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The Raw Story

Scientists create fully-functioning, 3D invisibility cloak: WASHINGTON (AFP) – European researchers have taken the world a step closer to fictional wizard Harry Potters invisibility cape after they made an object disappear using a three-dimensional cloak, a study published Thursday in the US-based journal Science showed.Scientists from

President Obama signs multi-billion dollar jobs bill into law: President Barack Obama offered hope Thursday that the faltering US economy will soon create more jobs, as he signed a multibillion-dollar employment package to aid the fragile recovery.Signing into law a 17.6-billion-dollar measure designed to boost hiring, Obama said the

Footnote: Fed believes ‘minimum reserve requirements’ will be eliminated: In the footnotes of a speech U.S. Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke would have given to the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 10, lies a unique disclosure.Hosted on the Federal Reserves own servers, the written testimony of the

European researchers close in on invisibility cloak: European researchers have taken the world a step closer to fictional wizard Harry Potters invisibility cape after they made an object disappear using a three-dimensional cloak, a study published Thursday in the US-based journal Science showed.Scientists from Karlsruhe Institute of

California sec. of state race: Birther leader vs. man who rarely votes: Blogger: Taitz seems to have a thing for raising questions about black politicians eligibility for officeThe Republican primary race for Californias secretary of state is turning unusual -- to put it mildly.The Orange County registrar has confirmed that Orly Taitz

Obama effigy hung at RI school with fired teachers: CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- A teacher at a failing Rhode Island school where he and all his colleagues were fired hung an effigy of President Barack Obama in his classroom, apparently in reaction to Obamas support of extreme measures to

Retired US general links Srebrenica fall to gays in Dutch army: A retired US general on Thursday said Dutch UN troops defending Srebrenica in the Bosnian war failed to prevent the 1995 genocide partly because their ranks included openly gay soldiers.John Sheehan, a former NATO commander and senior Marine officer, made

Germany mulls sending spies to Wall Street: Many in Europe see currency speculation as economic terrorismGermanys finance minister says his government is considering sending spies to London and New York to monitor the activities of currency speculators.Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the German Parliament on Tuesday that

Subpoenas issued in Ensign ’sex-and-lobbying’ scandal: reports: Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) isnt off the hook for last years scandal-laden affair with his staffers wife. In fact, his troubles now look worse than ever.The Nevada television news station KLAS reported on Thursday that the Department of Justice has

Fox News ignores major earthquake to bash Obama: Obama exaggerates impact of 2006 Hawaii quake to make a point but Fox implies quake never happenedWeve heard a lot about climate change deniers -- but Fox News and conservative bloggers may now have become earthquake deniers in an attempt

DCCC: GOP anti-reform attack dog ‘fighting against his district’: The Democratic Party is pouncing on the Republican spearheading opposition to the health care bill, after a new report on Thursday revealed that his constituents are in dire need of reform.Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) Dallas-area district has the highest number

‘Fox-publicans’ urging viewers to call Congress over health care: Comedy Centrals Jon Stewart took out the red siren Wednesday night while introducing viewers to Health-Con 1: The Mediscarening.As health care negotiations wind down,Stewart observed, opponents have been going over the top with their closing arguments.It is a flea infested,

Obama health overhaul cuts US deficit: Congress: House to vote on $940b health plan Sunday: LawmakerWASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obamas historic health overhaul legislation would cut 130 billion dollars from the US budget deficit through 2019, according to figures provided by Democratic lawmakers.The independent Congressional Budget

Fox News host interrupts Obama 16 times in testy interview: When President Obama agreed to be interviewed by Fox News, he surely didnt expect to be soft-balled. But he probably didnt foresee the interviewer interrupting him more than a dozen times, and having to repeatedly point that out.Host Bret Baier

Insurers score big win as parliamentarian blocks rate hike watchdog: A Democrats proposal to create a government watchdog board which would vet insurance premium hikes is likely off the table after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the proposal isnt suitable to be added in reconciliation, the budget measure Democrats are

Wachovia pays $160 million to stop drugs probe: Wachovia has agreed to pay US prosecutors 160 million dollars for its failure to stop drug money being laundered to Mexican affiliates, the DEA said Wednesday.The embattled bank admitted it failed to stop an estimated 110 million dollars from being

Virginia to sue government if Dems pass health care reform: Virginia will file suit against the federal government if the Democrats health care reform bill is approved, said a spokesman for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) this afternoon.

Poll: 73% of younger veterans would support ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal: A survey commissioned by Vet Voice Foundation concluded that a vast majority of recent US military veterans would accept the repeal of the controversial Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy.

Male pregnancy and abortion: The sex life of pipefish: PARIS — A skinny little fish called the pipefish is high on the list of wildlife oddities, for the male of the species is the one which gets pregnant.

Boehner cheers up bankers: ‘Don’t let punk staffers take advantage of you’: As the Senate Banking Committee finally considers a bill to reform the financial system that collapsed nearly a year and a half ago, House Minority Leader John Boehner is already cheering up bankers concerned about how the bill will affect

Daily Kos

CA-SoS: Birther queen Orly Taitz to challenge Secretary Debra Bowen: Not content with repeatedly humiliating herself on national TV, losing court case after court case and being fined five figures in the process, or being duped by obvious forgeries in her attempt to de-legitimize President Obama, birther-in-chief Orly Taitz has

Daily Kos has most loyal news community on the tubes: In their 2010 State of the Media report, Pew used Nielsens database of 4,600 news and information websites to analyze web media usage patterns. Among their findings: Two political sites, Daily Kos and Drudge Report, stand out with vastly higher

NV-Sen: Subpoena Time: Good times: Federal investigators have issued subpoenas to the National Republican Senatorial Committee for documents relating to Sen. John Ensigns (R-Nev.) tenure there, the committee confirmed Thursday. The subpoenas, part of a widening investigation by federal authorities into Ensign, come

House Leadership to Senate: Prove It: Hoyer says he wants written assurance from Senate Dems that once the House acts, the Senate wont leave them hanging. “It’s important to get,” Hoyer said Wednesday. “I don’t think you want to move ahead without it, and Senator Reid

Late afternoon/early evening open thread

Now they are attacking 11-year-old children: McClatchys Les Blumenthal reports on the latest line of attack against health care reform coming from right-wing media: State of the health care debate: Talk radio attacks an 11-year old WASHINGTON — Conservative talk show hosts and columnists have ridiculed

The Health Vote Schedule: Steny Hoyer lays out the schedule for House action on the health insurance reform package. Hoyer said Thursday after the Congressional Budget Office released its cost estimate of the legislation that the House is now eying a Sunday vote on

How might the Senate deal with GOP obstruction on reconciliation?: Just by way of a reminder, once the House passes the reconciliation bill fixing the Senate health insurance reform bill, the fireworks begin anew in the Senate, where Republicans have promised a blizzard of amendments and/or

FL-Sen: Crist is broken: Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 3/15-17. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5% for primary samples). (11/16-18/2009 results) GOP Senate Primary Charlie Crist (R) 30 (47) Marco Rubio (R) 58 (37) Other polling has shown Rubio blowing past Crist, so thats

Rahm, vindicated? Progressives, vindicated? Does it matter?: In posts yesterday and today, Ben Smith, Glenn Greenwald, and Chris Bowers explore whether the imminent passage of health care reform with nearly unanimous support from the progressive base -- even though it does not contain a public option --

Midday open thread: Who took the old Kucinich and replaced him with this pragmatic one? I like this new look much better. Retiring Rep. John Shaddeg, among the most conservative Republicans in the House, now says he would support single-payer health care. Weird.

Two New Reports, More Talk of 'Jobless Recovery': Two reports out this morning tend to confirm what has been the trend for eight months. A slow economic recovery is under way, but employers have yet to take the emerging signs of improvement across a broad range of indicators

Chamber of Commerce Skews Polling in Dem Swing Districts: The Chamber surveyed ten swing House districts to guage opposition to health insurance reform, finding large majorities in these Dem-held districts opposed to the bill. But not so fast, says NYTs Youre the Boss Blog: As regular readers know, polls,

AR-Sen: Protecting the for-profit student loan racket: This would be smart: Reforming the for-profit student loan system, which allows finance giants like Virginia-based Sallie Mae to make virtually risk-free returns thanks to government subsidies, was a top priority of President Obama. His idea, supported by most Democrats,

Leave Bart Stupak Alone!: Poor Bart Stupak: Leading a revolt against President Barack Obama’s healthcare legislation over abortion has been a “living hell” for Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.). The telephone lines in his Washington and district offices have been “jammed” and he’s gotten more

What's behind those CBO number? Process.: Youve already heard the news: CUTS THE DEFICIT Cuts the deficit by $130 billion in the first ten years (2010 – 2019). Cuts the deficit by $1.2 trillion in the second ten years. REINS IN WASTEFUL MEDICARE COSTS AND EXTENDS

Fox caught, again: On Tuesday and Wednesday, Fox breathlessly promoted what it claims to be a new survey from the New England Journal of Medicine showing doctors oppose health care reform, but there’s a problem: the non-scientific survey was conducted months ago, was

CBO Numbers Are Out: The first set of the much-anticipated CBO numbers are out: CUTS THE DEFICIT Cuts the deficit by $130 billion in the first ten years (2010 – 2019). Cuts the deficit by $1.2 trillion in the second ten years. REINS IN

Today in Congress: In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader: FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 House Meets At... 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business First Vote Predicted... 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Last Vote Predicted...

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday: From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 New York Times columnist Frank Rich Sunday: If we are really to keep America safe, it’s essential we remember exactly which American politicians empowered Iran, Al Qaeda

Think Progress

Sen. Lindsey Graham and Glenn Beck Agree: Health Reform Is Like A Japanese Bombing Attack: Throughout the health reform debate, GOP lawmakers have tried desperately to smear health reform with increasingly bizarre and extreme remarks. In an interview on Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) added to the hyperbole, comparing the House Democrats’ efforts to pass

ADL asserts Gen. Petraeus ‘erred’ in his recent congressional testimony.: In his recent testimony (pdf) before the Senate Armed Services Committee, CENTCOM chief Gen. David Petraeus stated that “insufficient progress toward a comprehensive Middle East peace” is among the “issues that serve as major drivers of instability, inter-state tensions, and

DADT Repeal Opponent Blames Srebrenica Genocide On Gay Servicemembers In The Dutch Military: Ret. General John J. Sheehan, former Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), arguing against repeal. Sheehan argued that repeal should not occur unless the review of the

Michael Steele Delivers Joe Wilson-Like Policy Analysis Of CBO Report: ‘That’s A Lie’: Earlier today, the Congressional Budget Office released a preliminary analysis of the health care reform reconciliation package, concluding that it would cost $940 billion over 10 years, reduce the deficit by $138 billion over 10 years and by $1.2 trillion

VIDEO: Bret Baier Interviewing Obama Vs. Bret Baier Interviewing Bush: Yesterday, Fox News anchor Bret Baier aired his 19-minute exclusive interview with President Obama, where he frequently interjected and interrupted the President. (Raw Story counted 16 such instances.) The right wing gave Baier kudos for the interview, saying he “showed

‘Holder-in-Chief’ Coburn issues far-fetched threat against Democrats who switch votes in fa(...): During a GOP press conference today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) issued a far-fetched threat against those Democrats who are considering switching their votes to support health reform. “If you voted no and you vote yes and you lose your election

Summers Takes On Boehner: ‘Punk Staffers’ Aren’t The Problem, Bank Lobbyists Are: Yesterday, speaking at the American Bankers Association governmental relations summit, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) told the gathered bankers to fight Congressional financial reform efforts. “Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you and stand up for

Rep. Steve King and Glenn Beck agree: Voting for health reform on Sunday is ‘an affront to God.’: With this morning’s release of the Congressional Budget Office’s reconciliation package score, the House appears ready to vote on health care reform this Sunday. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) — speaking with Fox News host Glenn Beck on his radio show

Bachmann: ‘I don’t mean any disrespect’ when I accuse the media of ‘treason.’: As ThinkProgress noted yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) accused the media of “treason” on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Monday, claiming that they are “not telling this story” that Speaker Nancy Pelosi “would even consider having us pass a bill

Limbaugh’s ‘Cheap And Disingenuous’ Call For People To Jam Congressional Phonelines: For the past few days, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh has been urging his listeners to call Congress and oppose health care. Yesterday, he gleefully aired clips of journalists touting his project, urging his followers to keep up the pressure:

WellPoint Failed To Deliver Tens Of Millions Of Dollars It Promised To Help Uninsured Americans: Health insurance companies have always claimed that they support “affordable, high-quality health care for every American” and are supportive of health care reform efforts and not simply concerned with their profits. To try to project this image of compassion for

Pete Sessions Agrees That ‘Deem And Pass’ Is Legitimate: Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) is now the second Republican to reluctantly admit that “deem and pass” is a legitimate procedure that Republicans have used is the passed. Asked if he had ever voted for reconciliation or “deem and pass” since

ThinkFast: March 18, 2010: In a Washington Post op-ed today, former Democratic congresswoman Marjorie Margolies urges “wavering House Democrats” to vote for health care reform, saying that she doesn’t regret losing her seat after voting for President Clinton’s plan. “I am your worst-case scenario,”

Stupak dismisses nuns’ letter: I don’t listen to them, I listen to ‘leading bishops’ an(...): Today, “60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns” sent a letter to federal lawmakers urging them to pass the Senate health care legislation. They decried the “false” information floating around about abortion provisions and said that the bill’s

Bachmann: ‘MoveOn.org people’ are not ‘real people.’: While yesterday’s tea party rally outside the Capitol drew an anemic crowd of about only 300, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) urged supporters to keep up the fight against health care reform for the rest of the week. Bachmann warned that

Boehner Tells Bankers To Fight Financial Reform: ‘Don’t Let Those Little Punk Staffers Take(...): This week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the latest version of his financial regulatory reform bill, which aims to correct the deficiencies in the financial system that led to 2008’s economic crisis. The House of Representatives has

After Calling Self-Executing Rule Unconstitutional, Pence Admits He Previously Voted For It: Last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) stirred faux outrage over the House Democrats’ plan to use a “self-executing rule” to pass the Senate health care reform bill, saying Americans would “have standing to sue against” the bill and that it’s

‘Climate Crime Scene’ declared at Smithsonian’s David H. Koch Hall Of Human Origins.: Today, the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History unveiled a new exhibit named after right-wing billionaire polluter, David H. Koch. Greenpeace dispatched its Climate Crime Unit at the opening of the $20.7 million David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins in

AFP Refuses To Pull ‘Disgraceful’ Ad Attacking Congresswoman Whose Parents Recently Died Of(...): Conservative anti-reform front group Americans for Prosperity has been running vicious attack ads in Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper’s (D-PA) district, claiming that health care reform will lead to lower cancer survival rates. The ad — also running in 17 other key

Catholic nuns break with bishops and urge passage of health care reform.: In recent weeks, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been outspoken in its opposition to the Senate health care bill, saying that it doesn’t sufficiently restrict federal funds from being used for insurance coverage of abortions. However, in an

Little Green Footballs

Pamela Geller Goes Nuts Over 'Census Stalkers': Newsmax columnist and wingnut blogger Pamela “Shrieking Harpy” Geller is losing her marbles today over being contacted by census workers, calling them “Census Stalkers.”For the past month I have been called, harassed and visited by a Pamela Childs of the

Hawaii is Fed Up With the Birthers: Hawaiian public service officials are normally the most laid-back public service officials in the country; to get on their last nerves you really have to work at it.But the Birther kooks are nothing if not persistent: Hawaii Birthers Bill: State

Wednesday Afternoon Metheny: Here’s a midday music break with the Pat Metheny Group, from a 1992 performance at Japan’s “Live Under the Sky” music festival.

Holder: 'Reading Miranda Rights to a Corpse': Attorney General Eric Holder is turning into quite a rambunctious cowboy: If bin Laden is found, he’ll be killed, Holder says.Osama bin Laden “will never appear in an American courtroom,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told House members at

Hitchens: The Great Catholic Cover-Up: The investigations into child abuse in Germany’s Catholic schools are continuing to widen, now getting close to Pope Benedict himself, as his brother Joseph Ratzinger has been implicated in covering up the systemic child abuse (with the now well-known Catholic

Tuesday Afternoon Music: Bruce Hornsby, 'In The Low Country': Here’s Bruce Hornsby with an excellent solo version of “In the Low Country,” from his latest album Levitate.

Onion: New Initiative by US Bigots: The Onion reports on an initiative among the nation’s bigots to develop new state of the art slurs to keep pace with rising numbers of multi-racial births.WASHINGTON—A coalition of the nation’s most fervent bigots convened in Washington Monday to address

Clinton Pledges 'Unshakeable Bond' with Israel: Hillary Clinton dialed down the diplomatic confrontation with Israel this morning, pledging that the US has “an unshakeable bond” with Israel, and dismissing suggestions that the relationship between the US and Israel was at its worst point in decades.“We have

Onion: Kentucky Violated NCAA Rules

Video: Flogging the Scientists: Environmentalist Peter Sinclair fires off some pretty good snark at the climate change denial community in his new video, “Flogging the Scientists.” The title comes from denial mob leader Marc Morano, who said about climate scientists, “They deserve to be

Monday Afternoon Music: Gorillaz, 'Stylo'

Fox News vs. Glenn Beck: There is growing tension within the ranks at Fox News over the Glenn Beck Clown Show: Howard Kurtz - The Beck Factor at Fox: Staffers say comments taint their work. (Ya think?)Fox staffers note that veteran producer Gresham Striegel left

J. D. Hayworth: I Am Schtoopid: May I be blunt? The idea that legalizing same sex marriage will lead to bestiality is one of the most stone-dumb reactionary talking points of the religious right. Do these people really think the only reason humans don’t “marry” animals

Pew Research: Outlook Grim for Pay Walls: As mainstream news organizations increasingly find it difficult to turn a profit in the Internet Age, Pew Research has been studying the attitudes of news consumers toward some of the proposed solutions; and the prospects are pretty grim for news

Sunday Night Music: Steely Dan, 'Gaslighting Abbie': I like this version of Steely Dan’s “Gaslighting Abbie” even better than the one on Two Against Nature. Ricky Lawson is an ultrafunky metronome in this one, Walter Becker squeezes out some nicely twisted licks, and the arrangement is more

Record-Shattering Warm Winter Stuns Canadian Climate Scientists: Even as the right wing screams louder than ever that anthropogenic global warming is a “hoax,” climate scientists in Canada are appalled at the warmest winter on record: Wacky winter a signal of years to come: Climatologist.Of course, you already

A Big Defeat for the Anti-Vax Crowd: This week, Jenny McCarthy and the anti-vaccination “movement” were definitively shut down by a special branch of the US Court of Federal claims: Court says thimerosal did not cause autism.WASHINGTON – The vaccine additive thimerosal is not to blame for

What Right Wing Racism?: White nationalist Richard Spencer has launched a new site to promote his “academic” brand of racism: Alternative Right - An Online Magazine of Radical Traditionalism.We’re not talking Stormfront here, with neo-Nazi troglodytes tossing around the ‘N’ word with abandon. Spencer

Video: Attack of the Boxer Blimp: California Senate candidate Carly “Demon Sheep” Fiorina is back with another bizarre video, this time attacking Barbara Boxer. It’s still amusing, but the new video feels self-conscious; her campaign is trying to manufacture another web sensation by being deliberately weird.

Why I Left the Right, Exhibit R for Dan Riehl: Dim bulb wingnut blogger Dan Riehl is increasingly specializing in some of the most vile, ugly commentary on the right; it’s a crowded field, but with posts like this one he manages to stand out: Riehl World View: Isn’t It

Crooks and Liars

C&L's Late Nite Music Club - Alex Chilton 1950-2010: Title: Thank You FriendsArtist: Big StarAlex Chilton has left us.The gifted and underpaid legend topped the charts with The Box Tops The Letter at the tender age of sixteen, and later combined British Invasion rock with the blue eyed soul

"In the Public Interest" - With Friends Like The FCC . . . 1995: DOWNLOADS: 25 PLAYS: 12 (Hello suckers!)On July 28, 1995, the FCC voted by unanimous decision to relax the restrictions that prevented

Senate Votes To Lessen Discrepancy Between Crack, Powdered Cocaine Sentencing: So slightly fewer less black defendants will go to prison for possession of crack, while white cocaine users continue to slip away under a much higher standard. Are we supposed to applaud?WASHINGTON — Legislation

John Shadegg Slips and Says He Would Support Single Payer Health Care: DOWNLOADS: (30) PLAYS: (82) Oops. Republican

What is it with Republican sex with animals?: What is it about having sex with animals that compulsively sticks in right-wingers heads? Its an obsession with conservatives.I remember when the freak known as Neal Horsley famously admitted to having sex with farm animals to Alan Colmes a few

Grayson Has 50 Sponsors for His 'Medicare You Can Buy Into' Act: Rep. Alan Grayson appeared on Democracy Now! to discuss his bill, “The Public Option Act,” which allows people under sixty-five to buy into Medicare. The bill has attracted fifty co-sponsors: REP. ALAN GRAYSON: I’ve introduced a simple three-and-a-half-page bill that

Flood Of Money Pouring Into State Judicial Races, ABC Reports: Ive been worried about the money pouring into judicial elections ever since I read John Grishams The Appeal.The book is based on Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal in West Virginia, detailing the strong financial support and friendship between the judge

Palin and Hannity agree: 'Procedural tricks' on health care are 'unconstitutional' and 'un-American': DOWNLOADS: (0) PLAYS: (0) Sean Hannity

Health Insurer Targets HIV Patients To Drop Them: Our very own Murray Waas broke the story: In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one

CBO: HCR knocks $130 billion from deficit, extends Medicare solvency: The new CBO scores are out on the health-care bill, with good news for Democrats. The overall cost of health-care reform is estimated at $940 billion, but when compared to savings, the net deficit reduction in the first ten years

Countdown: Bret Baier Interrupts Obama During Fox News Interview: The Huffington Post definitely got this headline right. Obama Fox News Interview: Bret Baier Interrupts Obama.MSNBCs Lawrence ODonnell said that he could not recall a reporter ever questioning or interrupting an American president in such an aggressive way. Certainly, ODonnell

C&L's NCAA Championship Bracket: Please join: Im sorry Im late this year. So much has been going on. Anyway, We had 400 players last year and I thought it was pretty fun so lets try it again even if we

Virginia's Wingnut AG Says He'll Sue Federal Government If Health Care Reform Passes: Oy. This guy again. You know, the one who told Virginia universities it was okay to discriminate against gay students? Or how he told Virginia residents that he thought he could challenge Obamas presidency

FCC TO Propose National High-Speed Internet: Its about time. Of course, the monopolies will fight it tooth and nail, but I dont think theyll be able to stop this idea for long:Culminating a year of extensive outreach and study, federal regulators on Tuesday will propose an

Before Badgering Obama, Bret Baier Compared Bush to Lincoln: DOWNLOADS: (21) PLAYS: (160) The conservative

Mike's Blog Roundup: Raw Story: Boehner comforts bankers Obsidian Wings: The most powerful lobby in Washington. To Fred Kagan, Israel=the entire world! They gave us a republic: Stonewall McConnells peculiar view of democracy The Consumerist: Health insurance company intentionally targeted, dropped HIV patients

Open Thread: Happy St. Patricks Day! Gotta have a dancing leprechaun.Open thread below...

C&L's Late Night Music Club; St. Patrick's Day with Flogging Molly: Title: Folsom Prison BluesArtist: Flogging Molly Flogging Molly answers once and for all the musical question: If a seven-piece American Celtic punk band covers a Johnny Cash standard, does that make it an Irish song?Turns out the answer is Hell

Santorum: Democrats are Worried Obama May Go to Indonesia and Bow to More Muslims: DOWNLOADS: (27) PLAYS: (123) Oh here

Administration Economic Officials See "Extended" Period of Unemployment: I continue to worry that at some point, Wall Street will convince the administration that it would be a great psychological ploy to cut off unemployment compensation to convince the market theres a recovery.And if they do that, all hell

Common Dreams

National Security Experts Grim on Terror War: National Security Experts Grim on Terror War

Study: Prison Population on the Rise: Study: Prison Population on the Rise

Lebanon Slides Towards Civil War as Anniversary of Hariri's Murder Looms: Lebanon Slides Towards Civil War as Anniversary of Hariris Murder Looms

Britain and US: Worst of Wealthy Nations for Children: Britain and US: Worst of Wealthy Nations for Children

US Briefing on Iran Discredits the Official Line: US Briefing on Iran Discredits the Official Line

Doubts Raised on Linking of Iran to US Deaths in Iraq: Doubts Raised on Linking of Iran to US Deaths in Iraq

Korea Deal Marks Big Victory for Realists: Korea Deal Marks Big Victory for Realists

Michelle Malkin

GOP fights again: Cantor introduces privileged resolution challenging Slaughter Solution; Dems (...): GOP Rep. Eric Cantor is on the House floor right now introducing a privileged resolution challenging the Slaughter Solution and condemning deem-and-pass. The clerk is now reading it into the record. Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer moves to table

Video: Democrat Rep. Perriello admits, “If you don’t tie our hands, we will keep stealing”: A congressional thief makes a true confession. Watch Democrat Rep. Tom Perriello of Virginia rat out his profession. Put it on a bumper sticker. If we don’t tie their hands, they will keep stealing — from us, from our kids,

Speed-readers unite! House Rules Committee finally releases Wreckonciliation bill; Hoyer announ(...): Full speed ahead.

The House vote on barring the Slaughter Solution: Waiting…: You’ll recall that House Republicans unveiled a resolution two days ago that would force a vote on the Slaughter Solution and call out the Deem-and-Pass-ocrats.The vote on that resolution had been anticipated at around 12:30-1pm Eastern this afternoon. The time

Take the Town Halls to Washington; Update: Obama postpones Asia trip: If you can make it to D.C. this Saturday, there’s a Tea Party effort to “Take the Town Halls to Washington:”More info here.Bring a Constitution Butchers sign! (Get yours here.)Photoshop exclusive: Big Fur Hat at iowntheworld.com and Applecross Media***Update: Just

Hang in there, Rep. Stupak: Its been a living hell.

CBO: Covering the Backsides of Obamacare-pushers?; Update: House Ds conjure up $940 billion pri(...): The CBO scoring of the House Demcare bill that the American people have not seen will be released this morning.The poor number-crunchers have been working overtime as Speaker Pelosi and the Dems have re-jiggered and re-jiggered to meet farcical fiscal

If there were a Nobel Prize for Gaffetastic-ity…: Ed Morrissey has done a terrific job at Hot Air chronicling President Obama’s malapropisms, blunders, fantasy math, and history-flubbing with his “Obamateurisms” series. It’s a gaffe-a-minute with the supposedly silver-tongued emir of eloquence.If there were a Nobel Prize for Gaffetastic-ity,

Landmark Legal Foundation to Slaughter House butchers: Not without a fight: Photoshop exclusive: Big Fur Hat at iowntheworld.com and Applecross Media(Get your Constitution Butchers poster here.)Not without a fight, Deem-o-crats:Mark R. Levin, president of Landmark Legal Foundation, today issued a warning to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives about

In response to amnesty stooge Dick Armey: I have wonderful, grass-roots friends at Freedomworks. Dick Armey is not one of them.He’s a clueless promoter of bailout-happy, big government Republican Sen. John McCain. And Armey’s a blowhard-y Beltway dinosaur who can’t resist shooting off his mouth and alienating

Obama, Pelosi on a money-grubbing mission: Demcare is not a done deal. They haven’t even released the House version to the public yet, but plan to ram it through on Saturday. Those pesky little details aren’t getting in the way of what’s really important, though. Within

The 11 Senate Republicans who voted for the$17 billion Porkulus II jobs bill: The tax breaks and projected jobs in the Senate jobs bill are illusory. The $17 billion package circumvents pay-go rules. But no matter. The Senate passed the Porkulus II today — with support from 11 Republicans.Here’s the roll call vote:The

The Krazy Kucinich Kickback Contest: Krazy Denny Kucinich (D-Outer Space) basked in the spotlight this morning upon announcing his switch from “no” to “yes” on Demcare. He still doesn’t think it goes far enough and says he didn’t like the process, but he’s signing on,

The slaughter on the southern border: My column this morning looks at the continuing chaos on our southern border. Displaying her fabulous sense of timing, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano chose to announce amid all the bloodshed that she’s scrapping the doomed Fence to Nowhere project.The system

Doing the health care anecdote-vetting the Left won’t do: Here is Larry Scary O’Donnell — who can usually be seen frothing at the mouth with bulging neck veins as he melts down on MSNBC — sloooowly reading a teleprompter as he chastises me, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck for

What are Pelosi and the House Democrat women up to now?: The gender card is the first and last refuge of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She’s played it since Day One of her reign of error. She wielded it last week when she surrounded herself with kiddie human shields. And it

Wreckonciliation Tweet of the Day: From @johnthune2012, a perfect summation of the last year in the Age of Obama/Pelosi/Reid:***As noted below in comments by Dan, our Texas blogger friend Kathleen McKinley said it first last week: “We’ve Moved From Passing Bills Without Reading Them to

Get the cameras into the House Rules Committee hearing room: Democrats lied, transparency died — and GOP Rep. David Dreier wants to resurrect it as the Obamacare shell bill heads to the House Rules Committee and the backroom deals and surreptitious favor-stuffing begins:Dreier Calls for Cameras in Rules Committee Hearing

House Republicans to force vote on Pelosi’s Slaughter House solution: Deem this.

When you’ve lost MSM newspaper editorial boards…: I worked for the Seattle Times editorial board for several years as the lone conservative. It was a center-left paper then, and remains so today. The board took a few right-leaning positions (opposition to the death tax, for example), but

The Washington Monthly

Thursday's Mini-Report: THURSDAYS MINI-REPORT.... Todays edition of quick hits: * Vote-counting in Iraq is a bit of a mess. * President Obama signs a jobs bill into law, hopefully the first in a series. * On a related note, the number of...

A constantly-evolving headcount: A CONSTANTLY-EVOLVING HEADCOUNT.... Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) raised more than a few eyebrows this week when he said he just couldnt support the Democratic health care reform package. He argued that restrictions on undocumented immigrants buying into health care exchanges...

No stone unturned: NO STONE UNTURNED.... When it comes to House members who voted in support of health care reform in November, we know some of the 220 yes votes wont be there for final passage. The trick is to keep as many...

Despite setback, AFL-CIO rallies to support reform bill: DESPITE SETBACK, AFL-CIO RALLIES TO SUPPORT REFORM BILL.... As the final provisions of the Democratic health care reform package was coming together, a wrinkle emerged. In order to get the best possible score from the Congressional Budget Office, Dems would...

Threading an impossible needle: THREADING AN IMPOSSIBLE NEEDLE.... Its probably an esoteric point, but its worth pausing to appreciate just how ridiculously challenging it was to craft this health care reform proposal. Theres a very good reason this legislation has never passed up until...

Delayed trip = delayed vote?: DELAYED TRIP = DELAYED VOTE?.... President Obama was originally scheduled to leave for a week-long trip to Asia today. Last week, the White House pushed back the departure date, announcing that the president would instead leave on Sunday, after the...

Demonstrating insurers' trustworthiness: DEMONSTRATING INSURERS TRUSTWORTHINESS.... Insurance giant WellPoint Inc. -- the company planning double-digit rate hikes for customers -- made a compelling promise a few years ago. Shortly after Democrats reclaimed the congressional majority, the insurer announced that it would use its...

John Ensign better have a good lawyer: JOHN ENSIGN BETTER HAVE A GOOD LAWYER.... While the media generally seems inclined to give Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) a pass on his sex/ethics/corruption scandal, the controversy itself seems to be getting more serious. Yesterday, federal grand jury started issuing...

Thursday's campaign round-up: THURSDAYS CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP.... Todays installment of campaign-related news items that wouldnt generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers. * New Yorks gubernatorial race will likely get a significant shake-up when Long Island Democrat...

A surprisingly helpful RNC poll: A SURPRISINGLY HELPFUL RNC POLL.... In general, when the Republican National Committee releases results of an internal public opinion poll, its best to view it with a skeptical eye. Were not, after all, talking about a reliable, independent source for...

Dems 'absolutely giddy' with CBO score: DEMS ABSOLUTELY GIDDY WITH CBO SCORE.... Following up on the last item, its hard to overstate how pleased Democrats are with the new health care reform score from the Congressional Budget Office. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) conceded this...

CBO delivers long-awaited score: CBO DELIVERS LONG-AWAITED SCORE.... No more excuses. This week, a variety of wavering House Democrats that they wouldnt make up their minds on health care reform until they got the final score on the package from the Congressional Budget Office....

Poor Bart: POOR BART.... After making countless unreasonable demands, offering a variety of inaccurate claims, and threatening to work with far-right Republicans to kill health care reform, Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) isnt having any fun. Leading a revolt against President Barack Obamas healthcare...

Margolies knows a little something about tough votes: MARGOLIES KNOWS A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT TOUGH VOTES.... When former Rep. Marjorie Margolies (D-Pa.) talks about the challenges of casting tough votes, she knows of what she speaks. In 1993, Margolies (then Margolies-Mezvinsky) was a targeted Democratic freshman representing a...

An ever-changing timeline: AN EVER-CHANGING TIMELINE.... It really did seem as if the Congressional Budget Office would release its final score on health care reform last night, which would prompt Democratic leaders to start the 72-hour clock and schedule a vote for Saturday....

Wednesday's Mini-Report: WEDNESDAYS MINI-REPORT.... Todays edition of quick hits: * Pakistan: Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles at vehicles and hit a militant hide-out in a tribal region of northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least nine insurgents, two officials said. * Expect...

A few key 'yes' votes: A FEW KEY YES VOTES.... When Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) announced this morning that he will support the health care reform bill, it gave reform proponents a helpful boost. But, while Kucinich is the first no vote to switch, there...

The wit and wisdom of Mike Pence: THE WIT AND WISDOM OF MIKE PENCE.... House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the #3 official in the House GOP leadership, spoke to The Daily Caller about some of the procedural questions surrounding health care reform. So, for example,...

The light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL ISNT A TRAIN.... Times Jay Newton-Small has a good piece today about a larger political environment that Democrats find intimidating, but which may poised to change. Take a good look around, Democrats,...

Classy: CLASSY.... I suppose its safe to say we wont be hearing the phrase compassionate conservatism again anytime soon. Supporters and opponents of health care reform assembled outside Rep. Mary Jo Kilroys (D-Ohio) office yesterday, at times leading to heated exchanges...

Wonkette

Ron Paul Was Better As A Libertarian Candidate: Of course the biggest news this weekend was Bob Barr winning the Libertarian nomination for president at the partys craziest convention in a while. For some brilliant on-the-scene coverage, check...

Google, Gobble, We Accept Her, One of Us: Last week Americas Princess Diplomat took a dream trip to the magical land of Google with gaunt diplozombie David Miliband. And look! Its our old friends, the Condi Hand Turkeys, to act as special...

Barack Obama Spoke At Wesleyan!: Here is Your Barry pinch-hitting for Ted Kennedy at the Wesleyan commencement this weekend. He talked about how you should serve your country and have big ambitions. Be sure to watch all the way...

REPORTER BRAVELY EMPTIES POCKETS OF OBAMA'S ...: REPORTER BRAVELY EMPTIES POCKETS OF OBAMAS BODY MAN: When Mr. Obama dropped food on his tie while eating in the car between stops, Mr. Love was ready with a Tide pen. He always carries one, along...

Angry Jim Webb Too Angry To Be Veep!: The name of gun-toting incest pornographer and former Republican Jim Webb keeps coming up when people talk about who will be Barack Obamas vice president, mostly because the nomination of a Sexist...

Bush To Make Short, Embarrassing Appearance At McCain Fundraiser: George W. Bush will appear at his boyfriend John McCains fundraiser in Arizona today. McCain is so proud of Bushs support that the nations 43rd president will appear briefly, in the dark, with a...

How We Are Hungry: Another reason we will all be starving soon: with no more illegal immigrants to pick crops, upstate New York farmers arent planting as much food anymore. Compounding the problem is...

BEST IDEA EVER: While you terrible humans ...: BEST IDEA EVER: While you terrible humans have been out on your beaches and patios drinking Corona and eating ribs, hilarious Clinton lawyer-friend Lanny Davis has been delivering the best Michigan...

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Suckaz!: The survivalists are getting ready, financial wizard and California congresswoman Laura Richardson nearly lost three houses to foreclosure, Terminator Hillary is now hunting Obama in Puerto Rico, but...

Watch Everybody Freak Out Over Hillary's RFK-Obama Assassination Freakout: The response to Hillary Clintons wacky but Obama might get assassinated like Bobby Kennedy comments has been swift, massive, and hilarious. Or depressing. Swift, massive, and depressing. Or...

More Shocking Video: Hillary Gives Her Instructions: Somebody at Daily Kos just found this shocking video of Hillary making her plans. The man in the chair is, of course, George Stephanopoulos.

JIM GIBBONS DIVORCE INSANITY: America's worst ...: JIM GIBBONS DIVORCE INSANITY: Americas worst governor and alcoholic adulterous sex-assaulter crook Jim Gibbons and his power-crazed wife Dawn are finally getting the divorce everybody always knew...

Scott McClellan Can't Ruin George Bush Junior's Day: The great George W. Bush delivered the commencement address at Colorados Air Force Academy today, the same day that his former hobbit slave was publicizing mean books about him. Here he is this...

John McCain's Biggest Fan: 'Your Name': Ooh looky its another Kustomized Kampaign Trinket for you, the reader! For just $250, you can show the world that YOUR NAME totally supports JOHN MCCAIN. But are there any names or phrases that...

Even Little-Girl Hillary Was A Conniving Monster: We usually dont like to encourage the comedy YouTube jokes because none of them are funny, or its something you can watch on the TeeVee, later, on your sofa or whatever, eating your carry out....

Scott McClellan's A Big Hit!: SEE WHAT EVERYONES SAYING ABOUT SCOTT MCCLELLANS NEW #1 BOOK, GEORGE BUSH JR. MADE VAGUE ERRORS!I would think if he harbored such deep feelings about things he wouldnt have and shouldnt have...

Your Wonkette Is Moving, Tonight!: Hello Peoples! Remember that whole thing about your Wonkette getting a new home, and all that? Well, it is still true — and tonight, Wonkette will suffer the miracle of transmigration. What...

BARRY OBAMA'S RACIST POETRY: "Under water ...: BARRY OBAMAS RACIST POETRY: Under water grottos, caverns/ Filled with apes/ That eat figs./ Stepping on the figs/ That the apes/ Eat, they crunch./ The apes howl, bare/ Their fangs, dance,/ Tumble...

McCain Fundraiser Tour Fails Its Way Through Mormon World Capital: Ever since John McCain pissed all over Mitt Romney in a debate, and even before then, Mormons havent taken kindly to the foul-mouthed, unhandsome, twice-married atheist grumpus. So its no surprise...

Karl Rove Calls Scott McClellan Gay Woodsman: Wonkette comical typos operative Ron sends us this screen shot of a CNN.com article in which Karl Rove lets slip a revelation of his own about terrible snitch Scott McClellan. McClellans syntax in...

Talking Points Memo

SLIDESHOW: Lights, Camera, Action!: Shots from last nights Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner in DC:

SLIDESHOW: Lights, Camera, Action!: Shots from last nights Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner in DC:

Kicking Dirt in His Face: Leadership is suggesting hes still gettable. But Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) who represents South Boston and other suburbs just south of Boston released a statement this afternoon that not only said he planned to vote no but also said things

Mind Changers: Okay, we just had another no from round one announce shes switching to yes. This time its Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO). Were tracking every announcement in real time in our auto-updating TPM Countdown to Reform Wire.

Kicking Dirt in His Face: Leadership is suggesting hes still gettable. But Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) who represents South Boston and other suburbs just south of Boston released a statement this afternoon that not only said he planned to vote no but also said things

Mind Changers: Okay, we just had another no from round one announce shes switching to yes. This time its Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO). Were tracking every announcement in real time in our auto-updating TPM Countdown to Reform Wire.

Our Readers Were On It: Late last week, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) was on national TV saying he would switch his vote to no on health care reform because of the provisions affecting illegal immigrants. But readers -- in and out of his district --

The Newest David Brinkley: Christiane Amanpour will be the new host of ABCs This Week.

Where's Daddy Now?: Reports last night in Las Vegas and this afternoon in DC suggest that the FBIs investigation into Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) is the real deal. At issue is whether Ensign did anything criminally wrong as he tried to extricate himself

Could Be Trouble: The latest Rasmussen poll has John McCain up over primary challenger and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth by a mere 7 points. As a point of comparison, Rasmussens last poll of this race, from two months ago, had McCain holding a

Countdown to Reform: Things seem to be coming together today about as well as the Dems could have expected. They seem to be getting a number of the pro-life Dems to sign on. And Stupak seems to be conceding the vote though hell

The Battle Inside the Church: As you know, the Catholic Church is playing a big role in the final decision-making of a lot of pro-life Dems. But the details are more complicated than you might realize. The Conference of Catholic Bishops is on one side;

Down to the Wire: In the final haggling to get the Cadillac tax issue resolved and get the budget and deficit numbers right, the House and White House had to really think outside the box to find a way that would get the numbers

All On Board: Dennis Kucinich didnt just switch his own vote on Reform. Hes now helping House leadership whip the vote with other wavering members, something colleagues find astonishing and say theyve never seen him do before.

Rep. Engel (D-NY): A number of TPM Readers wrote in over recent days telling us theyd called Rep. Eliot Engels (D-NY) office and been told, to their surprise, that he was leaning against voting for the Health Care Reform bill. The issue was

Radio Free Caucasian: Colbert: Beck broadcasts on a special frequency only white people can hear. Watch it.

Di-Fecta!: It seems there are two candidates vying to be governor of Georgia who had their high school teaching licenses suspended for misconduct with underaged female students. Normally you have to really look around to find a governors race with even

Reich Remembers: All crystal clear. From Bobs new post ...I was serving in the Clinton administration at the time. In the first months of 1993 it looked as if Clintons health care proposal would sail through Congress. But the process dragged on

Verdict In: Whatever happens with Health Care Reform or the November election, I think we can say that having the American Idol kids sing from the Rolling Stones songbook was a profoundly misguided, perhaps tragic decision.So sue me, Im watching on DVR.

Our Readers Were On It: Late last week, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) was on national TV saying he would switch his vote to no on health care reform because of the provisions affecting illegal immigrants. But readers -- in and out of his district --

Power Line

These are the good old days, Part Three: My conservative cousin from New York finds support for my these are the good old days theme in Great Britian: Your post on Obamacare was really on point. Once the federal government becomes so deeply involved in allocating health care,

By the time I get to Phoenix (health care edition): Video of Bret Baiers 18-minute interview of President Obama in the White House yesterday is below; a transcript of the interview is here. The interview was broadcast on the the Fox News Special Report with Bret Baier. Having previously declared

These are the good old days, Part Two: A friend and occasional Power Line contributor writes:If passes, the Dems will own every doctor complaint out there. Moreover, the complaints will multiply, and not just because care will deteriorate as demand increases and supply decreases. They are going to

We're Gonna Win, Twins: Spring cant come too soon to the Upper Midwest. Thats always true, of course, but especially this year, as the Minnesota Twins open their 2010 pennant drive in brand-new Target Field. Baseball fans here are giddy with excitement. The team

Are our allies guilty by association?: Weve written before about President Obamas willingness to follow only the second half of the Godfathers adage, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Abe Greenwald has described the phenomenon this way: If youre an enemy were sorry; if

Reality takes an unreal shape: In a post called Is Eric Holder a Dope?, we noted a colloquy between Attorney General Holder and Rep. John Culberson in which Holder testifed that Osama bin Laden and Charles Manson are comparable people, at least to the extent

The Current Tally: Byron Yorks sources say their best estimate is that there are now 204 votes for the government health care takeover bill, 209 votes against it, and 18 undecided. The good news, one could infer, is that the Republicans only have

These are the good old days: As they got older, my parents noticed to their dismay that their friends talked more and more about their doctors. According to my parents, nearly all of their friends liked their doctors. However, there was always something to complain about

Is breathing room anything like Lebensraum?: The AEI Irantrackers most recent news roundup provides excerpts from remarks by Presdient Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressing a seminar on job creation: * The Islamic revolution of Iran is a humane revolution reaching beyond the geographic boundaries of Iran... * Our

Is Eric Holder a dope?: Attorney General Eric Holder testified yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee. As you mght expect, members took the opportunity to press Holder on his views regarding terrorists rights. And Holder appears to have given the subject some thought! Fox News

Civility for thee...: Weve followed the speeches given by Obama NEH chairman Jim Leach here (commenting on Leachs The tension between speaking and listening) and here (commenting on Leachs Bridging cultures: NEH and the Muslim world). One finds in both speeches Leachs praise

Cool Cole: Today is the anniversary of the birth of the great Nat King Cole. Cole was born on St. Patrickss Day, though until Daniel Mark Epstein did the research for his biography of Cole, we werent entirely sure that the year

Why Be Like Sweden?: Our Europhile President and many Congressional Democrats aspire to make the United States more like Sweden. More like our outdated image of Sweden, anyway; the real Sweden is undergoing something of a free market renaissance. In this video from the

Obama's self-defeating crusade against Israel: President Obama is attempting to use a mis-timed announcement by Israel of its intention to build housing units in East Jerusulem as a means of pressuring Israel into making major concessions to the Palestinian Authority. Israel has apologized for the

Is That A Threat Or A Promise?: Barack Obama says he wont campaign for any Democrats who vote against the government medicine bill. Somehow, I dont think thats going to have the intended effect.

Throw the Bums Out: Voters seem to be paying attention to the corrupt processes the Democrats are using to try to take control of the health care industries, and they dont like them. Im pretty sure thats the explanation for Scott Rasmussen finding Republicans

Obamacare through the prism of Romneycare: Tim Cahill is the state treasurer of Massachusetts. He recently bolted the Democratic Party to run for governor. The Boston Globe reports Cahills pointed comments on Obamacare as with a local twist:State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, an independent candidate for

3,000 percent!: Stumping for Obamacare yesterday in Ohio, Obama touted its manifold virtues like the patent remedy salesmen of old. For whatever ails us, this legislation is the cure. Here Obama touts the legislations magical reduction of expenses for employers with an

Support Dartmouth United: In addition to Dartmouths trustee elections, which I wrote about here and here, alumni are also electing the executive committee of the Association of Alumni. My friend Mike Murphy has assembled a fine slate which, this time around, is unencumbered

When Obamacare met Obama-ed, part 2: Professor Peter Wood is the anthropologist and president of the National Association of Scholars. He is also the author of the invaluable Diversity: The Invention of a Concept.Professor Wood notes that congressional Democrats have added President Obamas takeover of the

Eschaton

Late Night: Rock On.

Later Evening Thread: Where we eat the little fishes Atrios has grilled.

Thursday Evening Thread: Grilling season begins.

Making References: I was struck by this comment.In any case the distinction is between “passing off the work of others as your own” and “making references that you expect your audience to be educated enough to understand.”Yes of course pure plagiarism is

Happy Hour Thread: enjoy

Wanker of the Day: Chris Cillizza.

Even More Troubles For DSCC Chair John Edwards: Ruh-roh.The National Republican Senatorial Committee has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury looking into the aftermath of Sen. John Ensign’s extramarital affair with a former staffer, adding a new political problem for GOP leaders in their response to the

THREE HEADED MONSTER

Can Lady Liberty's message be the same in an age of Islamic extremists ?: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless,

Is Europe lost already?: With a history of lax immigration policies and emphasis on tolerance, has Europe already been lost to radical Islam? Is the United States headed

Which Presidential hopefuls are in the best position for 2008? Which ones are not ?: With the midterm elections behind us now, which candidates are best positioned for a Presidential run in 2008, and whose Presidential aspirations may have

2006 Election Post Mortem: The real question today is not just who won which race, but what the election results mean for each one of us and the

Exercise your right to vote !: Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a

Time to predict the outcome of the November 2006 election: Each of us will now set forth our respective predictions of the final overall outcome of tomorrows election. We will also predict the specific

Is going Negative a Positive ?: In the last few days before the election it seems like there are no political campaigns left that have not gone negative. The research

Can Barack Obama be elected President ?: In his victory speech, Senator Barack Obama said regarding his long shot candidacy... (When I announced my campaign) at the time, as many of

Should Iraq be Partitioned ?: President Bushs position is that partition as a solution in Iraq is a non-starter. Nevertheless, the idea of partition being part of the solution

Kerry gaffe: November gift ?: You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be

Was Benjamin Franklin right ?: Benjamin Franklin is credited with writing: Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and

Would Democratic control of Congress be a good thing or a bad thing ?: The latest polls indicate that the Democrats may take control of the House and also may take control of the Senate. Not since the

The Political Nature of Man: Aristotle once said, Man is by nature a political animal. In the pages that follow we hope to share with you our political thoughts

Gerald Ford 1913-2006: Former President Gerald Ford passed away on December 26, 2006. We would like to take the time to reflect on this man who had

The First 100 Hours: Democratic leaders in the House have promised to pass several items on their legislative agenda in their first 100 hours in power. Potential items

Will Frederick Kagan's December 14, 2006, "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq" be the(...): Will Frederick Kagans December 14, 2006, Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq be the option that President Bush pursues? If so, should

Are the Holocaust deniers something we should be concerned with?: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has convened approximately 70 researchers such as ex-Klansman David Duke to discuss their doubts about the extent of the Holocaust,

Where do we stand now with regard to Iraq?: There has been a flurry of diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to end the violence in Iraq. With the naming of a new defense

Dear Mahmoud,: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to the American people. Here is your chance to respond.MRB:Dear President Ahmadinejad and Noble Iranians,Thank you for

Are Republicans happy or disappointed that Rep. Pelosi decided Rep. Hastings would not be Chair(...): Even before the election results were final, Republicans began voicing their outrage at the possibility that Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., might become Chairman of

AMERICAblog

Malkin, Limbaugh, Beck attack 11 year old over health care. 11 year old unfazed.: Jed Lewison points us to a report on the latest anti-health care offensive from the right wing noise machine: Malkin, Limbaugh and Beck are attacking an 11 year old kid whose mother died:McClatchys Les Blumenthal reports on the latest line

Where is Lt. Dan Choi?: If I were working at the White House, I would be doing whatever I could to make this go away. Because this is getting very strange.

Sad loss for music lovers - Alex Chilton died: Everyone knows and loves this classic from his days in the Box Tops.

Subpoenas issued to NRSC in case of Senator John Ensign: Its a mystery why John Ensign is still serving in the Senate. Hes the GOPs problem. And, today, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the political arm of Mitch McConnells GOP caucus, got subpoenaed in the Ensign case:A federal grand

Photos: Lt. Dan Choi handcuffs self to White House fence to protest DADT: Lt Dan Choi and Capt James Pietrangelo lead marchers from DCs Freedom Plaza to White House, where Dan and James will handcuff themselves to the White House fence and stay

BREAKING: DADT activists handcuff themselves to fence at White House: John and I are both on the scene at the White House. Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo have handcuffed themselves to the fence in front of the White House to protest Obamas failure to act on the repeal

Even government regulators received millions in bonus money before crash: Apparently ignoring risky behavior and turning a blind eye to problems was worth $19 million from the Bush administration. Sheesh. Its no wonder the Republicans dont want to reform Wall Street. They wanted lax regulation and got it thanks to

Join the blog swarm for ENDA today: Call Speaker Pelosi: Today, AMERICAblog joined a blog swarm for ENDA along with Towleroad, Pams House Blend, Joe My God, Michelangelo Signorile, David Mixner, GoodAsYou.org, Daily Kos, Open Left, Daily Gotham, Culture Kitchen,Taylor Marsh, PageOneQ, Dan Savage, and others. A full explanation and

Initial report is that health care bill will cut deficit by $100 billion: Well be hearing more about this as the day goes on, but the early report on the CBO numbers shows a decline in the deficit:U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Thursday that proposed final healthcare legislation would cut

It's 'not fun' for poor Bart Stupak these days. People are being mean.: Poor Bart Stupak. He put himself into the middle of one of the biggest legislative battles in a long time. He chose to do the bidding of the Catholic Bishops on health care. And, its really, really been rough on

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Good morning.Looks like the CBO will release the score of the health care bill this morning. Thats what everyone is waiting for. The Speaker has promised that there would be 72 hours for the American people to review whats in

Ireland, Germany call for Catholic Church sexual abuse inquiries: The Vatican isnt what it was a few centuries ago or even fifty years ago. The sexual abuse problem has been hidden for years including the bombshell that Cardinal Brady in Ireland attended meetings where 10 year old boys were

Cultural attack or brutal honesty?: Supporting the family of any president is going to be expensive but in this case, the number is considerably higher than in the past. The new South African president has three wives and twenty children. The estimated budget for supporting

'Saudi Arabia' of marine energy signs contracts: This is a very interesting new energy project. Besides the project itself, its also interesting to note that one of the energy companies involved had previously been promoting a coal energy project which was stopped after protests. In France, the

Commemorating Nazis?: Riga, we have a problem. I get the whole we hate Soviet Russia part but praising the Nazi SS in the process is revolting.The remembrance ceremonies at Rigas Freedom Monument and the Lutheran cathedral are hugely divisive because they pay

Where are the Wall Street indictments?: Quite a few people are asking this question including this investment fraud attorney who is a guest writer at CNBC.com today. Its never made sense to me how trillions could disappear and the only people that have been arrested were

If HCR passes is it vindication for Rahm, and proof that liberals are toothless?: Its an interesting question. Now that it appears that liberal Democrats are voting for the Senate health care reform bill, with the Reconciliation fix, is this vindication for Rahm, and more generally, proof that liberal threats have no teeth?Ben Smith

Republicans are funny little people: DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas on the latest GOP obstruction tactics, and the more general GOP tendency to blame us for doing what theyve already done.Congressional Republicans are funny little people. Once obsessed with “nuclear options” and “up-or-down” votes, they have

Hitchens takes on the Vatican over pedophile scandal - the Pope was complicit: Wash Post:Very much more serious is the role of Joseph Ratzinger, before the church decided to make him supreme leader, in obstructing justice on a global scale. After his promotion to cardinal, he was put in charge of the so-called

Interview with Ireland's top blogger, Mick Fealty of SluggerOtoole.com: When I was attending the Personal Democracy Forum conference in Barcelona this past November, I had the good fortune to meet and hang out with Mick

TPMCafe

Public Opinion Backs Obama Not Netanyahu: Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty have it right here except where Wolf characterizes the shift in public opinion as anti-Israel. It is not; it is against settlements and for peace and security for Israelis and Palestines. Even more, it is

Book Review: Zionism's Invented State: Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionismby M. Shahid AlamPalgrave Macmillan, 272 pp., £55.00Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism arrived in the mail shortly after I completed sending a thank you note to two other authors and friends, Kathleen

Reflections from Fort Hood on Seven Years in Iraq: Theres a place in central Texas where valor runs deep and life is deeply connected to something known as warrior ethos. Its also an area known for its warm greetings, wide open spaces, exceptional football and damn good music. And,

What Do Israel and Iran('s Nuclear Weapons / Program) Have to Do With Each Other? Part II: Yesterday I wrote a post with the narrow purpose of picking apart a manipulative and nonsensical conservative talking point regarding the spike in tensions between the US and Israel. Bottom line: completely separate from how any of us feels about

AIPAC Asks Congress To Back Netanyahu, Not Obama ++ Juan Cole Eviscerates Jeffrey Goldberg: The diplomatic crisis over Israeli settlements is going into its second week and there is no sign that either side is backing down. It started when the Israeli government announced that it would expand settlements in East Jerusalem while Vice

What Do Israel and Iran Have to Do With Each Other?: ...well, a lot, obviously. But when it comes to immediate-term US foreign policy objectives -- particularly the current flap over Israeli settlements -- the two are quite separate tracks. I feel compelled to stress this point because of a VERY

What David Brooks' Editors and Producers Keep Missing: Jonathan Chaits New Republic post today, David Brooks At His David Brooksiest, takes to a new level my own not-so-quiet campaign to wake up Brooks enablers and fans:Today, David Brooks has written the platonic ideal of a David Brooks column,

A Terror Trials Pep Talk: There are two reasons I am utterly baffled by the possible reversal of the decision to try terrorists in federal court. First, it comes at a time when efforts to find, kill, and capture terrorists are having significant success. The

Health Care 2010 and 1994, and the Political Lessons of History: Health care reform is necessary, and House Democrats should vote for it because its best for the nation.They should also remember the political lessons of history. To paraphrase Mark Twain, history doesnt repeat itself but it does rhyme. As the

Linkage: Iran, Settlements, Health Care & Israel?: Late yesterday afternoon, I participated in an hour long Alhurra discussion program with three other Middle East specialists: Edmund Ghareeb of American University, Ori Nir of Americans for Peace Now, and David Schenker who directs the Program on Arab Politics

Biden-Israel Blowup Backstory: There is a much more complicated story emerging around the Israeli settlements issue that I just wrote about. Two months ago, General David Petraeus sent his top briefing team to

Keep The Heat On: There are only two political parties in Israel, really, the party that dreads the loss of Greater Israel, i.e., the party of settlements, and, the party that dreads the isolation of global Israel, i.e., the party of America. Think of

A Broadband Jobs Bill: As the FCC finishes its first-ever national broadband plan, Congress and commissioners would do the country a service to see it as a jobs bill -- and to support it for that reason, if no other. As reported in the

AIPAC Blasts Obama Administration ++ US Military Demanded Crackdown: MILITARY DEMANDED CRACKDOWN ON NETANYAHU***Its a standard AIPAC statement. Except this one is blasting the United States and not the Arabs. Not a word criticizing Israel, not a word supporting the President or the US government. Its an incredible document.This

The AIPAC Statement We Need But Have Not Gotten (Yet): I have written the mock press release below partly as farce and partly as hope for the kind of statement that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) might eventually issue in response to the provocative and disconcerting posture of

Rasmussen Poll: Americans Back Obama In Israel Imbroglio: The first poll on the Obama administrations stand on settlements is out. It comes from the right-leaning Rasmussen reports. And its a doozy. It turns out that 49% of American voters believe Israel should be required to stop building settlements.

Book Review: Zionism's Invented State: Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionismby M. Shahid AlamPalgrave Macmillan, 272 pp., £55.00Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism arrived in the mail shortly after I completed sending a thank you note to two other authors and friends, Kathleen

Reflections from Fort Hood on Seven Years in Iraq: Theres a place in central Texas where valor runs deep and life is deeply connected to something known as warrior ethos. Its also an area known for its warm greetings, wide open spaces, exceptional football and damn good music. And,

What Do Israel and Iran('s Nuclear Weapons / Program) Have to Do With Each Other? Part II: Yesterday I wrote a post with the narrow purpose of picking apart a manipulative and nonsensical conservative talking point regarding the spike in tensions between the US and Israel. Bottom line: completely separate from how any of us feels about

AIPAC Asks Congress To Back Netanyahu, not Obama ++ Handy List: The diplomatic crisis over Israeli settlements is going into its second week and there is no sign that either side is backing down. It started when the Israeli government announced that it would expand settlements in East Jerusalem while Vice

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