That’s 100 times faster. Authors, once a select minority, will soon be a majority. Today, at 0.1 percent authorship, many people are trading privacy for influence. What will it mean when we hit nearly 1 percent next year and nearly 10 percent the…

• The Daily Wrap

  Andrew Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:16 pm

  Today on the Dish we focused on Fort Hood. We found footage here and here and first-hand accounts here and here. Major reax here. Bruce Bawer addressed the Muslim factor, Andrew warned against targeting Muslims, Greenwald grew frustrated over the media coverage, and Mark Noonan called for torture. We looked back at the other major massacre to hit Killeen, Texas, and there was another shooting today, in Orlando.Andrew took a look at the unfortunately timed right-wing rally held in DC. One reader worried about the protestors and another pointed the finger at GOP leaders, such as…

• God's Work

  Andrew Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:32 pm

  I missed this earlier this week. It's Jon Stewart at his best:The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c

• Nuclear Socialism?, Ctd

  Andrew Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm

  Yglesias responds to Frum:Even though carbon pricing ought to make nuclear power profitable on an operating cost basis, it would be prohibitively expensive to raise the capital necessary to construct nuclear plants. I think you could resolve this by having the state step in and do the financing. He thinks, I guess, that some counterfactual private utility could do it if it were far larger than any existing utility. But how would you make these mergers happen? That sounds to me like you need an active state.

• Under The Rightwing Rock

  Andrew Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:47 pm

  If you don't think Bush's and Cheney's embrace of torture-as-policy has not had a profound effect, check out this instant response to Fort Hood from Mark Noonan in the neocon camp:A terrible event - but I don’t want anyone to call it an “act of violence” or “a terrible tragedy”. It was an attack - one or more men decided with malice to attack a US military base. We need to get right down to the bottom of this - and, liberals, if the stories of accomplices in custody are true, this is where harsh interrogation might be needed: whoever was involved in this most…

• 
  mcclatchydc.com: Washington

• Recovery? The 10.2 percent without jobs might beg to differ

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:47 pm

  WASHINGTON — As bad as Friday's jobs report was, showing October's unemployment rate jumping sharply to 10.2 percent, the outlook is likely to worsen for American workers well into next year. Economists expect the jobless rate to keep climbing, perhaps above 11 percent, as employers produce more with fewer workers and shy away from hiring.

• Shooting reveals tensions over Muslims in the military

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:30 pm

  WASHINGTON — The killings of 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, by an Army psychiatrist who also was a Muslim set off a rancorous debate Friday that once again spotlighted the fear among Muslims in America that they'll be collectively found guilty for the actions of one man.

• Opponents say they have votes to block U.S. tourism to Cuba

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

  WASHINGTON — Opponents of opening Cuba to American tourists are touting a letter signed by 53 Democrats in the House of Representatives, saying it shows that they have the votes to derail an effort to lift the ban on travel to the island.

• Could delays jeopardize health care overhaul?

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:12 pm

  WASHINGTON — Passing a health care overhaul bill might be one of the hardest things Congress has ever attempted, but waiting until next year might jeopardize the top priority for President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress.

• Health care bill's supporters, opponents flock to Capitol

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm

  WASHINGTON — Gene Otto left his Olympia, Wash., bakery for a day, flew across the country to the nation's capital and told four members of Congress why it's important that they overhaul America's health care system.

• 
  WSJ.COM

• Obama Praises Bravery at Fort Hood

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am

  President Barack Obama, in his weekly radio address, deplored the violence at Fort Hood and extolled the bravery of the soldiers who quickly came to the aid of victims.

• Job Losses Cloud Agenda for Obama

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm

  Obama said his economic team was examining additional infrastructure spending, energy incentives, business tax cuts and other measures to spur job creation.

• California May Limit Placement Agents

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm

  California's state controller and treasurer are drafting legislation that could curb pay for financial middlemen, whose fees have sparked an internal investigation at giant public pension fund Calpers.

• Gay-Marriage Fight Heads to New Jersey

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm

  The battle over gay rights will move to New Jersey and the federal government, advocates said, after Tuesday's narrow rejection of same-sex marriage by Maine voters in a hard-fought contest.

• Democrats' Ethics Targeted by GOP

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm

  Republicans are accusing House Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues of failing to make good on their pledge to clean up Washington when they regained control of Congress.

• 
  Lew Rockwell: The LRC Blog

• Does the Name ‘Dachau’ Come to Mind?

  David Kramer

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:35 am

  ISRAEL PROPOSES WORK CAMPS FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS The government is considering establishing work camps in the south of the country, where illegal migrant workers will receive shelter, food and medical care, Army Radio reported Wednesday. In exchange, illegal migrants would perform manual labor outside the camps, but would not earn a salary. [emphasis mine] They would stay at the camp until their asylum claims are decided, which could take months or years. [emphasis mine] The proposal, part of the effort to address the problems posed by illegal migrants, would place asylum seekers at jobs in…

• Communist Party Sure Knows How to Party

  David Kramer

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:58 am

  I noticed something very interesting at the end of this video. When you see the heads of state marching in the parade, there are no security people around them. Could this be because no one would dare to assassinate them and, therefore, no security is necessary? Or maybe because in Capitalist China, unlike the United States of Socialist America, the citizens are starting to realize that their government is slowly becoming irrelevant?

• Dr. Hasan

  Lew Rockwell

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:16 pm

  Writes Elizabeth Cameron: Whatever else his motivations might have been, Dr. Hasan, being a psychiatrist, had instant access to his own drugs of choice; psych drugs, as you probably know, have been connected with a significant percentage of domestic mass shootings.  This point will no doubt be ignored by the media, and instead, there will be cries for more mental treatment and testing of military personnel (and more restriction of weapons), which is exactly the opposite of what they need. It is not a small problem: I have learned that overseas, where the soldiers are being medicated for…

• Pelosicare

  Lew Rockwell

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pm

  Dr. Hasan is a total creature of the state: VA Tech, the federal “uniformed services” medical school, Walter Reed mega-hospital, single-payer psychiatrist.

• Déjà Vu All Over Again?

  Wilton Alston

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pm

  Karen and Laurence, this latest example of a “lone shooter” reminds me of an oddly-similar situation from some 2 years ago, that of the supposed suicide of Colonel Ted Westhusing. It strikes me as rather coincidental as well that Major Hasan was, like Colonel Westhusing, well-educated and high-ranking. Neither of these men could accurately be categorized as an uninformed-grunt-acting-out, as was the initial party line for the torturers at Abu Ghraib. The only difference is that Westhusing killed only himself, while Hasan apparently figured he would take a few others with him.

• 
  ABC NEWS

• Proposed Law to Curb Invasion of Giant Snakes

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:55 pm

  A new report says the pythons are numbered in the tens of thousands in Florida.

• GEORGE: House Leaders Meeting Now with Bishops To Discuss Health Care Bill, Abortion

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:07 pm

  Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer are meeting right now with representatives from the Conference of Catholic Bishops.

• WATCH: 'People Put Themselves in Harms Way'

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  In exclusive "Nightline" interview, army sergeant describes coming upon shooter.

• WATCH: Hundreds at Pentagon Pay Tribute to Ft. Hood

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:38 pm

  Pentagon employees honor victims of Ft. Hood shooting with a moment of silence.

• Advertisement:

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:37 pm

• 
  National Review: The Campaign Spot

• 29 House Democrats Are About to Be Promised the World -- By: Jim Geraghty

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:40 am

  House Republicans note, "As of today, at least 69 Democrats have expressed opposition to the Speaker’s health care bill." The Democrats have 258 seats and Cantor has said no Republican will vote for the bill. Pelosi can lose 40 and still have a bare 218-217 majority. Which 29 are going to have their arms twisted the most? John Adler of New Jersey will not be one of them. Adler's congressional district includes parts of Burlington County, Ocean County, and Cherry Hill in Camden County. Republican Chris Christie won Burlington County Tuesday night by two percent after Corzine won it by five…

• Barack Obama's Campaign Trail Uselessness, by the Numbers -- By: Jim Geraghty

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am

  Votes for Democrat Jon Corzine in Newark, New Jersey, in 2005: 39,573.Votes for Corzine in Newark in 2009, two days after Obama hosted a rally for him there: 35,669.Votes for Jon Corzine in Camden County in 2005: 76,955.Votes for Jon Corzine in Camden County in 2009, two days after Obama hosted a rally for him there: 66,996.Votes for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine in Norfolk in 2005: 27,791.Votes for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds in Norfolk in 2009, roughly a week after Obama hosted a rally for him: 24,004.Never mind that Obama couldn't get Corzine and Deeds…

• Hoping Obama Rises to the Occasion in a Crisis -- By: Jim Geraghty

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:49 am

  Like Robert George, I was a little thrown when I saw President Obama giving a "shout-out" to somebody in the audience, moments before he discussed the Fort Hood shooting. Like Jonah, I'm not sure this is something worth making too much fuss about; Obama will do worse things during his presidency than make some off-key remarks right before offering his first comments on a national outrage. But I'll note something mildly troubling about this, and it relates to something I've discussed with a few other righties lately. Back during the campaign, Joe Biden had said that Obama was going to be…

• Obama, Pushing the Stimulus: 'The biggest measure of success is whether we stop contracting and shedding jobs.' -- By: Jim Geraghty

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:29 am

  From the president's first prime-time press conference, back on February 9: QUESTION: -- how can the American people gauge whether or not your programs are working? Can they -- should they be looking at the metric of the stock market, home foreclosures, unemployment? What metric should they use? When? And how will they know if it's working or whether or not we need to go to a Plan B? MR. OBAMA: I think my initial measure of success is creating or saving 4 million jobs. That's bottom line number one, because if people are working, then they've got enough confidence to make purchases, to make…

• Feel That Stimulus! -- By: Jim Geraghty

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:20 am

  A moment ago, I heard, via XM, some talking head on CNBC insisting that the overall economic picture was "much better than it was six months ago" and repeating "lagging indicator" like he'd been struck with OCD. This was all in response to a monthly jobs report that indicates the environment for those looking for work has gone from awful to really awful: The number of unemployed persons increased by 558,000 to 15.7 million. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 10.2 percent, the highest rate since April 1983. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of…

• 
  The Atlantic: Marc Ambinder

• Question Of The Weekend: The House Vote

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am

  Given that the Senate has its own dynamics on health care--and is expected to entertain more conservative options--does the House's vote on health care matter?

• A New Term: Scozzafavaed

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pm

  In the wake of New York's tumultuous 23rd district special election, a political neologism has arisen: "Scozzafavaed." It started popping up on blogs this week after Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava was forced out of the race by low polling numbers and a growing campaign by conservatives to paint her as too liberal. The gist, basically, is that if you're a moderate Republican and the conservative wing of the GOP sets out to get you, and does, you got Scozzafavaed. Now it's made its way onto Urban Dictionary:  

• Pressure Your Non-Voting Representative

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm

  Harnessing the power of Internet was a coup for the Obama campaign last year, and now the White House and Democrats in Congress are attempting to drum up support for the House health care bill in a similar manner. Except that all the tech-savviness in the world can't find votes where there are none. In a mass e-mail that went out to supporters this morning, Organizing for America (the Democratic National Committee-led Obama campaign network) instructs Washington, DC residents to "call your representative right now and tell them to vote in favor of real health insurance…

• Longtime Obama Friend Leaving White House

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

  The White House announced today that Cassandra Q. Butts, a long-time friend of the president's who serves as his chief deputy in the White House Counsel's Office, will be leaving her post to become senior adviser to the Millennium Challenge Corporation.The agency was chartered by Congress in 2004 to partner with third-world countries and promote sustainable growth and good government.Butts served as Obama's general counsel for the presidential transition. She was among those he selected to plan the transition. A senior policy adviser during the campaign, Butts served as senior vice…

• The Deficit Choice: What The White House Is Thinking

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am

  Huge deficits will be omnipresent throughout President Obama's first term, complicating his administration's messaging efforts on the economy. But advisers separate the political repercussions from the actual underlying fiscal and monetary policies.  In some ways, the short-term politics of the deficit are negligible. They're preferable to the short-term politics of a much higher unemployment rate with no economic growth -- and a smaller deficit.What's more important, to the administration, at least, is the degree to which the deficit has an impact on market expectations and the behavior…

• 
  Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

• White House Denies Fox News is Off Limits

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

  "The White House is strongly denying a story claiming that White House officials privately threatened to retaliate against a Democratic strategist for appearing on Fox News -- a claim generating a big stir on the right as the latest example of the White House's victimization of the network," reports Greg Sargent. Said communications adviser Dan Pfeiffer: "While we have our disagreements with FOX, administration officials appear on the network and we have no issue with others who choose to do so."

• NY-23 Still a Toss Up

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pm

  Rothenberg Political Report: "Bill Owens' victory in New York's 23rd was the good news for Democrats this week and continued the party's winning streak in competitive House special elections. But the dynamic that helped Owens win -- including a divided Republican Party -- can't be ignored and aren't likely to be replicated again. For now, his reelection next year is a Pure Toss-Up."

• A Father in Iraq

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:54 am

  Veteran's Day isn't until next week but this video of a 10 year old girl talking about her father stationed in Iraq couldn't wait.

• Health Care Vote May Slip

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:55 am

  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said "that he expected the House to pass sweeping health care legislation on Saturday evening. But he acknowledged that Democrats were still trying to corral the necessary 218 votes, and that what he called Republican delaying tactics could push the vote back to Sunday or early next week," the New York Times reports. Said Hoyer: "We will be successful in the next two or three days."Update: Democratic House leadership aides tell First Read "there will, in fact, be a vote tomorrow on health-reform legislation -- despite reports suggesting a vote could be…

• Fox News Off Limits

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:11 am

  "At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration," the Chicago Tribune reports. The strategist said the message was, "We better not see you on again." "In urging Democratic consultants to spurn Fox, White House officials might be trying to isolate the network and make it appear more partisan. A boycott by Democratic strategists could also help drive the White…

• 
  BBC News: Politics UK Edition

• Brown urges new banks 'contract'

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:17 am

  UK PM Gordon Brown tells a G20 summit there should be a new social contract with world banks to make them more responsible.

• Doubts cast over expenses reforms

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:40 am

  The head of the body drafting new rules for MPs' expenses reportedly says he may not implement all the proposed reforms.

• Power review sought by contender

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:45 am

  Welsh Labour leadership contender Carwyn Jones wants all his party to have a say on an assembly powers referendum.

• Minister 'backs adviser autonomy'

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pm

  The government will produce guidelines on the independence of its scientific advisers, Science Minister Lord Drayson says.

• MP Kirkbride 'in election U-turn'

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:26 am

  Conservative MP Julie Kirkbride, who was to stand down over expenses revelations, has reportedly changed her mind.

• 
  CBS News: Politics

• House Health Care Vote Today More Likely

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  Accord on Abortion Language May Clear Way; Obama Heading to Capitol Hill to Press Lawmakers

• Obama Calls Holdouts on Health Care

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 pm

  Abortion, Illegal Immigration Still Issues

• Southern Dems Fear Republican Gains

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  After GOP Wins on Tuesday, Many Worry About Rising Anti-Democratic Tide in the South

• Hawaii May Get to Opt Out of Health Bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  House Bill Allows State to Opt Out of Key Provisions Due to Existing Laws

• Video: Immigrants To Get Vaccine?

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm

  Congressman Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) said illegal immigrants should get the scarce H1N1 vaccine on "Washington Unplugged." The N.I.H.'s Anthony Fauci agrees.

• 
  TOWNHALL.COM

• Townhall.com Staff: Dem Leader Hoyer: We'll have the votes by this evening

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:27 am

  On MSNBC Saturday morning, Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer stated that he and Pelosi will have the necessary 218 votes to pass their govt-run healthcare bill by early-afternoon/early evening.

• Greg Hengler: CAIR Exec. Dir & Matthews Not Happy Hasan's Islamic Faith Is Discussed; "So What" If He Said "Allahu Akbar!"

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:53 pm

  CAIR's executive director takes a bold leap on "Hardball" when he declares Hasan is "disturbed." For the sake of cowardly correctness, I will not say anymore.

• Carol Platt Liebau: Just Clueless

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:20 pm

  As Garrett points out below, Robert A. George makes some good points in discussing President Obama's incredibly dismissive initial reaction to yesterday's shootings at Fort Hood.Today, the President tried it again. ...

• Greg Hengler: Matthews on Ft. Hood: "We Don't Know Whether Religion Played Any Role In The Shootings"

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:16 pm

  I say again: This is an Obama-certified "news" network:

• Meredith Jessup: Flashback: Glenn Glenn Beck Explains MSM News Cycle

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:27 pm

  Uncanny accuracy:

• 
  the TOWN HALL weblog

• The Lord Told Us Not To Domesticate Swine

  BurkeanMama

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:12 am

  It is easy to recognize, and mock, media hype and hysteria when you see it.  Harder to to resist the cry of hysteria when it is your child that is sick.  When the BurkeanSon’s temperature hit 102 early this week, I freely admit the media’s swine flu hysteria got to me. BurkeanSon is normally a very healthy kid.  His temp has only reached 101 a few times in his 10 years.   He has never had a fever as high as this one.  Worse yet he WANTED to stay in bed.  This is a kid who has never wanted to go to bed a day in his life.  When he had surgery for a bone spur he came out…

• Interesting Items 11/02 –

  Alex Gimarc

  2 Nov 2009 | 11:24 am

  Howdy all, a few Interesting Items for your information. Enjoy – In this issue: 1. Big Green 2. Elections 3. Endangered 4. Withholding 5. Coal 6. Photo Op 1. Big Green. I wrote a column in The Alaska Standard a couple weeks ago taking the local greens, the AP and the local fishwrapper to task for their latest effort to designate Cook Inlet as a critical habitat for “threatened” beluga whales. The column smoked out the executive director of one of the self-appointed local green organizations with comments in opposition. He was pretty good, and picked up a few things that I should have…

• Happy All Hollows Eve

  BurkeanMama

  31 Oct 2009 | 6:46 pm

  The Cutest little Cinderella just showed up at my door, crying her eyes out.  Her mom tried to coax a “trick or treat” out of her or a “thank you.”  But she kept on crying.  I think she knows its wrong to beg for candy.  I think she is saying “c’mon mom a real Princess doesn’t feel entitled to candy, she goes out and earns candy scrubbing floors and cleaning fireplaces.”  Run that Cinderella for Congress in 22 years.

• Interesting Items 10/26 –

  Alex Gimarc

  27 Oct 2009 | 9:32 pm

  Howdy all, a few Interesting Items for your information. Enjoy – In this issue: 1. Kinston 2. Pay Czar 3. Lawsuits 4. Critical Habitat 1. Kinston. The Obama Holder (In)Justice Department overruled voters in Kinston NC last week by overturning a ballot initiative passed by over two thirds of the local voters that removed party affiliation from ballots for local elections. Kinston is a predominately black city that is still covered by the antiquated Voting Rights Law that requires Department of (In)Justice approval of any and everything involved in local elections. The ruling went so far as…

• Ministry of Propaganda?

  Brer Tiger

  22 Oct 2009 | 11:14 am

  The EIF (Entertainment Industry Foundation) has just annouced the “I Participate” initiative.  This is an effort by the Foundation to promote volunteerism in America by showing characters on many national TV shows volunteering for this and that. President Obama is noted for also promoting volunteerism.  And the report in the Chicago Tribune, EIF officials say they were “inspired by” Obama to create this initiative.  (Actually in the CT article, they credit both Obama and McCain speaking out about this during the campaign.) However, while the EIF press release does…

• 
  Jerusalem Post

• Abbas: I have 'no desire' to run for re-election

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:03 am

  PA president blames US for being soft on settlement issue; PA officials: He may yet change his mind.

• Analysis: Seized arms evidence of Iran's investment of Israel's borders

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:32 am

  Hamas and Hizbullah play a vital role in Iran's strategy for regional hegemony.

• Erekat: PA may ditch two-state solution

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:09 am

  Palestinians may consider "other options" if peace process falters; Clinton: US opposes settlements.

• Iranian TV channel Al-Alam closed down in Egypt

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pm

  Network officials say decision to take them off air is political; Egypt cites "contractual breach."

• Hizbullah: We have no links to ship

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:53 am

  In first response to arms capture, terror group condemns "Israeli pirates operating in int'l waters."

• 
  Mother Jones

• Is Congress Creating Another Housing Bubble?

  By Nick Baumann

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Though the deeply divided Congress can't seem to agree on much these days, the House and Senate did manage to come together this week, with nearly unanimous votes, to extend an $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit. But among economists of various political persuasions, there's widespread agreement on the Obama-backed bill: It's a horrible policy that could wind up prolonging, if not worsening, the housing crisis. "When governments at the state and local level are cutting back funding for everything from preschool education to nursing home care, the federal government is sending $8,000…

• Obama's Big Power Play

  By Kate Sheppard

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  President Barack Obama likes to point out that when President Dwight Eisenhower built the federal highway system in the 1950s, he created a network that fueled postwar America’s economic rise. Now Obama’s administration wants to do the same for the green economy with the smart grid—a system of interlocking technologies that could transform the way we use electricity. By receiving real-time data on their energy use, consumers could save big on their power bills by running appliances when electricity is cheapest, rather than during peak demand periods when it’s most…

• The Tea Party's Takeover of the GOP

  By Stephanie Mencimer

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pm

  You have to hand it to Michele Bachmann: She has succeeded in turning the GOP into one big Tea Party.  This past weekend, the Minnesota Republican went on Fox News and called on viewers to show up on the Capitol lawn on Thursday at noon for a press conference and a last ditch attempt to kill health care reform.  The gathering that resulted was marked by the now-routine extremism of the Tea Party conservatives.  "I'm a bitter gun owner who votes," read one sign. Others questioned President Obama’s citizenship, portrayed him as Sambo, or called him a traitor. One…

• Stimulus for Cotton Candy, Tango and a Fish Orchestra? Wacky, or Actually Worthy?

  By Michael Grabell

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pm

  This story first appeared on the ProPublica website. Breakfast at Fuddruckers: $19.24. Snow cone and cotton candy machine: $146.89. Six extra preview performances of “Little House on the Prairie – the Musical”: $50,000. Benefit to the economy? According to the recipients of this stimulus money: Priceless. Last week, the federal government released the first comprehensive tally of the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package. And while the White House has heralded marquee projects like road construction and solar panel factories, the stimulus package is also made up of…

• Brodner's Cartoon du Jour: Mat-Soo

  By Steve Brodner

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am

  Hideki Matsui. 2 RBI homer. 2 RBI single. 2 RBI double. His last night as a Yankee. But a Yankee for all time.

• 
  The McLaughlin Group

• Video Podcast for the week of : 10/30/09

  John McLaughlin

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Video Podcast for the week of : 10/30/09

• Audio Podcast for the week of : 10/30/09

  John McLaughlin

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Audio Podcast for the week of : 10/30/09

• Audio Podcast for the week of : 10/23/09

  John McLaughlin

  22 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Audio Podcast for the week of : 10/23/09

• Video Podcast for the week of : 10/23/09

  John McLaughlin

  22 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Video Podcast for the week of : 10/23/09

• Video Podcast for the week of : 10/16/09

  John McLaughlin

  15 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Video Podcast for the week of : 10/16/09

• 
  Raw Story

• Blogger: GOP health care proposal amounts to ’sweatshop insurance’

  Muriel Kane

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pm

  According to blogger Bruce Webb, House Minority Leader John Boehner's proposed amendment to the health care reform act is "a fricking nightmare." "It is worse than I could have imagined," Webb writes. "Someone tell me I have got this wrong. Or remove all sharp objects within my reach. Because they cannot be this brazen." Webb explains that Title III of Boehner's proposal, which is enticingly called "Expanding Choices by Allowing Americans to Buy Health Care Coverage Across State Lines," would actually do little to help most Americans but would offer a great boon to insurance companies, which…

• Ex-GOP Congressman storms off when confronted over healthcare

  Muriel Kane

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:10 pm

  Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo attempted to argue against Democratic plans for health care reform on Friday by claiming veterans were dissatisfied with their government-run health care. He was confronted by blogger Markos Moutlitsas, who unlike Tancredo is a veteran himself, and reacted by stalking off the set of MSNBC's The Ed Show where both men were guests. Tancredo had begun by pointing to what he sees as problems with the Medicare system when host David Schuster interrupted him to ask, "So how about the Veterans Administration? The Veterans Administration is a single-payer…

• Palin goes rogue, bans cell phones, cameras, laptops from speech

  Stephen C. Webster

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:15 pm

  Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is notoriously sensitive to media criticism. Even so, to many observers this move may seem drastic. Hoping to keep a "low profile" on her upcoming trip to Wisconsin, the one-time GOP vice presidential candidate decided to ban all press from covering her speech. She further issued an edict against cell phones, cameras, laptops and recording devices of any kind, CNN noted. During a radio interview, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate called the restrictions "bizarre," especially coming from a self-described "rogue." A recent CNN poll found that were…

• Calif. power company seeks higher rates for energy efficient customers

  Stephen C. Webster

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pm

  Think it's keen to be green? Not if you're California's Pacific Gas & Electric, according to a recent report. Utility provider PG&E, in documents filed with the state, is seeking a five percent rate increase for its most energy-efficient customers. The increase is reportedly so the company can give it's highest-volume customers a price break. "[The] company, with profits up 4.6 percent in the third quarter of this year, said they’re just trying to be fair," California blog Mission Local noted. “It’s necessary to avoid the continued shifting of costs associated with utility…

• Orlando gunman caught after mass shooting in high-rise

  The Associated Press

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:29 pm

  A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago, authorities said, killing one person and injuring five others. Jason Rodriguez, 40, surrendered about three hours later, after officers saw him through the window of his mother's home and asked him to come outside, Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said. Asked by a reporter outside the police station why he did it, he replied: "Because they left me to rot." Demings said Rodriguez brought a handgun to the firm in a downtown office tower where he once worked as an engineer, but…

• 
  TPM Election Central

• Obama Awards Two Purple Hearts To Soldiers During Walter Reed Visit

  Christina Bellantoni

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:24 pm

  President Obama spent nearly two hours this afternoon meeting privately with soldiers and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. While there, he awarded two Purple Hearts, the White House said. No press was allowed to witness the visit, but an administration staffer told the pool which accompanies the president when he leaves the White House that Obama "visited with 19 soldiers, three families of soldiers in the ICU, as well as hospital staff."

• Michele Bachmann's Stock On The Rise After Her 'Super Bowl Of Freedom'

  Christina Bellantoni

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:05 pm

  Whether you call it a rally, press conference or "House Call," Republicans think Thursday's Capitol Hill Tea Party was a success -- and they are crediting Rep. Michele Bachmann for having the pizazz to increase turnout and press coverage. "We didn't know what to expect, we didn't know what kind of energy would be there, but this thing took a life of its own," Brendan Buck, spokesman for the Republican Study Committee, told TPMDC. "It came together better than we ever imagined it would in terms of size and energy," he said. After chatting with press aides from various Republican offices,…

• Blue Dog Rep. Tanner Opposes Health Care Bill

  Eric Kleefeld

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), a member of the Blue Dogs, has announced his opposition to the current health care bill from the House Democrats: "After careful review of the current legislation pending in the House and the Congressional Budget Office's analysis, I believe the bill will not help control the long-term costs of health care and puts in place an infrastructure that is not fiscally sustainable over time. I am unable to support this legislation in its present form."Most of us realize that serious reforms are needed to fix what is broken in our health care system. Specifically, we should…

• Club For Growth's New Involvement In Florida Race Spurred By Rubio's Fundraising Success

  Eric Kleefeld

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

  Yesterday, the Club For Growth launched a new attack ad against Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL), a moderate who is facing a challenge in the GOP primary for Senate from the more conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio -- which was, in fact, a change from the Club's previous skepticism about getting involved in this race. Back in July, when Crist was much further ahead in both polls and fundraising, the Club's executive director David Keating had said the Club was still looking at where it could best spend its money: "We have to look at his race versus all the others we're interested in,…

• Reid Continues To Target Republican Obstruction

  Brian Beutler

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:12 pm

  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is on a kick. Personally frustrated, and under pressure from the left, Reid has decided to take direct aim at Republican obstruction, and he's doing so in angry terms. "For anybody watching, what's taken place the last three years knows the Republicans have become experts in wasting time, the American taxpayers' time, the American people's time, and yesterday was no exception," Reid said on the Senate floor Wednesday. Democrats can't pass off all of the blame for the glacial pace of progress in the last several months. With a 60-member caucus, they in theory…

• 
  Guardian: UK Politics

• Ex-defence chiefs attack Gordon Brown over Afghanistan

  David Batty

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:14 am

  Peers accuse prime minister of lacking commitment to the war and failing to support British troopsThree former defence chiefs have accused Gordon Brown of failing in his commitment to the war in Afghanistan and support for British troops.Field Marshal Lord Inge said the armed forces never really believed Brown was "on their side" while General Lord Guthrie accused the prime minister of "dithering" over his promise to send 500 extra troops to the country. Admiral Lord Boyce said the government "did not realise we are at war".The scathing criticism came after Brown pledged that Britain would…

• Peer's legal challenge against House of Lords could cause constitutional crisis

  Rajeev Syal

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  If Lord Mereworth's claim is upheld, all legislation passed by upper house in last decade could be declared voidMinisters are facing a legal challenge from a hereditary peer that threatens to unravel the law that reformed the House of Lords 10 years ago.Lord Mereworth, who lost his seat in the upper house as a result of the House of Lords act in 1999, has served a legal paper, called a protocol letter, on Lord Mandelson in his capacity as lord president of the privy council, as well as on Black Rod, Sir Freddie Viggers, claiming that the law is defective. It is a precursor to mounting a…

• Are your drugs laws working? Ask a scientist

  Ben Goldacre

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:28 pm

  It's pleasing to see, in the storm of commentary over Professor David Nutt's sacking as the government's chief drugs adviser, that everyone outside politics now recognises the importance of scientific evidence in devising laws. But a strange reasoning twitch has appeared, in the arguments of politicians and rightwing commentators. Science can tell us about the molecules, they say, about their effect on the body and the risks. But policy is separate: a matter for judgment calls on social and ethical issues. Only politicians, they say, can determine the correct way to send out a clear message…

• The taxman cometh

  Ian Jack

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:26 pm

  In the 60s, the Isle of Man recast itself as an offshore tax haven. How will the Manx 'nation' react now that status is under threat?Of all the ways to think about the Isle of Man – tax haven, motorbike race course, former birching capital of western Europe – the most difficult for the outsider to grasp and accept is the description "nation". How big is the nation? Thirty-three miles long and a maximum of 13 miles wide. What language does the nation speak? Mainly scouse and Mancunian, mixed in with some Scots and Irish. Where does the nation shop? At Marks & Spencer, Thorntons, Boots,…

• Martin Rowson on Gordon Brown's Afghanistan strategy

  Martin Rowson

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:02 pm

  PM warns Hamid Karzai over corruption but says British troops will remain in Afghanistan to fight Taliban threatMartin Rowson

• 
  ThinkProgress: Matthew Yglesias

• Open Access Needed

  myglesias

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:36 am

  Enjoying fast, fast broadband in Stockholm (my photo, available under cc license) It’s pretty well-known at this point* that despite the fact that the Internet was largely invented in the United States and that most of the iconic Internet brands are US companies, that America is only a mediocre performer in terms of quality of broadband access and depth of broadband penetration. These points are, however, often made in a pretty superficial way. This recent major study from the Berkman Center (see more discussion) breaks the information down in a more sophisticated way. That shows that…

• Endgame

  myglesias

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:15 pm

  We will soon forget our past: — Ezra Klein featured in overheard in DC. — The last-minute wrangling in the House. — What specifically does David Brooks think Obama’s moved too fast on? — HOPE comes to congress. — Fox & Friends contemplating second class status for Muslim soldiers, sailors, and airmen. — “Matthew” is a very popular name. We’re very committed to bringing you the latest in Nordic rock here, so here’s Finland’s I Walk The Line with “Black Wave”.

• Podcasting

  myglesias

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pm

  You’ve probably been saying to yourself “sure this political blogging is great, but where can we hear Matt Yglesias talking about the NBA on a podcast?” Well, consider your prayers answered. I’m a guest on the latest edition of the Disciples of Clyde Podcast.

• Frum on Nuclear Socialism

  myglesias

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:44 pm

  I was saying this morning that I thought conservative affection for nuclear power was a bit odd in light of the fact that only massive socialism seems capable of financing nuclear power plants. David Frum has a post in response that I don’t totally understand: Nor is it true, as Matt contends, that only an active state can deliver nuclear power. The United States already draws 20% of its power from nuclear. Until recently, it’s true, the stock market has preferred utility companies that generate their power from coal. Coal is cheap and reliable. But if a carbon tax increased the price…

• Cantor vs Limbaugh, Nazi Analogies

  myglesias

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pm

  Should we start the clock on how long it takes Eric Cantor to apologize? “The Republican Party in its roots is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard,” Cantor, of Virginia, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing today. Cantor, when asked about Limbaugh’s comments that “Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate” and his comparison of the administration’s health-care logo to a swastika, said Limbaugh was wrong. “Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any…

• 
  The Plum Line

• Happy Hour Roundup: Biden Calling House Moderates

  Greg Sargent

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:50 pm

  Joe Biden has been working the phones in a last-ditch effort to round up support among moderate House Dems for the embattled health care bill. A senior White House official emails: “He’s calling moderate Democrats and talking up the cost-containment and premium-reduction aspects of the bill — issues that matter a lot to moderates.” With vulnerable Dem freshman abandoning the bill, House Dems need 10 more votes. Must watch: Dem Rep Steve Israel, in keeping with Dem efforts to elevate the nastiest Tea Party images to tar the GOP as hostage to extremists, has cut a new…

• OFA Unleashes Twitter Health Care Attack On Members Of Congress

  Greg Sargent

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:44 pm

  Here come the tweets. In the latest frontier of new media mobilization for health care reform, Obama’s political operation is now calling on supporters to deluge members of Congress via … Twitter. Organizing for America has just rolled out a new device that allows you to enter your address and get directed to your Representative’s Twitter feed. “All signs point to it being incredibly close, possibly coming down to a small handful of representatives or even a single vote,” says OFA’s new device, which will be distributed to supporters today via social…

• White House Strongly Denies Threatening Dem Who Appeared On Fox

  Greg Sargent

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm

  The White House is strongly denying a story claiming that White House officials privately threatened to retaliate against a Democratic strategist for appearing on Fox News — a claim generating a big stir on the right as the latest example of the White House’s victimization of the network. “While we have our disagreements with FOX, administration officials appear on the network and we have no issue with others who choose to do so,” White House senior communications adviser Dan Pfeiffer emails me. The Chicago Tribune got this ball rolling today by reporting that…

• Dems Seize On Cantor’s Vow To Tea Partiers

  Greg Sargent

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:36 am

  Dems are seizing on Eric Cantor’s pledge to the tea party rally yesterday that no GOPers will back the health care bill, hoping to use it to put moderate GOPers on the spot by casting a No vote as doing the bidding of extremists. The DCCC, looking to elevate the nastiest side of yesterday’s festivities, is circulating among reporters some of the uglier imagery seen on signs in the crowd. Dems have now blasted a release to local press in a dozen GOP districts, demanding that individual House Republicans say whether they agree withpromise to “the extremist ‘tea party’…

• Bachmann: Tea Partiers Yesterday Numbered “20,000 Minimum”

  Greg Sargent

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:50 am

  Michele Bachmann’s tea party yesterday may have left her with an inflated sense of her influence and popularity — at least, judging by the fact that she put the number of tea partiers who showed up yesterday to five times the estimate in some news accounts. Bachmann went on the Mark Levin show last night and claimed that the total number of attendees was “20,000 minimum.” “This was word of mouth, this was word of mouth, Mark,” she said excitedly. “And it was minimum 20,000. minimum.” You can listen to audio here. That, incidentally, is the…

• 
  Watchblog: Democrats

• My Glenn-Beckian Rant

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:51 am

  Sadly, one of our most highly regarded Comedians has fallen ill, and Jon Stewart offers his tribute. Oh, you mean he's actually serious about that stuff? Well, I shall offer tribute by going unhinged myself, because I... I... [puts hand to mouth] I... [wait for it] just love this country! And I don't want THEM to destroy it! But seriously, fellows. I am mad as hell nowadays. And I am not so mad at the Democrats as some Republicans might hope that I am. Why? Because I got used to compromise and disappointment long ago. And you know something? If the Republican blockade of the Senate weren't…

• Election Results: Pundits Got it Wrong

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  As usual, the pundits interpreted Tuesday's election results from the point of view of Republicans - which most of them probably are. Major newspapers and prominent broadcasters said that Republicans won big and Democrats must worry. Nonsense! The main conclusion I got is that the Republicans are tearing their party apart and Democrats won an extra seat for healthcare and other reforms in the House.Yes, it's true that in Virginia's governorship race, Republican Bob McDonnell scored a resounding victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds. It's also true that Deeds spent a lot of time running away from…

• Nope. Sorry. Still Sane.

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:33 am

  Missouri Representative Todd Akin reportedly tried to drive liberals insane with the pledge of allegiance. Since this particular liberal failed to see all the groovy colors, and did not hear the voice of Janeane Garofalo telling me to use tinfoil to block out the evil thought control rays coming from the American Enterprise institute, I regret to inform them that they failed.Yes, some folks have sued over the passage "under God." in the pledge. It would help the tea partisans to have a more thorough grounding on the matter. 1) The words "under God" were added due to a movement by various…

• Goldman Sachs Bet Against it's Own Risky Products

  1 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

  Read this and watch the video, folks, and get back to me with your opinions on the matter. Personally, I believe in a free market. But a market needs rules so bad faith behavior doesn't discourage people from engaging in legitimate economic activity.

• The Opt-Out Backlash

  26 Oct 2009 | 10:11 am

  If, as reported the bill that finds its way to the senate floor includes an opt-out public option, what will that mean for states that actually choose to opt-out? What happens when, hypothetically speaking, once the bill passes there are states that decide not to offer the plan to their residents? While gauging true public support for any public option is unreliable at best—anything cable news outlets say has to be taken with a grain of organic sea salt—imagine what might transpire when residents of a state that has opted out voice anger at not being offered the choice. There are…

• 
  Watchblog: Republicans

• It could happen here

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:46 pm

  There will be opposition. The progressive leftist vision of America that the Democratic Party is attempting to force onto Americans will be resisted. Obama's attempt to transform America into Jeremiah Wright's America is not something that most Americans view favorably.Houston Tea Party rally draws more than 10,000 More than 10,000 people turned out Monday night for a North Houston Tea Party Patriots gathering to protest proposed health care reform and what they called big government spending and overzealous government leadership, according to preliminary attendance figures. ~chron.com This…

• Ram it through!

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:12 am

  The best thing for America is for the left to ram their risky healthcare scheme through as quickly as possible. The sooner America sees how horrible the leftist policies of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi are the sooner we can get them out of power.The Obama Healthcare putsch is almost the perfect example of an ideologically driven agenda disregarding any sense of reality or practicality in legislation. Every scheme, every bill, seems to get worse than the last. From the specter of IRS enforcement to mandates with draconian fines, every new Democrat bill gets deeper into the quagmire of everything…

• Want to Write for This Column?

  17 Oct 2009 | 3:25 am

  Would you like to write articles for this Column? Good writing skills, a word processor to check spelling and grammar, and a blog of your own (or another web site where your writing can be reviewed), will get you considered for a role as a WatchBlog writer. Click here to apply if you are interested in volunteering political perspectives, philosophy, and news, from a Republican or conservative vantage point.

• The Rule of Confusing Law

  2 Oct 2009 | 1:02 pm

  Exhibit A, in the case against our current ruling political philosophy, is this quote from Sen. Thomas Carper (D.-Del.): “I don’t expect to actually read the legislative language because reading the legislative language is among the more confusing things I’ve ever read in my life.” Since our congressional masters won't let us read the text of the bill in question before they pass it I guess we won't be able to judge the relative reading comprehension of Senator Carper. But this isn't the only congressman who says he can't read the bills he votes on.“I love these members, they get up…

• Watching the children

  27 Sep 2009 | 1:19 pm

  Are we citizens or subjects? Can you go to jail for watching your neighbors kids at the bus stop in front of your house to make sure nothing happens to them? Yes children, as subjects of the Michigan nanny state you just might.A West Michigan woman says the state is threatening her with fines and possibly jail time for babysitting her neighbors' children. Lisa Snyder of Middleville says her neighborhood school bus stop is right in front of her home. It arrives after her neighbors need to be at work, so she watches three of their children for 15-40 minutes until the bus comes. The Department…

• 
  Watchblog: Third Party & Independents

• The Stakes Could NOT Be Higher

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:02 am

  Failure in Washington is not an option. America last year finished its long circular journey from 1940 to return to the precipice of national collapse. Unlike 1929, however, instead of taking that next drop off step, we sidestepped along the edge of the precipice, where we still remain today; at the edge. The stakes could not be higher in Washington D.C. and for the American people. This much, the Tea Baggers get very accurately, along with the Federal Reserve and economists, and some, but, possibly not enough, in Wash. D.C.'s halls of government. We shall see. All political and legislative…

• What Physicians Know

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  I had a long conversation with my favorite physician, who has operated on me twice successfully. He is an incredibly kind person without an ounce of greed or pretense. Like other physicians I have spoken to, he spoke eloquently about the terrible times he consistently has with private health insurance companies.While he praises Medicare for its simplicity and certainty, he has absolutely nothing positive to say about private insurers. They take up huge amounts of time of him and his staff, trying in every possible way to deny services to their customers (his patients) and also to pay as…

• Join My Survivalist Registry

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:42 pm

  A friend of mine recently received a call from his mother. She asked him for money. No, her home wasn’t in foreclosure. No, she didn’t need the money because of a lost job or because unemployment checks were about to end. This woman isn’t even being forced out of a comfortable retirement to take a humiliating low wage job. My friend’s mother wanted the money to stock up on survival supplies because she thought Obama was going to destroy the country by this January.This elderly woman, and millions of other Americans with the same plan, will hole up by herself with her ammunition and…

• The Echo Chamber

  25 Oct 2009 | 6:23 pm

  During the Watergate hearings, John Dean made the press aware of an Enemies List, the top 20 enemies to the Nixon Administration was to be targeted with retribution once Nixon was re-elected.  While reading the list on the air, Daniel Schorr was shocked to read his own name at number 17.  It was at this time that most Americans really became aware, not just esoterically but in a very real way, of the potential power that could be wielded against the press in an effort to construct an Echo Chamber for their agenda, a way to marginalize and quiet their opposition to allow an…

• Dem's Can't Walk Both Sides of Amnesty Fence

  17 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

  Amnesty and turning a blind eye to illegal immigration either is, or isn't, charitable. Democrats cannot have it both ways. If it is charity, then Democrats must keep our borders open to all the people of the world including China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, wherever people are oppressed or hungry for a better life. If amnesty is however, a billboard welcoming all indiscriminately to fulfill their dreams here, then there are laws which must apply, and only legal immigration of designated individuals are to pass through our borders. Amnesty without secure borders is an act against…

• 
  Thomas P. M. Barnett

• What's it take to get some regionalization?

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:33 am

  ARTICLE: Clinton Arrival in Pakistan Met by Fatal Attacks, By MARK LANDLER and ISMAIL KHAN, New York Times, October 28, 2009 With the Obama team continuing Bush-Cheney's lack of strategic imagination in regionalizing the solution set on Afghanistan (no worries, as the Chinese solution plugs along--investment by investment--in both sides of the Af-Pak divide), there is plenty of logic behind backing the horse most willing right now to take the fight directly to the enemy. The Biden redirect in action, with the Pakistani desire for no American "face" being most welcome--casualty wise.

• The best route forward on Iran (and nukes)

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:25 am

  OP-ED: Bunkers or Breakthrough?, By ROGER COHEN, New York Times, November 5, 2009 Honestly, I see Cohen's angst here as completely misplaced. Normalization with Iran is not contingent on precluding Iran's nuclear achievement. Hell, NorKo made it happen and THEN we offered them a peace treaty! The best route forward, as I have long argued, is simply to de-prioritize the nuke question. If the Iranian protesters want Obama's embrace, then I say, give it to them. If it pisses off Tehran WRT to the nuclear talks, then--quite frankly--nothing is lost. As for getting jacked about ElBaradei leaving…

• China's using North Korea

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:19 am

  ARTICLE: In North Korea, the military now issues economic orders, By Blaine Harden, Washington Post, November 3, 2009 Important story on NorKo: if it does indeed contain almost $6T in mineral wealth, then I guess I would expect China to allow Kim's kleptocracy to continue concentrating itself on that flow, meaning no hope that China will do much about the regime until the place is bled dry of resources. The only good news here is the death of party identification, the exact opposite of press reports on Wen's recent visit there, when party symbols were everywhere. "The army is the people, the…

• Worthwhile delay

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am

  ARTICLE: Obama seeks study on local leaders for troop decision, By Scott Wilson and Greg Jaffe, Washington Post, October 29, 2009 Would have thought McChrystal's review would have included such an a province-by-province analysis, but since it didn't, this call makes sense to me--as in, worth the "dithering" time.

• Hello, John

  7 Nov 2009 | 1:58 am

  ARTICLE: Adios, Juan and Juanita: Latin Names Trend Down, By Jeffrey Kluger, Time, Oct. 06, 2009 Bunch of stats that drive home an old observation of mine: Latinos are no slouches when it comes to assimilation. (Thanks: JRiley)

• 
  Pajamas Media

• It’s the Religious Ideology, Stupid

  Michael Ledeen

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:04 am

  The FBI seems to have developed a conditioned reflex that requires it to announce, within seconds of any act of murder, “there is no evidence of terrorism.”

• Iranian Arms Ship Captured by Israel Shows Tehran’s Real Aims

  P. David Hornik

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The Francop episode glaringly reveals Iran’s strategy of surrounding Israel with deadly ordinance in hostile hands.

• Iranian People to the U.S.: Recognize Our Existence!

  Ryan Mauro

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Protesters flooded the streets on November 4 to defy the mullahs and plead for Obama's support.

• ObamaCare’s Redistribution of Health

  Tom Blumer

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Of course the president and Congress are after money, but they really want control over your life.

• Armed And Female

  Clayton E. Cramer

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  There's nothing intrinsically masculine about guns: just look at Fort Hood's Sgt. Kimberly Munley.

• 
  TIME: The Page

• Masters of the Brew City Domain

  adamsorensen

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

  Seinfeld, Palin face-off in Milwaukee Friday night. Read the details here.

• House Health Bill Nears Vote

  adamsorensen

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pm

  Obama to rally Dems on The Hill Saturday. Leadership aims for evening vote, but timing remains iffy.

• ON THE SUNDAY SHOWS

  krooney

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Meet the Press: Govs. Barbour, Rendell; roundtable with David Brooks, E.J. Dionne, Rachel Maddow, Mike Murphy This Week: Michael Steele, Tim Kaine; roundtable with George Will, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, Donna Brazile, Frank Luntz Face the Nation: Dick Armey, Ed Rollins, Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Sen. Menendez State of the Union: Gov.-elect McDonnell, Bill McInturff, Peter Hart Fox News [...]

• Speaker Applauds Anthony's Un-Hotdog Move

  adamsorensen

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:43 am

  Brooklyn congressman stands down on single-payer gambit. Read Pelosi statement here.

• Visiting Walter Reed

  adamsorensen

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  Obama stops by the military hospital in D.C. Friday afternoon. POOL REPORT: Read it here.

• 
  Foreign Policy: Passport

• Friday Photo: Snake in the House

  Joshua Keating

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:07 pm

  George Horne, Deputy Executive Director of Operations & Maintenance Resources, rolls out a preserved Burmese Python which was captured in Miami-Dade County, Florida, during a hearing before the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill November 6, 2009 in Washington, DC. The hearing was focused on H.R. 2811, a bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to include constrictor snakes of the species Python genera as an injurious animal. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

• Lech Walesa: Tough interview

  Joshua Keating

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:25 am

  Journalists often like to start out an interview with a softball question to break the ice before moving on to controversial topics. This tactic clearly doesn't work on former Polish President and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa:SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are you looking forward to travelling to Berlin on Monday for the 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall? Walesa: It's not important whether I'm looking forward to it or not. I am a politician who played an important role in the reunification of Germany and I was invited to take part in the celebration. It's not like a piece of candy…

• How important are Taliban headquarters?

  Mardy Shualy

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:21 am

  The Pakistani military reported that they entered and largely cleared the "Taliban headquarters" in South Waziristan today. The reported success is part of a large-scale offensive in the region, which is a stronghold of Tehrik-i-Taliban, an umbrella organization of Pakistani Taliban factions drawn together under the leadership of (the recently-killed) Baitullah Mehsud. The "headquarters" referred to is the town of Makeen, which had been Mehsud's hometown. How important is it to clear Taliban headquarters, whether in Waziristan or Balochistan? In an interview with FP,…

• Berlin builds new wall for U2 concert

  Joshua Keating

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am

  It was nice of the city of Berlin to organize a U2 concert as part of the celebrations for 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall, but putting up 2-meter wall to keep people out was an unfortunate decision:   True, there were no minefields or watchtowers, but the new temporary wall erected before the performance certainly sent the wrong signals. Only 10,000 fans in possession of previously allocated free tickets were allowed to pass through the checkpoints — yes, checkpoints — to listen to the Irish band.

• Dirty diamonds and dirtier politics in Zimbabwe

  Elizabeth Dickinson

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:18 am

  Before I write anything about Zimbabwe, I should put my biases out there: as my colleagues at FP can attest, I think Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is pretty great. In fact, after interviewing and meeting him, I am convinced he could be Zimbabwe's "Mandela." But from the beginning we've also known that Mugabe is no De Klerk. And two pieces of news coming out of Zimbabwe make this point both more clear and alarming than ever. The first has to do with Zimbabwe's diamond mines. Earlier this summer, the Kimberly Process -- a procedure established after the diamond-funded wars of the…

• 
  Salon: How the World Works

• Dogs vs. SUVs vs. the earth, debunked

  Andrew Leonard

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:45 pm

  Because I know Salon readers are still having sleepless nights wondering whether owning a Labrador Retriever does as much damage to the earth as owning an SUV, I thought I would pass on this entertaining debunking of the numbers involved, put together by Clark Williams-Derry at Sightline Daily. Derry concludes that the authors of "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" underestimate the carbon footprint of SUVs and way overestimate the carbon footprint of dog food. His bottom line, "the anti-doggites are off by a factor of at least 18, and probably more." Derry's make a…

• Unemployment's black October

  Andrew Leonard

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:11 pm

  That the U.S. would experience a top-line unemployment rate of over 10 percent before the end of 2009 was something most observers of the economy could see coming six months ago, if not earlier. Which makes the somewhat overwrought response to today's admittedly bad numbers a little unexpected. Megan McArdle titles her post "America and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Jobs Numbers." Felix Salmon ponders "A Global Problem with No Solution." Paul Krugman has "got a sick feeling about the whole situation." I don't want to sugarcoat anything. Calculated Risk and The Big Picture have…

• Stimulus at work: Berkeley's SolarMap

  Andrew Leonard

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

   On Monday, the City of Berkeley announced it had received a $108,500 grant "for the purpose of spurring the adoption of solar installations" as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Berkeley plans to split the grant between two existing programs, "the SmartSolar and Berkeley Solar Map projects." SmartSolar offers "free energy efficiency and solar advising to Berkeley property owners." The Berkeley SolarMap is even neater -- a very cool application that takes advantage of the capabilities of Google Maps, and allows you to quickly calculate the cost of a solar system for…

• Why can't more bankers be like Citigroup's ex-CEO?

  Andrew Leonard

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:24 am

  It's only fair. Last week, HTWW was mean to Citigroup's former CEO, John Reed, after he acknowledged in a letter to the New York Times that maybe repealing Glass-Steagall's separation of commercial and investment banking activities hadn't been such a great idea. Since Reed was instrumental in forcing the law's repeal, his change of heart seemed to fit squarely in the "way too little, way too late" category. But Bloomberg's Bob Ivry tracked Reed down and got the CEO on record with an explicit apology, in "Reed Apologizes for Glass Steagall Repeal, Building Citigroup": "I'm sorry," Reed, 70,…

• How bad is a 10.2 percent unemployment rate?

  Andrew Leonard

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:19 am

  By any normal standard, there is no doubt that the government's unemployment report for October is grim. The unemployment rate jumped up to 10.2 percent and there are 15.7 million unemployed Americans. The headline writers and politicians will grab those numbers and won't let go. The broadest measure of unemployment, the so-called U-6 number that measures "total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time" also rose, from 16.1 percent to 16.3 percent. But the news isn't all bad. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that it revised down significantly the…

• 
  Culture Kitchen

• Markos (a Veteran) vs. Chickenhawk Tancredo

  mole333

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm

  Veteran takes down a Chickenhawk:

• Another Bush-Era Civil Liberties Attack Continues Under Obama

  mole333

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:07 am

  Some time back I wrote in depth about the implementation of something called Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 (HSPD#12)which threatened my wife's rights as well as the rights of every Federal employee and contractor (my initial coverage was picked up by the Huffington Post). The directive per se isn't bad, merely requiring a uniform system of issuing IDs to all Federal employees and contractors across all agencies. But, under the Bush Administration, no good idea went unexploited for opportunities to deny people their basic civil liberties. The implementation of HSPD#12 became a…

• What can we learn from last night's electoral victories and losses?

  liza

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pm

  First of all, congratulation to John Liu for becoming the first Chinese-American to be elected to city-wide office in New York City. That's a huge slap on the face for the New York Democratic Party establishment; an establishment that's never been too keen on grassroots movements unless they can co-opt to solidify their status-quo. The other big grassroots story of the night was Bill de Blasio. He walloped Mark Green, one of the darlings of the New York political elite, in a run-off election and breezed into the Political Advocate's office with 76.9% of the vote. For a political establishment…

• I voted and it wasnt for the Democrats

  liza

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:14 pm

  It's the first time in my life straight down the WORKING FAMILIES PARTY ticket. ACORNholios from the GOP should love me for that

• Scientology: Dangerous cult targets Africa

  Leo Igwe

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:42 am

  “…the African tribesman, with his complete contempt for truth and his emphasis on brutality and savagery for others but not for himself, is a no-civilization”. –L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Bridge Publications: Los Angeles, 1997 29 October 2009 - The Church of Scientology, recently fined for fraud in France, is making inroads in Africa. It has already infiltrated South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nairobi, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and, in February this year, set up a school in Ghana. It seems to have arrived in Africa without controversy, unlike its establishment in…

• 
  TechRepublican.com

• The Second Cup: Politicos and Average Joes

  Meghann Olshefski

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:27 am

  For Election News, Politicos and Average Joes Turned to Twitter Coverage of Tuesday's election night took place during prime time, giving cable news partisans the responsibility of tracking and reporting details on the elections. Many observers, fed up with the substandard coverage of the networks' opinion commentators, turned to Twitter for up-to-the-minute coverage. Online Voter Registration Draft Unveiled House Administration Elections Subcommittee ranking member Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., unveiled draft legislation Thursday [see PDF here] designed to…

• There's An App For That

  Meghann Olshefski

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:05 pm

  Check out this funny and clever video from the NRCC's online team. Short, sweet and to the point. While it's only been viewed 304 times to date, I think this video is a prime example of the kind of outside-of-the-box thinking this party needs when it comes to online video. I encourage all political campaigns to create videos like this. You never know just what will stick and go viral.

• Reaching the Homeschool Community

  Ethan Demme

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am

  You've probably heard of homeschoolers in 1994 melting the phone lines over H.R. 6 or run into interns from Patrick Henry college but how do you reach out to them? As a homeschool graduate and the marketing director for a company that sells to homeschoolers I often get asked by politicians, "I've got some homeschoolers in my district, how do I reach out to them?" here is the brief version of my answer. The homeschool community is a fast growing, diverse and well networked group of parents who have taken it upon themselves to teach their children at home. In 2007 there were 1.5…

• The Second Cup: Let's Get Personal

  Meghann Olshefski

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

  HOW TO: Build Your Own Personal Brand on YouTube There are thousands of different websites that you can leverage to build your own personal brand, but only a few that will give you both the reach and credibility to make a major impact. Here at Mashable (Mashable), we’ve provided you with a detailed look at how you can build your personal brand on Facebook (Facebook), Twitter (Twitter), and LinkedIn (LinkedIn).  Today, we’ll focus in on the largest video sharing site on the planet, more commonly referred to as YouTube (YouTube). Google's Friend Connect, Now More Personalized Often, the…

• The Second Cup: For VA and NJ, "That's a Wrap!"

  Meghann Olshefski

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:35 am

  After a victorious election night for VA and NJ, here is a retrospective look at Bob McDonnell's online prowess in the hours leading up to his victory - Bob McDonnell's Impressive Online Campaign for Virginia Governor If Creigh Deeds manages to pull off a victory in today’s race for Virginia governor, it won’t be because Republican Bob McDonnell was slack online. In fact, McDonnell’s internet campaign has been impressively comprehensive, meaning that state and local candidates can look to it as a model for applying the lessons of 2008. Let’s look at a few of the critical things he’s…

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  millennial makeover

• Deeds Done

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:28 pm

  The likely defeat today of Democrat Creigh Deeds by Republican Bob McDonnell in Virginia's gubernatorial election sends an important message to both political parties, but it's not clear either one will listen to it. McDonnell's win will give Republicans something to crow about after three straight losing elections in the formerly dark red state, but his path to victory didn't follow the route currently being touted by conservatives in his party. Democrats are inclined to dismiss Deeds likely defeat as an isolated incident that reflects more of Virginia's tradition to vote for the out party…

• Engergizing Millennials: Key to Dem Victory in 2010

  11 Oct 2009 | 4:17 pm

  The latest unemployment numbers and poll results have led most observers to predict a major setback for Democrats in the 2010 Congressional elections. But a year is a lifetime in politics and much can change between now and then to influence next year’s vote. As Ron Brownstein recently pointed out, the demographic makeup of the electorate is likely to be a key factor in whether or not the Democrats can maintain their current majority margins in 2010. While traditionally Democrats have focused on turning out African-American and Hispanic voters to offset Republican strength among white male…

• The Civility Crisis and How to Cure It

  1 Oct 2009 | 5:57 pm

  While the nation has been right to focus on the most recent outbreak of incivility, if not downright hostility, directed toward President Obama generally and his health care proposal specifically, the diagnosis of what ails the country and what must be done to end this type of behavior has been way off target. Republicans, who were quick to compare the actions of their party’s fringe elements to harsh, sometimes over the top Democratic criticism of former President George W. Bush missed the qualitative difference between expressing strong policy disagreement with the opposition, which is…

• Obama Gets an A, Cong. Dems an Incomplete

  18 Sep 2009 | 4:50 pm

  Back to school week was a good one for President Obama, but Congress still has some lessons to learn. After telling the nation’s schoolchildren to study hard, stay in school, get good grades, and be unwilling to accept failure, the President directed a very similar message to Congress as he lectured them on the need to pass health care reform in this session. The end result was a significant rise in Obama’s poll numbers. CNNand Democracy Corps questioned voters before the president’s congressional address and then again immediately afterward. There is little doubt that Democrats are…

• Its Time for Washington Dems to Break Groundhog Cycle

  30 Aug 2009 | 6:24 am

  In the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day, self-centered TV weathercaster, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is doomed to continuously repeat the events of his life. He finally ends the never-ending cycle and wins the love of his life when he finds the courage to break free of the personal limitations of his past. Like Phil Connors, many Washington pundits and politicians act as if they and the country are destined to keep on reliving the battle over health care from the Clinton era. But it’s not 1993 and it’s finally time to break the Groundhog Day pattern of American politics. The United States has…

• 
  Patrick Ruffini

• GOP Revival: There's An App for That

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  What Ramesh Ponnuru has written about Tuesday's wins is right in so many ways: More important, a few Republican candidates have demonstrated that it is possible to transcend the party's conservative-moderate divide. In Virginia, Robert McDonnell won a landslide — the first Republican win in a governor's race there in 12 years — by running as a problem solver. Social conservatives know he is one of them. But independent voters strongly backed him too. Voters as a whole trusted him more than his Democratic opponent on everything from fixing the roads to strengthening the economy.

• NY-23 Across America

  30 Oct 2009 | 4:53 am

  What follows may be akin to one of those crazy ideas Dick Morris used to come up with in the Clinton White House, only one in ten of which turned out to be workable -- but when they worked, oh man, did they work. The key fact that sticks out in my mind about Doug Hoffman's incredible momentum in NY-23 is that his election would not have been possible had he been the Republican nominee. The fact that we may be about to elect a non-squish from New York has everything to do with the fact that he is running as a third-party independent, and not a Republican (even if the Conservative Party is an…

• The Left's Tenacious Advocacy for a Public Option

  21 Oct 2009 | 7:42 am

  If the public option passes in some form, thank the liberal blogosphere who put pressure on Democratic members of Congress to publicly threaten to derail health care reform if it wasn't included in the final bill. The specter of Democrats reverse-filibustering their own President's plan is what has kept the public option alive, even if one could argue that "alive" is akin to a persistent vegetative state. Contrast this to yes-man approach of the Congressional GOP in the early Bush years, and I personally find a lot to like about the Democratic model of the Congressional party serving as a…

• NY-23: Doug Hoffman for Congress

  17 Oct 2009 | 8:40 pm

  The Sienna poll of New York's 23rd Congressional district released Friday found Democrat Bill Owens pulling into the lead with 33 percent, followed by liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava at 29 and Conservative Party hopeful Doug Hoffman at 23.  Combined, the Republican and Conservative lines lead the Democrat 52 to 33 percent. And in a normal election, that would be that -- maybe 95% of the time the Conservatives cross-endorse the Republican.  Scozzafava's particularly egregious liberal record -- pro-card check and pro-stimulus -- rendered that impossible. And so we are faced with a…

• Rising Rightroots and Declining Netroots Now at Parity (or Better)

  26 Sep 2009 | 10:42 pm

  Flickr photo by Mike Bryant Lost in the hubbub about the tea parties, the health care town hall protests, Joe Wilson, and the ACORN sting is the outcome of a long-simmering meta debate about the vibrancy of the grassroots right and its capacity to organize online. Along with a slew of other bad political indicators, the perception that the GOP might be stuck in a permanent Luddite rut reached its peak with the election of Obama and the role the Internet played in his victory. Nearly a year later, not only have things turned around, but they've done so faster than anyone could have dreamed or…

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  National Journal Blogometer

• 11/6: Rocking The House

  Ian Faerstein

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:28 am

  Although the biggest story in the blogosphere is the deadly shooting at Ft. Hood, the second-biggest story is probably yesterday's Tea Party protest on Capitol Hill, in which conservative activists and GOP congressmen rallied against the Dem health care reform...

• 11/5: Sorry, Charlie

  Ian Faerstein

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am

  Bloggers are buzzing about NRSC Chair John Cornyn's announcement that the NRSC won't be spending money in contested GOP primaries such as the one between FL Gov. Charlie Crist and ex-FL House Speaker Marco Rubio. RedState editor Erick Erickson was...

• 11/4: The Day After

  Ian Faerstein

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am

  Conservative bloggers are trying to portray the GOP victories in the VA GOV and NJ GOV races as a rejection of Pres. Obama and his agenda, making pronunciations such as "The Obama magic has faded" and "The glow is gone"....

• 11/3: Time To Break Out The Brooms?

  Ian Faerstein

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:27 am

  Conservative bloggers are feeling very confident about the GOP's chances in today's elections, and some are speculating about the possibility of a "big sweep" in the VA GOV, NJ GOV, and NY-23 races. Many righty bloggers are complaining about yesterday's...

• 11/2: And Then There Were Two...

  Ian Faerstein

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:45 am

  Conservative bloggers were delighted when NY-23 candidate Dede Scozzafava (R) dropped out of the race on 10/31. "We PWND The NRCC," Erick Erickson boasted. "Hey, GOP elites: Can you hear conservatives NOW?!" Michelle Malkin declared. Righty bloggers were subsequently disgusted...

• 
  Roll Call: Politics

• Hamos Hits the Airwaves in Race for Kirk's Seat

  Illinois state Rep. Julie Hamos (D) is the first candidate to hit the TV airwaves in the open-seat contest for Rep. Mark Kirk's (R) seat.

• Former Specter Foe to Back Sestak

  A one-time Democratic challenger to Sen. Arlen Specter (D) has endorsed Rep. Joe Sestak's (D) 2010 bid to unseat the five-term Pennsylvania Senator.

• Flake Endorses Moran in Kansas Senate Race

  Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) is the latest Republican Member to pick a side in the Kansas Senate primary battle between GOP Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt.

• With Shurtleff Out, Bennett May Escape Serious Primary Challenge

  A day after he shocked Utah political watchers by dropping his primary bid against Sen. Bob Bennett (R), state Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said in an interview late Thursday afternoon that he believes he still has a role to play in the effort to oust the three-term Senator next year.

• Top GOP Senate Leaders Back Fiorina

  Eight influential Republican Senators jumped on board former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's (R) California Senate campaign Thursday, a day after she officially launched her bid to take on Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) in 2010.

• 
  The Bare Knuckled Pundit

• Daily Cartoon - Back From the Dead

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Pat Buchanan

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  For the Blue Dogs, Tuesday was a fire bell in the night. Virginia Republicans led by Robert McDonnell crushed the most conservative Democrat nominee in decades, rolling up a victory that rivaled Ronald Reagan's rout of Walter Mondale. New Jersey... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• What If.....

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

  [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Daily Cartoon - GOP Insurgency

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Daily Cartoon - Let The Wild Rumpus Begin!

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  Open Left - Front Page

• In Barcelona, UN climate talks reach danger zone

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:22 pm

  Hi – I’m writing from Barcelona, where the final round of negotiations prior to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen came to a close on Friday. It’s been a tense five days here, with time running out for world leaders to get their act together. I want to share some of my reactions to what’s going on here—and in Congress back in the U.S. This week, two very different types of stand-offs marked political negotiations over solutions to global warming, one cowardly and one courageous. U.S. Senators Back Away from Real Action In the U.S. Senate, Republican members…

• Analysis and Improvement, Part 2

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm

  This is a second piece of analysis on what happened in Maine, organizing by the campaign and progressive allies, and where the LGBT movement goes from here. For Part 1, click here. There is a great deal of soul-searching and strategy questions that have come out in the wake of the loss in Maine on Tuesday. I have some thoughts on them all: 1. The LGBT movement is powerless and handcuffed on marriage referenda. A number of very smart people have argued to me the following: that in California, we had a terrible No On 8 campaign and lost by four points, and in Maine, we had a near-flawless…

• Obama administration sitting on second stimulus?

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pm

  There is a lot of money left in the TARP fund: A report from the TARP's official watchdog estimated that there is $317 billion left in the program, a sum that includes funds paid back to the government by some banks. Already, the Obama administration has used TARP money for financial assistance to auto companies ($23.4 billion),  homeowners ($75 billion, and now a new program to provide credit to small businesses of a yet to be determined size. Couldn't the Obama administration just keep using TARP money for stimulus related programs, such as the ones described above, and effectively…

• Does Larry Kissell Owe You Money?

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:20 am

  Just sent out the following email to 955 Larry Kissell donors.  In 2006, these donors gave a total of $24,689.51 to Larry Kissell's campaign: Does Larry Kissell Owe You Money? Dear Chris Bowers, This weekend, the House of Representatives is pushing for a vote on a health care bill that will cover 36 million currently uninsured Americans while reducing the deficit.  Right now, Democrats do not have the votes to pass this bill, and Congressman Larry Kissell has merged as a potential vote against reform. In 2006, and possibly again in 2008, you contributed money to help elect…

• Only fiscal conservatives would say we can't afford to reduce the deficit

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am

  Blue Dogs like to say that they are fiscal conservatives.  In fact, "fiscally conservative" is the first way that Blue Dogs describe themselves on their website.  That description is right next to a deficit clock, because I guess reducing the deficit is their number one priority. Fortunately for the Blue Dogs, there is a health care bill in the House right now that the CBO projects to reduce the deficit in both the near term and long term. From the CBO: CBO and the staff of JCT estimate that, on balance, the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting H.R. 3962, incorporating…

• 
  The Nation: Editor's Cut

• Can We Get Some Small-d Democracy?

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:54 am

  I have long advocated for a strong pro-democracy agenda to repair and strengthen our broken electoral system. The needs are many--from creating an Election Day holiday, to requiring voting machines that produce a voter-verified paper trail, to re-enfranchising former felons who have served their sentences, to public campaign financing. Just this past week, when my 18 year old daughter was back from college for fall break and told me it was too complicated to go register this Tuesday, I realized why we need another important reform I've written about for these last few years--same day voter…

• Around The Nation

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:11 pm

  It's hard to believe that a year ago this week we were watching President Obama's stunning victory. At 'The Nation', we were jubilant about a new era of possibility opened up by the election. New York City was filled with crowds cheering in the street. Since then it's been a bracing year - filled with promise and disappointment. This coming Thursday in 'The Nation', we'll be taking a look at one critical element of Obama's success: Young people. While pundits and strategists have raised ill-informed criticisms of "Generation Obama" in the past months - "where were they at the healthcare town…

• Investigating the Mortgage Crisis

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:39 am

  In a press release last week, Chairman Edolphus Towns of the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform announced a major investigation "into whether mortgage companies employed deceptive and predatory lending practices, or improper tactics to thwart regulation, and the impact of those activities on the current crisis." This investigation is much needed, and frankly, overdue, as the foreclosure crisis has now hit record levels.   The Committee has requested--and will subpoena if necessary--records from Wells Fargo, Bank of America (including Countrywide), JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup,…

• Around The Nation

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  25 Oct 2009 | 2:25 pm

  When former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's autobiography, 'Going Rogue: An American Life', comes out on November 17th, it won't go unanswered. Two of 'The Nation''s top editors, Richard Kim and Betsy Reed, are co-editors of 'Going Rouge: An American Nightmare', published by OR Books for release the same day. The cover may be tongue in cheek, but the anthology is no parody. Featuring essays from some of 'The Nation''s standout writers (Katha Pollitt, Max Blumenthal, John Nichols, Chris Hayes, Naomi Klein, Pat Williams, Gary Younge and JoAnn Wypijewski) and from some of the leading thinkers on…

• NoEscalation.org

  Katrina vanden Heuvel

  23 Oct 2009 | 7:36 am

  President Obama will soon make what could be the defining decision of his presidency. The course he chooses in Afghanistan will tell us a lot about the kind of country we will become during his administration. We have already been fighting in Afghanistan for twice as long as we fought in World War II. In fact, the United States and its NATO partners have had more than 40,000 troops in Afghanistan since 2006 and have spent more than $300 billion on military and civilian operations. At this perilous moment, as we attempt to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the…

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  Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

• Italy's respectable right wing in a bind | Roberto Mancini

  Roberto Mancini

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Gianfranco Fini is caught between Berlusconi's waywardness and unreconstructed racists within the Lega Nord"We must cleanse our streets of the black-skinned, the yellow-skinned, the Roma … I would have all the immigrants put on file, one by one. Unfortunately, this is not allowed by the law. They are the carriers of all sorts of diseases, tuberculosis, Aids, scabies, hepatitis"This is how Giancarlo Gentilini, former mayor of Treviso (1994-2005) and current deputy mayor, a leading figure in the Lega Nord (Northern League), addressed the Festival of the People of Padania in September 2008.

• The many gods of Ilford | Abhinav Ramnarayan

  Abhinav Ramnarayan

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  For Hindus in the UK, demand for places of worship outstrips supply. The result is that everyone just has to get on"Was there a swimming pool there as well?" my mate Laurie asked when I told him about the Hindu temple I visited in Ilford. I forgive him his irreverence, because the temple in question is a converted leisure centre – and not the only one in London.With its 13,000 gods (and counting) scattered all around India, Hinduism has traditionally had more than its share of warring factions. Accounts of disagreements between devotees of Shiva and Vishnu, the two major gods, go back to…

• Are your drugs laws working? Ask a scientist

  Ben Goldacre

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:28 pm

  It's pleasing to see, in the storm of commentary over Professor David Nutt's sacking as the government's chief drugs adviser, that everyone outside politics now recognises the importance of scientific evidence in devising laws. But a strange reasoning twitch has appeared, in the arguments of politicians and rightwing commentators. Science can tell us about the molecules, they say, about their effect on the body and the risks. But policy is separate: a matter for judgment calls on social and ethical issues. Only politicians, they say, can determine the correct way to send out a clear message…

• The taxman cometh

  Ian Jack

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:26 pm

  In the 60s, the Isle of Man recast itself as an offshore tax haven. How will the Manx 'nation' react now that status is under threat?Of all the ways to think about the Isle of Man – tax haven, motorbike race course, former birching capital of western Europe – the most difficult for the outsider to grasp and accept is the description "nation". How big is the nation? Thirty-three miles long and a maximum of 13 miles wide. What language does the nation speak? Mainly scouse and Mancunian, mixed in with some Scots and Irish. Where does the nation shop? At Marks & Spencer, Thorntons, Boots,…

• The Berlin Wall kept me apart from my baby son

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:07 pm

  Sigrid Paul had just given birth when the Berlin Wall went up, dividing a city and – in an extraordinary sequence of events – separating her from her baby son. His first five years were in the west, while she was trapped in the east. Lena Corner reportsIn January 1961, Sigrid Paul gave birth to a little boy in a Berlin hospital. Her first child, it was a difficult labour and the baby was whisked away to intensive care. As she lay recovering, Sigrid had no idea that little Torsten, as she had named him, would become inextricably and cruelly caught up in cold-war politics. Eight months…

• 
  Wired: Danger Room

• Next Step in Russian PR Blitz: Rehabilitate Stalin

  Nathan Hodge

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pm

  Glance at this week’s headlines from Russia, and it’s tempting to agree with Economist scribe Edward Lucas: It’s beginning to look a lot like Cold War Lite. Polish magazine Wprost broke the news of recent war game in which Russia practiced nuking Poland. And Aleksandr Shlyakhturov, Russia’s military intelligence chief, warned of a new war with Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Scary! But never mind the alarming headlines. Russia is trying to create a kinder, gentler image. According to the EU Observer, Russia has launched a PR campaign that is…

• Mourners Gather Online in Aftermath of Ft. Hood Rampage (Updated)

  Nathan Hodge

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am

  A day of mourning has been declared at Fort Hood, Texas, after a deadly shooting rampage that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded. A picture is now emerging of the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Hasan,who reportedly opened fire inside a crowded medical processing center. Investigators, meanwhile, continue piecing together what happened. Already, several instant social network support groups have sprung up. This Facebook page counts nearly 10,000 members; this one has 2,200 followers. For news and instant updates, the Killeen Daily Herald has an excellent Twitter feed: Readers can find out where…

• Psychic Spies, Acid Guinea Pigs, New Age Soldiers: the True Men Who Stare at Goats

  David Hambling

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:50 am

  “More of this is true than you would believe,” we’re told, just a few minutes into the movie version of The Men Who Stare At Goats, which opens today. But how many of the film’s outlandish military research projects really happened? Turns out there’s plenty of material in the movie which sticks quite close to the truth — though reality is a bit more complicated. (Warning: minor spoilers ahead.) Psychic spies? True. The non-fiction book which serves as the movie’s basis features Colonel John B. Alexander. He served as a Special Forces commander in…

• Review: New Movie Can’t Top Real-Life Men Who Stare at Goats

  Noah Shachtman

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am

  Maybe the greatest conspiracy of all was turning The Men Who Stare at Goats into another middlebrow Hollywood action flick — complete with a saccharine ending. In a 2004 hilarious and mind-bending book, British journalist Jon Ronson recounts his efforts to uncover a loose network of military investigators with truly wacky ideas — from psychic spies to acoustic weaponeers to commandos who believed that they could stop animal hearts just by concentrating hard enough. But that book, The Men Who Stare at Goats, was tragic, as well. These often well-meaning researchers inadvertently…

• Feds Eyed Ft. Hood Killer for Posts Praising Suicide Bombers (Updated)

  Noah Shachtman

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:10 am

  Before he allegedly killed a dozen and wounded 31 more at Ft. Hood, Maj. Nidal Hasan may have gone online to praise suicide bombers. “If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory,” a commenter named “NidalHasan” wrote on this Scribd.com document about “Martydom in Islam.” The comments — and others like them — drew the interest of federal law enforcement authorities, they tell the Associated Press’ Lara Jakes. An official investigation was never opened. But…

• 
  The Swamp

• Sarah Palin: Gridiron-ready, Frank too

  Mark Silva

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:45 pm

  by Mark Silva Those East Coast media who are always "making things up'' may not be the best friends of Alaskan Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president, but Palin is expected at one of the Washington media's most elite gatherings: A winter dinner of the Gridiron Club, that invitation-only assembly of Washington journalists which stages a white-tie evening of Marine Band-accompanied, off-the-record satire in the Capitol each spring ("Ladies are always present,'' the club's old tradition holds, "but reporters never are,"" though that's who's there.): Both Palin and Rep.

• Climate change hang-ups: Copenhagen

  Mark Silva

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:10 pm

  by Jim Tankersley Perhaps nothing illustrates the challenges of government efforts to curb global warming more than the chain of events that unfolded this week on opposite sides of the Atlantic. In Washington, the Senate environment committee approved sweeping limits to the United States' emissions of the heat-trapping gases scientists blame for climate change - employing a rare procedural tactic to overcome a Republican boycott of the vote - while a separate trio of senators announced progress in efforts to compose a bipartisan energy and climate bill. Those efforts were meant, in part, to…

• Obama: Flags half-staff for Fort Hood

  Mark Silva

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am

  by Mark Silva and updated The president today ordered flags flown at half-staff until Veterans Day in respect for 13 killed and 30 wounded in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. "We don't know all the answers yet, and I would caution jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts,'' President Barack Obama said today in a Rose Garden appearance. The lowering of flags will be "a modest tribute to those who lost their lives even as others were preparing to risk their lives for their country,'' Obama said of "one of the worst mass shootings ever to take place'' on a U.S. military base.

• White House: FOX off-limits -- strategist

  Mark Silva

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am

  by Peter Nicholas At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration. Political consultants are a staple of cable television talk shows, analyzing current events based on their own experiences working on campaigns or in government. One Democratic strategist said that shortly after an appearance on Fox he got a phone call from a White House official telling him…

• Obama: Walter Reed tour today

  Mark Silva

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:45 am

  by Mark Silva President Barack Obama plans a stop today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where some of the most wounded casualties of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are being treated -- and where the Army psychologist accused of killing 13 and wounding 30 at Ft. Hood, Texas, worked for several years before reassignment in Texas. The visit was planned before Thursday's shooting -- "horrific,'' the president called it -- according to the White House. Obama's predecessor, President George W. Bush, who ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, was a frequent visitor at Walter Reed, where he…

• 
  Why Tuesday?

• Why Tuesday? At 140Conf L.A.

  Jacob Soboroff

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:58 am

  Greetings to those of you finding your way here by way of the 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars and if you’re not new here, our video coverage of the 2007 CNN Democratic Debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in Los Angeles. I’m speaking today at 3:35PM PT on the panel Hollywood Politics: The Making of a Twitter Cause Celeb. My co-panelists are Wendy Cohen from Participant Media and Ted Johnson from Variety, and it’s being moderated by blogger Meagan Carberry. First thing’s first, I hope you’re already…

• Kapor: “Disruptive Innovation” Could Fix U.S. Voting

  Jacob Soboroff

  23 Oct 2009 | 3:59 pm

  “Disruptive innovation” is what we need to fix America’s broken voting system, Mitch Kapor, the election reformer and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Lotus 1-2-3, said on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Kapor made his remarks at an event sponsored by the Open Source Digital Voting Foundation (OSDV) at the home of Hollywood film producer Lawrence Bender. The event was intended to introduce the Hollywood audience to the OSDV’s Trust the Vote project and its mission, to “re-invent how America votes in a digital democracy.” Kapor was joined on…

• What Is Why Tuesday?

  WhyTuesday

  1 Oct 2009 | 7:31 am

  Greetings to those finding us by way of the 140 Characters Conference. Our Executive Director Jacob Soboroff is speaking October 27th on the panel Hollywood Politics: The Making of a Twitter Cause Celeb. This video sums up who we are and what we do. It was produced for Current TV by John Carluccio and aired on TV and on Virgin America.

• Mayor Bloomberg Announces Election Reform Plan

  Jacob Soboroff

  10 Sep 2009 | 10:54 am

  If New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has his way Americans would be automatically registered to vote, they would be voting on the weekend, and it would be easier to gain access to the ballot if you wanted to run for office in New York City. Today Mayor Bloomberg announced his “Easy to Vote & Easy to Run” election reform plan which includes an endorsement of Rep. Steve Israel and Sen. Herb Kohl’s Weekend Voting Act, a piece of legislation that we’ve talked a lot about here. The data-friendly mayor also wants to create a Democracy Index in New York City to…

• Diebold, Ditching Voting Machines, Sticks With ATMs

  Jacob Soboroff

  8 Sep 2009 | 1:04 pm

  If you’ve ever used an ATM, chances are you’ve used a Diebold. If that name sounds familiar to you, you may remember that in April of 2008, I interviewed Ed Felten via Skype, the Princeton professor who was able to hack a Diebold voting machine, one of their other ventures. The AP reported last week that Diebold is selling it’s voting machine unit for millions of dollars to Election Systems & Software, giving them a pretty firm hold on the voting machine market in the US. Diebold, based in North Canton, announced the sale of its Allen, Texas-based subsidiary Premier…

• 
  Confederate Yankee

• The Victims of Fort Hood

  Confederate Yankee

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:06 am

  My latest article is up at Pajamas Media....

• Liberals Finally Got the Military Murders They've Been Asking For

  Confederate Yankee

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:17 am

  Disdain for the military is a constant theme on the political left, a group that has consistently portrayed soldiers as violent psychopaths and babykillers for far longer than I've been alive. I've noted images of progressive protesters carrying signs attacking...

• Tone Deaf

  Confederate Yankee

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:09 am

  Here is President Obama's bizarrely flippant address yesterday afternoon in response to the massacre at Fort Hood conducted by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist. Robert A. George was quick to call the President for his frightening insensitivity and...

• Census Worker Death Investigation Increasingly Focused on Suicide

  Confederate Yankee

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:41 am

  From the Associated Press: Investigators probing the death of a Kentucky census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job and are pursuing the...

• Fort Hood Shooter ID'd

  Confederate Yankee

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:16 pm

  With the release of two other possible suspects, it is now starting to look like the shooting at Fort Hood today was the work of a single man, armed with two handguns. He was named as Major Nidal Malik Hasan,...

• 
  Ace of Spades HQ

• Barney Frank's Boyfriends

  7 Nov 2009 | 8:09 am

  He Likes Bad Boys Remember when Barney Frank's live-in boyfriend was running a male bordello out of his home 'without his knowledge?' Apparently he was present in 2007 when a subsequent boyfriend was arrested for growing pot and possessing drug...

• How Germany kept unemployment low: "FunEMPLOYMENT"

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:18 pm

  Everything is a matter of perception and how you present your ummm...."alternate truth":...Business wasn't going well for Schneider, a mid-sized company in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, at the beginning of the year. But the company, which manufactures camera...

• Stargate Universe: Earth Discussion Thread

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm

  A little late, but here's the usual thread. Oh, yeah, all the negativity from certain fans people who are inexplicably still watching this show despite their massive hate for it is getting to the cast, crew, and their family members....

• Overnight Open Thread - TGIF (Mætenloch)

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Welcome to Friday all. It's been a long week and I'm glad we made it with only minor loss of limbs and dignity. Remembering Medal of Honor-recipient John D. Bulkeley I first heard about John D. Bulkeley while reading William...

• Why not let Wal-Mart fix the economy (chad)

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:30 pm

  Edited - OK, I removed the offensive tariff. Now the only government interference is allowing manufacturers to write off the cost differential between a foreign manufacturer and a domestic one. Does that change anyone's position. In essence it is a...

• 
  Betsy's Page

• Moveon's war on Democratic moderates

  Betsy Newmark

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:21 am

  While we pause from the wall-to-wall coverage of the "war within the Republican Party," we can pause to notice that there is a little internecine conflict over on the left. Byron York reports that Moveon.org has raised money to target Democratic moderates. They should acknowledge what the Republicans are starting to learn. Certain districts aren't ideologically one way or the other. The only

• The realignment myth

  Betsy Newmark

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:38 am

  Liberals have long been crowing about a political realignment from Republican to Democrat that was heralded by Obama's victory in 2008. As Charles Krauthammer argues today, that was a myth and the pendulum is swinging back. In the aftermath of last year's Obama sweep, we heard endlessly about its fundamental, revolutionary, transformational nature. How it was ushering in an FDR-like realignment

• Simply dreadful

  Betsy Newmark

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am

  My heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims of the Fort Hood shooting yesterday. I keep thinking of the families so happy to have their soldiers home and then for this to happen.What strikes me is how much of the original reporting was wrong on this story. Just follow the automatic updates that Allahpundit put up yesterday and see how much of the original story facts were just

• Guantanamo is so bad that some prisoners don't want to leave

  Betsy Newmark

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:42 am

  How bad can Guantanamo be for the prisoners if some would rather stay there than be transferred to "supermax" facilities in the United States?Since 2005 an Arab American cultural adviser, who for security reasons is identified only by the name of Zak, has been employed at Guantánamo to liaise with detainees.He said that some detainees would rather stay put than go on trial in the US, where they

• How's that engagement policy working out for us?

  Betsy Newmark

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:05 am

  President Obama proudly pronounced that he would be able to turn around our relations with Iran by "engaging" them in meaningful dialogues. Well, the Supreme Leader Khamenei doesn't seem to impressed, issuing a statement yesterday concerning the possibility of negotiating with the United States. Iran's supreme leader, spurning what he described as several personal overtures from President Obama,

• 
  Day by Day Cartoon by Chris Muir

• 11/07/2009

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:27 pm

• 11/06/2009

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:27 pm

• 11/05/2009

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:07 pm

• 11/04/2009

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pm

• 11/03/2009

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:16 pm

• 
  Riehl World View

• Sarah Palin To Enter The Lion's Den

  Dan

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:14 am

  Via Fire Andrea Mitchell with a Politico item. Hmm. Think she'll have a large number of fans in that room? Not only that, look whose footsteps she's following in. She may as well, she looks as if she could more than fill his shoes at this point. Still, it's a shame his suits are so overly thin these days, given that they're already empty and just waiting for someone to wear them eventually. Palin's attendance at the exclusive event – put on by a group of top Washington journalists – will mark the second time the former Alaska governor has flown to the capital to mix with the city's…

• Obama Forecasts A Bankrupt, Unemployed America

  Dan

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:42 pm

  You can view them in the horrendous graph via this link: Obama's forecasts with and without the stimulus versus the reality Americans now struggle with everyday as unemployment jumps above 10%. The liberals were warned this would happen. They were told by economists the disastrously ineffective nature of bringing back economic policy destined to reek havoc on the American economy and bankrupt an already depleted Federal Treasury. But did they listen? No, they did not. And now they are poised to act in another irresponsible manner without listening, again. They appear to be content to break…

• Audio: Fiorina Conference Call

  Dan

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:15 pm

  I missed much of my email yesterday. I didn't realize the Carly Fiorina conference call was available on line. Also below. I was surprised to learn she's Pro-Life and Anti-Gay Marriage. I had to laugh at the shot at DeVore as the establishment politician due to his being a serving pol and the DeMint endorsement. As I said, I appreciated that she sounded willing to fight, if necessary. She was very open, I have to give her that. I challenged her on a few things I've seen around. Daniel Blatt got in a couple questions, too. I had to bail for another call before the  last question. You can…

• Seven Democrats Switch Parties

  Dan

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:33 pm

  While it is at the local level in Mississippi, there's plenty of old Democrats in the South. Could it be that their more conservative views weren't being tolerated within the Democrat Party very well? Blue Dogs, sit! And take notice, please. Or do you guys only obey Nancy Pelosi? A harbinger of things to come? Shame if Oba-Pelosi care kills the health of their party? heh! District Attorney Eddie Bowen, Sheriff Kenneth Lewis, Supervisor Mickey Berry, Justice Court Judge Eugene Knight, Constable Dan Easterling and D’Lo Alderman Michael Shoemaker made the announcement at the Republican Party…

• Updated: It Gets Worse/ Obama's Not Ready For Prime-Time Presidency

  Dan

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:09 pm

  My God, what a contemptible fool is Obama. h/t Instapundit. A CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER who isn’t. Tragically, the latest gaffe from our Not Ready For Prime-Time CIC is more like the recent SNL, than the old. He simply is not funny. Worse than that, he is a disgrace. That he might be able to change, or even simply influence the direction of this nation to any extent is a pathetic joke of history, one of possibly historic proportions we must defiantly fight against every single day of his term. But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions…

• 
  Wizbang

• Cuban Blogger Kidnapped, Beaten By Castro Thugs

  Kevin Aylward

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:20 pm

  Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sánchez as well as three others were kidnapped off the street today on the way to a anti-violence protest in Havana and threatened and beaten...

• A time to lead

  Dan Karipides

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:39 pm

  There were a number of opinion pieces today that walked both sides of the same issue. One cannot avoid the question that yesterday's shooting at Fort Hood raised. Ann Althouse...

• Knock Knock Knocking on ACORN's Door

  Rodney Graves

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

  Where are the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys? ACORN operates in multiple states and is being investigated in multiple states for Voter Fraud, which makes it a criminal conspiracy operating across state lines...

• Ignorance or Intentional Deception?

  Lorie Byrd

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pm

  Yesterday I attended the "House Call" rally on Capitol Hill organized by Michelle Bachmann to protest the health care bill. I saw men, women and children of all ages organized...

• Acting Stupidly

  Albert Araneo

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:15 am

  In July, before he knew "all the facts", President Obama saw fit to opine on the arrest of his good friend, Henry Louis Gates (emphasis mine): "I don't know, not...

• 
  Gateway Pundit

• House Democrats Will Vote to Take Over Nation’s Health Care System Today

  Jim Hoft

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:29 am

  The House Democrats will go ahead with their vote to take over the nation’s health care system today. The AP reported: President Barack Obama is traveling to Capitol Hill on Saturday to try to close the sale on his signature health care overhaul, facing a make-or-break vote in the House certain to be seen as a test of his presidency. Obama scheduled a late-morning visit with House Democrats convening a rare Saturday session on legislation to remake the U.S. health care system, extending coverage to tens of millions now uninsured and banning insurance company practices such as denial of…

• Geraldo Discusses Ft. Hood Attacks- Slams US for Widespread Predjudice & Discrimination Against Muslims (Video) …Update: Ft. Hood Killer Attended Mosque Before Killing Spree

  Jim Hoft

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:09 pm

  He really can’t help it. Geraldo Rivera is “most upset” about the Muslims in America who will face “widespread prejudice and discrimination” because of this Islamic terrorist attack that killed 13 US soldiers. Geraldo was on with Bill O’Reilly tonight: Geraldo Rivera: “I think what happened in Orlando and what happened in Fort Hood Texas is the same thing. You have a paranoid obsessed, impotent, frustrated loser who takes out his rage whatever it is, whether he lost his job, or like the kids at Columbine High School who were being bullied in school or…

• Crackdown in Cuba – Top Bloggers Arrested & Severely Beaten

  Jim Hoft

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:07 pm

  Top Cuban bloggers Yoani Sánchez, Orlando Luis Pardo, Ciro Díaz and Claudia Cadelo were arrested today and severely beaten by the Castro regime. Babalu has the latest.

• Gibbs Whines – Wonders How Bush Would Handle Abusive Hitler Comparisons- Forgets about Bush-Hitler Ad (Video)

  Jim Hoft

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:10 pm

  Robert Gibbs whined today about the offensive images and discourse by the church-going, taxpaying, America-loving tea party protesters that descended on the US Capital this week. “I will continue to say what I’ve said before. You hear in this debate, you hear analogies, you hear references to, you see pictures about and depictions of individuals that are truly stunning, and you hear it all the time. People — imagine five years ago somebody comparing health care reform to 9/11. Imagine just a few years ago had somebody walked around with images of Hitler. Mary Katharine Ham…

• Conservatives In Congress Call for 2nd “House Call” Tomorrow at US Capital

  Jim Hoft

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

  Dan Anderson sent this from the “Kill the Bill” rally yesterday at the US Capital. With the democrats on the verge of taking over one-sixth of the US economy Republicans in Congress are calling for another rally tomorrow– Second “House Call” Event Planned For Tomorrow What: Second Health Care “House Call” on Washington Who: Republican Members of Congress Americans concerned about our health care future Other Guests – TBA When: Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. EST Where: U.S. Capitol

• 
  Hullabaloo

• 6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Cheney-Rumsfeld Replayby digbyEdward Harrison at Naked Capitalism offers up a convincing look at the dynamics that led Obama to choose the path he's chosen in dealing with the financial sector. Here's the conclusion:When historians look back at the Bush 42 presidency, it will be defined by 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While George W. Bush was politically pre-disposed to the Neo-con world view, it was really advice from Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld which made Afghanistan and Iraq possible. George W. Bush was famously not well-versed in foreign affairs, having almost never…

• 6 Nov 2009 | 4:36 pm

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:36 pm

  Health Care 911by digbyWingnut talk radio is evidently going nuts with the phone calls to members in anticipation of the historic health care vote in the House tomorrow. So, everyone who wants health care reform this year needs to call their congressional Rep today and let him or her know that they expect them to vote for the bill, especially if you live in a district with a pants wetting, short sighted Democratic "moderate" who is planning to run with the highly successful Creigh Deeds strategy in 2010. (You need to tell them that you will absolutely lay out and let the Republican jackals…

• 6 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm

  Change The Rulesby digbyWow. The banks are trying to create a new oversight board that can change accounting standards whenever they need to hide risk and insolvency from investors and the public. Seriously. And they are doing it in the name of making the economy more stable, if you can believe that. See the real problem comes when people know that banks are failing. So they need to keep that information hidden lest the whole system becomes unstable.Unsurprisingly, the business community (led by the Chamber of Commerce, even) is a teensy bit upset by this. Ryan Grim has the story:The…

• 6 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm

  Satisfied With Bernieby digbyWhere do you suppose Democratic voters got the ridiculous idea that the new administration was going to take on the malefactors of great wealth if they got elected? And why do you suppose they aren't enthusiastic about the Democratic majority right now?James Lieber in the Village Voice has written a piece that I believe goes some way to explain it, called: "We've Bailed out the Banks. When Do We Go After the Crooks Behind our Financial Collapse?"When Barack Obama donned the crusader's mantle during the 2008 presidential campaign, his Web-savvy campaign team…

• 6 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

  Infiltrationby digbySome readers are telling me that writing about the right wing is a waste of time and only feeds their need for attention and helps perpetuate the freakshow. Perhaps that's right. But since I've seen the mainstream of the Republican party go from being the party of Eisenhower to the party of Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachman in my lifetime, I'm a little bit concerned about what happens if they happen to come back into power with these people in influential, powerful positions. It can happen.So, here's a little taste of what the freakshow is saying today:[A] growing number of…

• 
  Eschaton

• Morning Thread

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:11 am

  The ebola virus moved from my computer to me.FDIC had a late night feast, eating:Prosperan Bank, Oakdale, MN Gateway Bank of St. Louis, St. Louis, MOUnited Commercial Bank, San Francisco, CA

• Overnight

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:34 pm

  Folk On.

• Evening Thread

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:41 pm

• EATED

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:36 pm

  Home Federal Savings Bank, Detroit, MI gets EATED.little amuse-bouche of a bank.

• If It's Friday...

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pm

  United Security Bank, Sparta, GA gets EATED.

• 
  Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News

• California bank failure will cost FDIC $1.4 billion (5 failures on Friday - 2009 total now 120)

  7 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

  Source: [b]CBS Marketwatch[/b] SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Five more banks, including a California-based institution that reportedly received federal bailout funds in 2008, were closed Friday by regulators, bringing the 2009 total to 120 failed banks. The latest banks to be taken over were U...

• Electricity blackouts in Ecuador

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:23 am

  Source: [b]BBC News[/b] Ecuador has introduced electricity rationing after a drought led to acute water shortages at the country's main hydro-electric power plant at Paute. There have already been blackouts in the capital, Quito, and the Pacific port city of Guayaquil, officials say. They say...

• Democrats break abortion impasse on health care overhaul vote

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:37 am

  Source: [b]AP[/b] WASHINGTON — Capping months of months of struggle, House Democrats cleared an abortion-related impasse blocking a vote on sweeping health care legislation late Friday and officials expressed optimism they had finally lined up the support needed to pass President Barack Obama’s top...

• Niece of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson lived with suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:33 am

  Source: [b]Plain Dealer[/b] By Henry J. Gomez, The Plain Dealer November 06, 2009, 9:53PM Thomas Ondrey/The Plain DealerCleveland CLEVELAND, Ohio -- ... WOIO Channel 19 first reported that Lori Frazier, Jackson’s niece, moved in with Sowell in 2005 about a month after he was released from...

• Fort Hood shooting: Kim Munley hailed for bravery in shooting Hasan

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:37 pm

  Source: [b]Telegraph.co.uk[/b] Mrs Munley was one of the "first responders" who returned fire after army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan went on the rampage at the sprawling Fort Hood base in Texas. She shot Hasan four times but was herself wounded in the gun battle. Her condition is now st...

• 
  Firedoglake

• Pull Up A Chair

  DeVeria Flowers

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Chai Tea Latte photo courtesy of LauraFries.com via flickr The Little Things Matter… Well, as I was driving around the other day, I saw how the season has totally changed.  The leaves have turned and are falling to the ground, the birds have flown South for the winter, and there is a brisk chill in the air. You know what this means….the holidays are coming!  There was a time when at this time of the year I started getting depressed because of all that I did not have or had not accomplished.  Well, that has surely changed… Now, I am so thankful for all of the good things that have…

• Late Late Night FDL: Club Poodle

  Eureka Springs

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Early Show: We Have Band “Centerfolds And Empty Screens” Late Show: Joseph Arthur “Slide Away” What’s on your mind tonight?  

• Late Night: Bachmann Terror Overdrive

  Gregg Levine

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:09 pm

  The elephants didn’t so much parade yesterday, as they did stampede. Keynoting her own “Superbowl of Freedom,” honest-to-god sitting US Representative Michele Bachmann stood before roughly 4,000 of her frothy minions and once again urged them, as she had last week, to get all close and personal with their congressmen and women so that they could spit in their faces and “see the whites of their eyes.” (Well, at least the ones inside who were, you know, actually “takin’ care of business”; the numerous GOP reps standing with Michele at the lectern were presumably exempt.) The…

• Glenn Beck Was Right!!!

  Eli

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:01 pm

  I never thought I would have to admit this, but Glenn Beck totally nailed it when he said that Obama is a racist with a deep-seated hatred of white people and/or white culture.  He’s done a pretty good job of covering it up so far, but his judicial nominees expose him for what he really is: Dave Weigel reports that the conservative Committee for Justice is complaining in the aftermath of the nomination of one Latino and one African American to the federal bench, that President Obama’s judicial nominees aren’t diverse enough because there aren’t enough southern white…

• Hell No! We Won’t Send Our Tax Dollars to China

  Leo W. Gerard

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Leo Gerard (photo: Frank Snyder for AFL-CIO via Flickr) Taking candy from a baby: A consortium of Chinese and American companies goes to Washington and announces plans to build a $1.5 billion windmill farm in West Texas using $450 million in U.S. Stimulus funds, which will create 2,330 jobs — 2,000 of them in China. The baby — Washington — doesn’t cry or whine or spit in the consortium’s face. That’s what’s really wrong with this story. So accustomed to being bought and sold, Washington simply begins processing forms so it can hand over your tax dollars to create…

• 
  TalkLeft

• Another Reason Martha Coakley Should Not Be Senator

  Jeralyn

  7 Nov 2009 | 7:10 am

  I've never thought Martha Coakley would make a good U.S. Senator. I'm even more convinced now that she has signed her name to a brief restricting death penalty appeals, while claiming to be against the death penalty. The case, which comes as Coakley is battling for votes in the Democratic Senate primary, involves a convicted murderer from Alabama who has appealed his case to the Supreme Court, on the grounds that his state-assigned lawyer failed to introduce crucial evidence that he is mentally retarded. “There’s no way this kid should be killed,’’ said Stephen…

• Somalia: Pregnant Adulteress To Be Stoned to Death After Giving Birth

  Jeralyn

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:04 am

  In Southern Somalia, Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was stoned to death for adultery as a crowd of 300 watched. He had confessed to an Islamist court. His pregnant girlfriend will meet the same fate, death by stoning, after she gives birth. "He was screaming and blood was pouring from his head during the stoning. After seven minutes he stopped moving," an eyewitness told the BBC. The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says that if the woman is also killed, her baby would be given to relatives to look after. Somalia has not had a "functioning government" in 18 years. Last year, a 13…

• Pot Charges Dropped Against Lincecum

  Big Tent Democrat

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pm

  Washington prosecutors drop pot charges against Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum: Prosecutors in Clark County, Wash., and Tim Lincecum have reached an agreement in which the pitcher will pay a $250 fine relating to his possession of a marijuana pipe with the drug possession charge being dropped. Lincecum also must pay a $122 fine for speeding. [. . .] "Any Joe Blow would get (this deal)," [Clark county prosecutor Grant] Hansen said. "The way we see it, we can do something to him or we can do something for him. If we can give him a little leniency the first time, in my opinion, it goes further for…

• NY-23: Owens Will Vote Yes On House HCR Bill

  Big Tent Democrat

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:09 am

  TPM: Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) announc[ed] his support in a press release [--]"This legislation will reform the insurance industry and provide increased access to affordable healthcare without taxing healthcare benefits, cutting Medicare benefits or raising taxes on the middle class, and that is exactly the direction we need to go," said Owens. "There are still changes I would like to make, including raising the payroll exemption for small businesses, but like I said last week, there is a fundamental need for reform and we must act with a sense of urgency."

• Friday Afternoon Open Thread

  Big Tent Democrat

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  As regular readers know, the sports teams I live and die with, the ones where I suffer (as do the people around me) when they lose, are the Florida Gators and the New York Yankees. I love all sports, from NFL football to track to soccer to cycling, but those are the teams I am emotionally invested in. Throughout their history, the Yankees have been TEH EVIL. The newfangled Yankee Haters think they are originals, but Yankee Hating is a longstanding tradition. There was even a Tony Award winning musical about it. What is new is that Florida has become TEH EVIL nationally (the Ole Ball Coach…

• 
  The New Republic - The Plank Feed

• Phony Conservative Anti-Elitism, Revealed!

  Isaac Chotiner

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am

  From a new cover story on Sarah Palin by Weekly Standard hack Matthew Continetti,: Last week, when Joe Biden traveled to upstate New York to campaign for Democratic congressional candidate Bill Owens, the vice president took aim at Sarah Palin. "The fact of the matter is that Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy was 'drill, baby, drill,' " Biden said. "No, it's a lot more complicated, Sarah, than 'drill, baby, drill.' " A good sign of condescension is when someone tells you that "things are more complicated" than you think. Now direct your…

• Today At TNR (November 7, 2009)

  TNR Staff

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Unemployment Has Crept Over Ten Percent, and I Think That’s a Good Thing. What? by Noam Scheiber Did Rembrandt Reveal a Murder in One of His Paintings? An Intriguing Whodunnit Film. PLUS: 'The Maid.' by Stanley Kauffman The UN Report on Gaza Is Biased, Shoddy, and Unrealistic. But Israel Must Deal Honestly With Its Own Failures. by Moshe Halbertal Don’t Blame Obama for the Bad Economic News. Blame Congress. by Jonathan Chait From the TNR Archives: The Strange Genius of Oprah Winfrey, by Lee Siegel Is David Brooks Punking Me? He’s Got to Be Punking Me. by Noam Scheiber Is It…

• Uncovering Syria's Secret Nuclear Site

  Michael Crowley

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pm

  In case you haven't gotten your issue of Der Spiegel this month, the German mag has some very cool details on the intelligence work that led to the discovery--and eventual destruction by Israeli airstrike--of a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor being built with North Korean help: In the spring of 2004, the American National Security Agency (NSA) detected a suspiciously high number of telephone calls between Syria and North Korea, with a noticeably busy line of communication between the North Korean capital Pyongyang and a place in the northern Syrian desert called Al Kibar. The NSA dossier was…

• Weekend Reading, November 6-8

  Isaac Chotiner

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:04 pm

  --Jill Lepore on murders and American history --Mark Bowden on the line between internet dirty-talk and internet sexual predation --Jenny Diski on Roman Polanski and rape --If all this is too grim, check out James Poniewozik's short essay on the media's centrist bias --And, finally, one Yankee fan who is not very happy

• A Killing in Connecticut

  Christopher Orr

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:46 pm

  At Doublethink, Sonny Bunch cites the horrifying murders committed by Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky in Cheshire, CT in 2007, and concludes: As far as I am concerned, those two have made their lives forfeit. I want the state to take vengeance upon them for the evil that they have done. If they were to be drawn and quartered and their remains were scattered to the four corners of the continental United States, you wouldn’t hear peep out of me. Every time I start to waver on my support for the death penalty ... I see a story like this and it snaps me right back into line. Left…

• 
  The Fix

• The Friday Primary Line: Game off in CA (or not)

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:25 pm

  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and state Attorney General Jerry Brown. AP Photos The recent decision by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to drop his candidacy for governor of California left only state Attorney General Jerry Brown in the race for the Democratic nod, knocking one of the Fix's top 10 primaries off of our Line. But Brown's primary primacy was short-lived as a story in Thursday's San Jose Mercury News said that California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) was still mulling a run for governor and would make a decision in early 2010 based on how the…

• Live Fix roundup

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:13 am

  The Fix took questions this morning on why Deeds lost, election hangovers, Crist vs. Rubio, DINOs and RINOs, and other assorted topics (Cillizza's new role on 'Vampire Diaries'?). Below is a taste of the conversation -- for the full dish, full of political meat and potatoes with the distinct Fix flavor, check out the full transcript of the discussion. Fairfax, Va.: So, taking the lessons we've learn from NY-23 and looking forward, how much of a shot do you really think Rubio has going against Crist? Crist may not be the Republicans' Republican, but he's still a fairly popular governor, isn't…

• Morning Fix: Crist and the Club for Growth

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:28 am

  1. The new ad being run in Florida by the Club for Growth should send shivers down Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) spine. The commercial features Crist saying "we know that it's important that we pass a stimulus package" and embracing President Obama at a rally earlier this year. (Highlighting "The Hug" seems to be an attempt by the Club to parallel the infamous George W. Bush-Joe Lieberman kiss from the Connecticut senator's 2006 primary campaign.) The Club has openly flirted with the prospect of endorsing former stater House speaker Marco Rubio (R) in the Senate race, a move that would…

• Featured Advertiser

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

• And the winner is....

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

  After hours of tabulations and calculations, we are ready to declare a victor in the Fix's election prediction contest. Our work was made somewhat easier by the fact that only a few predictors managed to get all three winners -- Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell and Bill Owens --- right. Before we unveil the winner, let's review the results. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) 48.7 percent Jon Corzine (D) 44.6 percent Chris Daggett (I) 5.8 percent Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) 58.7 percent Creigh Deeds (D) 41.3 percent New York 23 Bill Owens (D) 49 percent Doug Hoffman (C) 45.9 percent…

• 
  Top of the Ticket

• Weekly remarks: Obama salutes the troops, Haley Barbour sees elections as 'wake-up call'

  Andrew Malcolm

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Weekly Remarks by President Obama, as provided by the White House I’d like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy that took place at Fort Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center and began shooting his fellow soldiers. It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it’s all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the…

• What H1N1 swine flu? Majority of Californians intend to ignore the late vaccine: Times/USC poll

  Andrew Malcolm

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:14 pm

  A new poll confirms that the Obama administration and federal health officials have failed to convince Americans -- at least those in the most populous state of California -- of the seriousness of a H1N1 swine flu pandemic. A majority of those registered voters polled by a new survey team involving The Times and the University of Southern California said they believed the new, delayed vaccine was safe. But a majority also said they had no intention of getting it.The findings come from a new Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences Poll. The…

• Eric Cantor takes on Rush Limbaugh, harsh GOP rhetoric

  Steve Padilla

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:18 pm

  Can it be? Another Republican leader taking on Rush Limbaugh? Apparently so. And that leader is Virginia’s Eric Cantor, the second-highest-ranking GOP member in the House. But first a little history. Earlier this year Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, labeled Limbaugh’s talk show “incendiary” and “ugly.” After Limbaugh and his many listeners expressed their displeasure, Steele apologized--and pretty quickly, too. Which makes today’s comments by Cantor all the more interesting. In a segment on “Political Capital with Al Hunt” being aired today, he…

• Californians say no more gay marriage votes: Times/USC poll

  Andrew Malcolm

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:18 pm

  A majority of California voters opposes putting the issue of gay marriage back on the ballot for another referendum. According to a just-released survey by the new polling team of The Times and the University of Southern California, a small majority of Californians favors the right of gay couples to marry. But a far larger proportion of the 1,500 registered voters in the new poll opposes putting the issue back on another statewide ballot next year. This week Maine became the 31st state where voters, in effect, defeated the idea of gay marriage in a statewide vote. Not surprisingly,…

• Gunman shouted 'Allah Akbar' before opening fire, witness says. Will the rampage affect Obama's decision?

  Johanna Neuman

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:23 am

  A witness has told investigators that the Army major who allegedly opened fire on his fellow soldiers at Ft.  Hood Army Base Thursday shouted  "Allahu Akbar" -- Arabic for "God is Great" and the rallying cry of suicide bombers around the world -- before unleashing his bloody assault that left 13 dead and 30 others wounded.In a briefing with reporters this morning at the base, Col. John Rossi said, "We do have a witness who reported that." And this morning on NBC's "Today" show, Lester Holt aired tape of the father of a soldier who said that his…

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• Obama mourns the shootings at Fort Hood

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  By Anne E Kornblut President Obama extended his condolences to families of the Fort Hood victims in his weekly address Saturday -- deploring, on a third day of grieving, that a tragedy of that kind occurred in a place "where our soldiers ought to feel most safe." "It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it's all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims,"…

• Duckworth recalls Obama at Walter Reed

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

  By Ed O'Keefe President Obama made his first visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center as commander in chief on Friday, but one administration official recalls seeing him there several times as a senator. "He visited my hospital bed in the middle of the night as a junior senator," Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth recalled during a recent interview for a forthcoming profile. VA Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth Duckworth lost both of her legs five years ago next week after her Army Blackhawk helicopter was shot out of the skies over Baghdad. She recuperated at Walter Reed…

• Midday Quiz: Military Matters

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:02 am

  Take a moment to chew on some political trivia. Here's a sample question from today's Political Stump quiz: About how many U.S. troops have been injured in combat in the past three months in Afghanistan? • Between 200 and 400 • Between 400 and 600 • Between 600 and 800 • More than 1000 Answer this question and more at washingtonpost.com/politicaltrivia.

• Texas attack reverberates in D.C.

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:39 am

  By Ben Pershing The major political debates of the moment suddenly appeared small Thursday, after an army psychiatrist walked into a medical building at Fort Hood and opened fire, killing at least 13 and wounding 30. The Texas army base is roughly 1,500 miles from Washington, but the reverberations were quickly felt in the nation's capital. Statements poured forth from members of Congress, the Pentagon became a vital source of information and reporters worked the local angle, as the suspect hailed from Virginia, worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and attended mosque in Silver Spring.

• Obama Delays Trip to Hill, Will Pay Visit Friday to Walter Reed

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:35 pm

  Associated Press President Obama is pushing back a trip to Capitol Hill to discuss the proposed health-care overhaul with lawmakers. Obama had planned to head to the Capitol on Friday. Now the White House schedule shows Obama planning to visit the Capitol on Saturday. On Friday afternoon, Obama plans to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center. White House officials say the trip to Walter Reed had been scheduled before the fatal shootings Thursday at Fort Hood, Tex. They insist that the visit to Walter Reed, Obama's first as president, is separate from the incident at Fort Hood.

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  Blue Jersey - Front Page

• Best wishes for Allen Carroll

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:22 pm

  Promoted by Jason Springer: What a terrible situation at Fort Hood.I was horrified to hear the news yesterday that a Major in the US Army opened fire on his fellow soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.  There is a lot that can be said about how it happened, why it happened, and what could have been done to stop it.  But now is not the time to speak of such things. Now is the time to realize that a New Jersey family is suffering tonight.  Even those who willingly go to war never expect to be taken down in an act of betrayal.  It is incomprehensible.  As…

• Jersey's Fresh Opportunity

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pm

  Promoted from the diaries by Rosi. Thanks, Matt. And I'll second your call for people to drop in on the Sunlight Foundation. This is a post I did for the Sunlight Foundation .  As an organization they are at the forefront of transparency issues and accountability.  Check them out. People have different reasons to be passionate about transparency; mine is accountability to the taxpayer. To me when elected officials let us know what they are spending our money on then we can keep them accountable and government becomes better. Regardless of whether one is pleased or disgusted with the…

• ELEC announces new Deputy Director

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm

  The Election Law Enforcement Commission announced the appointment of a new Deputy Director yesterday:Jeff Brindle, Executive Director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), today announced the appointment of Joseph W. Donohue of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, as Deputy Director of the Commission. "Joe Donohue brings to this position a wealth of experience in campaign finance issues and a reputation for fairness that will greatly assist the Commission's efforts to protect the integrity of the State's election finance system and to encourage a more engaged…

• Blue Jersey Friday Haiku

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  The votes have been cast, the election is over and now it's time to regroup in rhyming style as we start the first weekend without campaign commercials in forever with the Blue Jersey Friday Haiku. Rules are simple: You compose a haiku (5 syllables, then 7, then 5) on the topic the last poster suggests. Then you get to set the next topic. First topic: 2009 Election results Christie wins the race it wasn't really that close One Assembly loss. Next topic: Healthcare vote

• Unforgivable

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  The Press of Atlantic City says John Adler will oppose the health care bill. I'm not in the district, and I guess he'll get a lot more money from insurance companies than I'd ever have given, but it's unforgivable as far as I am concerned.  

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  Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

• Book TV

  Craig Crawford

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

    Scenes from our book launch party on C-SPAN2 today at 4 PM ET. (Re-airs Sunday 10:30 AM and Monday 7:30 AM on Book TV).  The party, hosted last month by Lebanese Ambassador Antoine Chedid at his residence, celebrated the publication of "Listen Up, Mr. President," by Craig and Helen Thomas. Book TV's cameras roamed the event as Helen and Craig signed books, and for a tribute by NBC's Andrea Mitchell.  

• Forget Bipartisan Health Reform, Mr. President

  Craig Crawford

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am

  It is hardly surprising that Rep. Eric Cantor says "not one Republican" will vote for a healthcare overhaul, but in repeating that vow for television cameras at a Capitol Hill protest rally on Thursday, the No. 2 GOP House leader gave President Obama an excuse to forget bipartisanship. Even if Obama finds a Republican or two in the Senate to back his health care agenda, we got a hint in the New York House race this week showing how GOP conservatives will respond. They will gnaw their party's limbs off to stand firm against just about anything Democrats want to do. The rise of conservative…

• Feel the Power

  Craig Crawford

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Craig and Don Imus talk about Tuesday's elections (11/5).  

• Negativity Finally Loses

  Craig Crawford

  4 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am

  Craig looks at how attack ads seem to have backfired in Tuesday's elections. Craig on "Imus in the Morning"Thursday (11/5) 6:30 AM ESTListen Live: WABC-AM (NYC)(TV simulcast on FOXBusiness)  

• Bad Timing for Health Reform

  Craig Crawford

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Tuesday's voting results could jeopardize the public insurance option. Politicians, by nature, are fearful creatures and, regardless of its merit or lack thereof, the argument that voters rejected big government will gain ground among wavering Democrats at a time when health reform faces key tests on Capitol Hill. Victorious Republicans in Tuesday's balloting pinned their hopes on raising concerns about expanding government. Even if those races really turned on local issues and personalities, there's enough of a chance that national trends were afoot to convince nervous Democrats to back away…