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NAPOLITANO TO HEAD HOMELAND SECURITY: NAPOLITANO TO HEAD HOMELAND SECURITY

Arraignment set for Cheney, Gonzales in abuse case: Arraignment set for Cheney, Gonzales in abuse case

Calif. Supremes to weigh gay marriage: The California Supreme Court agreed today to review legal challenges to Prop. 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a ruling. Meeting in closed session, the state

Feds: Woman kept indentured servant: Californian accused of forcing captive immigrant to work without pay.

Bolivian pres. says bugged by DEA: Bolivias left-wing president, Evo Morales, accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday of trying to tap his telephone conversations instead of going after cocaine traffickers. Bolivian-U.S. relations have deteriorated in recent months since Morales expelled the U.S. ambassador in

Indians destroy pirate 'mothership': Indians destroy pirate mothership

George Bush snubbed at G20 Summit: CNN: George Bush snubbed at the G20 Summit. Everyone greeting each other and shaking hands, but Bush walks with his head down like the dejected most unpopular kid in high school.Video at the link...

Calif. Supremes to weigh gay marriage: The California Supreme Court agreed today to review legal challenges to Prop. 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a ruling. Meeting in closed session, the state

Op/Ed: Let Big Oil bail out Big 3: Heres some data. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (pdf), Americans drove about three trillion miles last year. To fuel all of that shuttling around, according to the Energy Information Administration, we purchased about 142 billion gallons of gasoline

Indians destroy pirate 'mothership': Somali bandits terrorising the busy shipping routes around the Horn of Africa suffered a rare setback when an Indian warship destroyed a pirate mothership after coming under fire in the Gulf of Aden. The Indian Navy said that its frigate,

Bill Clinton campaigns against GOP 'firewall': Bill Clinton campaigns against GOP firewall

Interpol breach due to cartel turf war?: A vicious turf war between drug cartels and Mexican authorities that has left as many as 4,300 dead so far this year may have caused a breach in the internal security systems of Interpol, the international police organization....

Big 3 bailout vote nixed in Senate: Planned Thursday vote on $25 billion package for automakers cancelled.

Huck: Gays haven't suffered enough: Former Ark. Gov.: Blacks, not gays, have endured violence for civil rights.

NVIDIA: Supercom- puting to desktop: US technology firm NVIDIA rolled out high-performance personal supercomputers Tuesday that let desktop workstations handle mind-boggling tasks once far beyond their capabilities...

From Kurdistan to K Street: Rozen: The routine of Washington foreign policymaking is straightforward and, well, a little boring. Presidents and secretaries of state issue pronouncements in speeches. Diplomats have discussions in ornate ceremonial rooms. Thats the official version, anyhow, and even if were well aware

China No. 1 holder of US treasuries: $585 billion worth tops Japans $573, US Treasury Department reports.

Obama's first drama: Hillary Clinton: I was agnostic on the matter of Hillary Clintons possible appointment as secretary of state--until last night. If Barack Obama, the president-elect, wanted to pull a Team of Rivals play, that had seemed fine to me...

UN hails Russia, Georgia talks: Russia and Georgia made progress in resolving security and refugee issues at international talks here Wednesday but key disagreements were shelved and tensions remain in the wake of their August war, officials said...

Murdoch knocks fatal- ism among journos: Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp., gave a speech on Sunday titled The Future of Newspapers: Moving Beyond Dead Trees. In the speech, he made the bold statement that newspapers would always be around in some

Daily Kos

Tom Cole abdicates as NRCC chair: Bringing to its conclusion one of the leading Epic Fails of modern politics: Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole has withdrawn from the race to remain chairman of the Republicans campaign arm in the House, according to numerous GOP aides, allowing Texas

Today in Congress/Open Thread: In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader: FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 House meets at 10:00 a.m. for Legislative Business No votes are expected Members are advised that following the Pledge of Allegiance, the

Waxman wins.: Roll Call (subscription) reports that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) will be taking over the gavel of the House Energy & Commerce Committee from longtime Chairman John Dingell (D-MI), after a vote of 137-122 in the full House Democratic Caucus. Yesterdays

Zach Wamp Explains GOP Economic Values: GOP Congressman Zach Wamp (a likely candidate for governor in Tennessee) explains the Republican economic philosophy to Chris Matthews: Low wages are a good thing The less health care the better Its time to let people learn their lessons the

Will She Or Won't She?: The speculation on whether or not, and why or why not, Hillary Clinton may or may not become Secretary of State continues: She is definitely unsure of what to do, said one Clinton adviser... The source added that if Clinton

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday: From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE... Im Gay and Ill Kick Yer Ass (right after brunch) Some positive odds and ends while were waiting for the Prop. 8 challenges---which the California Supreme Court will hear in March---to sort themselves out:

Abbreviated Pundit Round-Up: Your one stop pundit shop. Nicholas Kristof warns Barack Obama that he: ...needs a new approach to Russia if we want to avoid a new cold war, and we also need to get over our crush on Misha. Chris Suellentropp

Bush has become a leper at the G20....: (From the diaries -- kos) Its amazing - the entire world body of leaders REFUSES to shake George Bushs hand. The video, courtesy of Greatscat and Youtube: 11-19-08: CNN: George Bush snubbed at the G20 Summit. Everyone greeting each other

Open Thread for Night Owls, Early Birds & Expats: In all the talk about $700 billion bail-outs, $25 billion Big Three rescues and a Dow Jones average that ended Wednesday below 8000 points for the first time in five years, other statistics have

MN-Sen: Coleman lead down to 172 votes: Nate Silver: According to data just released by the Minnesota Secretary of State, Al Franken has gained a net of 43 votes on the first day of that states recount process. Norm Coleman had a lead of 215 voters over

Projecting: Boehlert: Writes Michael Hirsh: For the last few days, the blogosphere has been ablaze with speculation about the kind of damage Hillary Clinton could do to the Obama presidency if she becomes secretary of state. Of course, for the last

Open Thread and Diary Rescue: Tonights rescuers are jlms qkw, vcmvo2, grog, ItsJessMe, HansScholl, taylormattd, and pico. Help support good writing! Dont forget to subscribe to authors whose work you enjoy reading. GTPinNJ proves its never too early to plan for the next election in

Getting closer to resolving our prediction contest: So we have a final presidential map: How many of you predicted an EV total of 365-173? With Alaska decided, all we have left is Minnesota before we can determine the final Senate tally for purposes of the contest. Remember,

GA-Sen: Atlanta Journal-Constitution endorses Jim Martin (again): It being runoff season in Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (the largest paper in the state, and the largest in the South outside of Texas) has deemed it importance to restate an endorsement they already made once in Georgias Senate race.

More on Bush Burrowing: Schumer and Feinstein have acted in response to the Washington Posts story on how some of the most controversial of Bushs political appointees have burrowed into civil service positions, which I wrote about here, as it pertains to the Interior

The Dow Closes Below 8,000: The Bush economy in action: The Dow, as Bush takes office: 10,587.59 The Dow, eight years later: 7,997.28 Thats GOP economics for ya. You betcha.

Lieberman can be stripped "at any time"?: Yes, this story has the name Lieberman in it. No, this story isnt about whether or not Lieberman is a good choice or a bad choice to head the Homeland Security Committee, or about whether the Senators who voted to

Late Afternoon/Early Evening Open Thread: Continuing with the photography theme of a couple of late afternoon open threads last week, may I recommend the new Life magazine photo archives now hosted by Google? Yes, addictive and time-consuming in a positive, historical kind of way. This

Kerry To Head Senate Foreign Relations Committee?: From the Boston Globe: More than three decades after he first appeared before the panel as a 27-year-old Vietnam veteran-turned-antiwar protester, Senator John F. Kerry is widely expected to be named the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,

Gains in blood red Utah: The glowing county below is Salt Lake City County in the 2004 election, which Bush won 60-38, with a margin of about 85,000 votes. This year? Updated vote tallies show that President-elect Barack Obama beat Republican John McCain in Salt

Think Progress

Senate Throws Good-Bye Party For Ted Stevens, Gives Convicted Felon A Standing Ovation: Today, Ted Stevens — Alaska’s defeated Republican senator and a convicted felon — was granted time on the Senate floor to deliver his farewell speech. Stevens said that he still can’t believe that he’s “privileged to speak on the floor

Waxman beats out Dingell to chair House Energy and Commerce Committee.: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) will replace Rep. John Dingell (D-MA) as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over global warming legislation. Waxman beat Dingell, currently the longest-serving member of the House, in a secret

World leaders refuse to shake Bush’s hand during G20 photo-op.: CNN’s Rick Sanchez highlighted yesterday that during last weekend’s G20 Economic Summit, leaders from around the world refused to acknowledge or shake hands with President Bush as they walked on stage for a photo-op. As Sanchez explained, everyone was “greeting

Iraqi version of SOFA called a ‘withdrawal accord.’: Late last month during the heated negotiations over the U.S.-Iraq security agreement, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took issue with the pact’s terminology. “We don’t call it a security pact but an agreement to withdraw the troops and organize their activities

Jobless claims jump to 16-year high.: New claims for unemployment jumped unexpectedly to a 16-year high last week, the Labor Department reported, with 542,000 new claims for jobless benefits being filed. “Claims above 400,000 are generally considered a sign of recession, and claims have been above

ThinkFast: November 20, 2008: Politico reports that President-elect Obama has chosen Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Napolitano is a border governor who “brings law-and-order experience from her stint as the Grand Canyon State’s first female

McConnell bids farewell to outgoing GOP senators…except Ted Stevens.: This evening, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took to the Senate floor and paid tribute to Republican senators who lost their re-election bids. While McConnell had plenty of nice words for Norm Coleman, Elizabeth Dole, John Sununu, he never

Kagan: Status Of Forces Agreement Was ‘A Great Accomplishment For Us’ Because It’s ‘Opp(...): On Sunday, after nearly a year of intense negotiations, Iraq’s cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security agreement that requires coalition forces to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. The next day, surge architect and American Enterprise Institute scholar Frederick

‘Kristol Ball’ Breaks: Stevens Will ‘Hang On In Alaska,’ McCain Will Conquer The ‘Pat(...): Yesterday, Anchorage mayor Mark Begich was declared the winner in Alaska’s tight U.S. Senate race, defeating Ted Stevens’s hopes of coming back for a seventh term. As the AP notes, “Tuesday’s tally of just over 24,000 absentee and other ballots

Huckabee: Prop. 8 Did Not ‘Prohibit’ Same-Sex Marriage: Conservative talker Bill Bennett interviewed Mike Huckabee on his radio show this morning. In the course of their interview, Huckabee falsely claimed that in approving Prop. 8, California did not “ban” or “prohibit” marriage equality, but rather simply affirmed the

Perino: SOFA Means U.S. Can ‘Celebrate The Victory’ In Iraq: Ever since Iraq’s cabinet “overwhelmingly approved” a proposed security agreement that mandates the full withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, the White House has been engaged in a rhetorical dance — in large part

O’Reilly surrenders to the War on Christmas: Touts his ‘holiday reading list.’: For years, Bill O’Reilly has been ranting about an alleged “War on Christmas,” claiming liberals are unjustly replacing “Christmas” festivities with “Holiday” festivities. News Hounds notes that O’Reilly isn’t practicing what he preaches, as he is showing off a “holiday

Daschle’s Views On Health Reform: ‘Incremental Change In Our System Is No Longer A Viable O(...): In a sign that he may adopt a comprehensive approach to solving the health care crisis, President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Ezra Klein points out, “you

Rep. Ackerman: Auto Execs’ Private Jet Travel Like Guy At ‘The Soup Kitchen In High Hat And(...): Today, the CEOs of the Detroit Big Three returned to Capitol Hill to ask for $25 billion in loans. Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner insisted, “We’re all slashing back” on non-essential expenses, promising,

House Democratic Steering Committee approves Waxman over Dingell.: The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted 25-22 earlier today to recommend House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to take over as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee from Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). A final decision “will

Eric Holder: A Rebuke Of Bush-League Justice: The New York Times reports today that President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team “signaled to Eric H. Holder Jr., a senior official in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration, that he will be chosen as attorney general.” While the Obama

Obama’s resignation letter read on Senate floor.: Today, a Senate floor spokesperson read out loud Barack Obama’s resignation letter. The letter read: “To the President of the Senate: This letter is to inform you that I resign from the United States Senate effective November 16, 2008, in

Reports: Daschle accepts job as HHS Secretary.: Roll Call reports that Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), who is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, “has been offered the job of Health and Human Services secretary by President-elect Barack Obama and has

Kristol: Americans Have Seen ‘Plenty Of Coffins’ From The Iraq War: Yesterday during a panel discussion hosted by the the IFC Media Project, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol got into a testy argument with columnist and author Pete Hamill over whether Americans are getting a realistic view of the Iraq war

eHarmony will begin providing same-sex dating matches.: The AP reports that as part of a settlement with New Jersey’s Civil Rights Division, online dating service eHarmony “will begin providing same-sex matches. … Under terms of the settlement, the company can create a new or differently named Web

Little Green Footballs

And Now for Some Todd Rundgren: One of Todd Rundgren’s coolest (I won’t say “best”) bands at its tightest, with a song titled Unloved Children.Must be a factory somewhereKeeps on cranking them outSeems like they travel in pairsNot worth the trouble but too full of cloutSomebody

And Now, the Petaflop Computer: More than one quadrillion floating-point calculations per second: Supercomputers Break Petaflop Barrier, Transforming Science.A new crop of supercomputers is breaking down the petaflop speed barrier, pushing high-performance computing into a new realm that could change science more profoundly than at

Center-Right Nation: Exit Stage Left: Tod Lindberg, Hoover Institution fellow and Policy Review editor (and informal foreign policy adviser to the McCain campaign), weighs in on the swirling socialcon controversy: The Center-Right Nation Exits Stage Left.Here’s the stark reality: It is now harder for the

Onion: China's Andy Rooney, Poyuan Wei

Update: Dennis Ross Says No Arab Peace Initiative: Barack Obama’s Middle East adviser Dennis Ross says the Times of London’s report that Obama will support the Arab peace plan concocted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah is false.Former American peace envoy Dennis Ross, who is a senior advisor to

IAEA Springs Into Action: More than a year after an Israeli air strike took care of it, the United Nations’ blind, toothless nuclear watchdog thinks there might have been an illicit nuclear reactor in Syria.VIENNA (Reuters) – A Syrian complex bombed by Israel bore

The Seamy Story of the ISB Mosque Project: The Boston Phoenix has a huge new piece on the Islamic Society of Boston’s mosque project, a story of government corruption, Islamic extremism, and piles of cash from oil-rich Arab states: Menino’s mosque.Most locals concede that getting anything of substance

Wednesday Afternoon Papaya

Vlaams Belang Chairman Stripped of EU Immunity: Frank Vanhecke, chairman of the extreme right Belgian Vlaams Belang party and member of the European Parliament, has been stripped of his EU immunity, leaving him open to prosecution for “incitement” under Belgian law.BRUSSELS (JTA) — The European Parliament waived the

Bill Ayers and Sirhan Sirhan: In this video clip, Bill Ayers first says he regrets dedicating his Weather Underground manifesto, Prairie Fire, to Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan, then tries to deny it, saying “Show me.”OK.The dedication is on Page 5 of Prairie Fire,

Egyptian Physician Insults Barack Obama: This is the kind of stuff that might actually turn the far left against Al Qaeda, as Ayman al-Zawahri unleashes a racist tirade against Barack Obama: Al-Qaeda No. 2 Calls Obama Dishonorable ‘House Negro’.The No. 2 leader in Al-Qaeda, Ayman

And Now for Some Don Ross: Acoustic guitar virtuoso Don Ross with a right-hand tour de force titled Robot Monster.

Video: Obama's Transition Team: This is the same group that did the MSNBC “tigers” spoof, and OK, they take a couple of shots at President Bush, but who cares, it’s teh funny. I’m pretty sure Bush would laugh at it.

Tech Note: The New Web Server's Here: Well, not quite here, but it’s set up and ready to migrate everything over from the current one, the one that’s serving the page you’re reading right now.The old one is a dual core Xeon 3.0, the new one is

Whitman and Bostock: Free the GOP: Several readers emailed about this Washington Post column by By Christine Todd Whitman and Robert M. Bostock on a subject that’s been responsible for several highly contentious threads at LGF: Free the GOP. Subtitled: “The Party Won’t Win Back the

Obama's NSA and CIA Picks: Omri Ceren’s headline says it all: Obama’s Top NSA And CIA Picks: Harsh On Israel, Sympathetic To Iran And Hezbollah.Well that was totally unpredictable wasn’t it?General James L. Jones is widely rumored to be Obama’s preferred candidate to be White

Germany Antisemitism Watch: Deutsche Welle reports on yet another incident of antisemitic cemetery desecration in Germany: Germany Condemns Swinish Acts of Antisemitic Vandalism. “Swinish.” There’s a word you don’t see much in US media; it definitely fits.Authorities announced on Tuesday, November 18 that

98% of Texas Science Professors Reject 'Intelligent Design': As we noted recently, the Texas State Board of Education has appointed three “intelligent design” creationists to a six-member committee that will review the state’s science curricula for public schools, two of them affiliated with the Discovery Institute—and these two

'Censored' Yet Somehow Still Whining: People banned from LGF for supporting fascists and/or being hostile obsessive jerks whine endlessly about being “censored” (with no sense of irony whatsoever) as the Infidel Blogger Awards nominates me for “Biggest Pro-Censorship Ass-Hat.”

Victory in Iraq Day: Victory in Iraq Day, November 22, 2008. Put it on your calendars.

Crooks and Liars

C&L's Late Nite Music Club with Duffy: From the album RockferryI heard this song on my radio and I thought it was a great modern update to the female R&B singers stylings of the 60s. Imagine my surprise to find this Welsh woman in her early 20s

Open Thread: Open thread below...And dont forget to call Cangress and tell them to vote for Henry Waxman for E&C. Hes someone we need at this point in time.1 (800) 828 - 04981 (866) 338 - 10151 (877) 851 - 64371 (800)

C&L's Late Night Music Club with Patrick Dwyer: Because I used to work at a record company I still get tons of demos from aspiring artists. It makes no sense because used to means now Im a blogger and I dont do music biz anymore. Most of the

D.L. Hughley asks: If it's a center-right country, what about the election?: Bay Buchanan tried spouting the right-wing meme that this is still a center-right country when she was on D.L. Hughleys CNN show this weekend, and he had a simple question:Hughley: Bay, do you think all the evidence -- even the

The House Negro: Al-Qaida has released a new and sophisticated piece of propaganda, this time introducing race into their attack on America. Stylistically, this is advanced but whether or not theyve miscalculated how the American public will react remains to be seen. Malcolm

When Conservatives are down, all they have to say is "Card Check": As the country begins to turn away from Conservatism and Bush and depression runs deep in their veins, there does seem to be a phrase that lifts up their spirits. Everybody stand up and say Card Check.Its also known as

The Colbert Report: The Vetting Process: With Hillary Clintons nomination to Secretary of State pending the vetting process looking at Bills international dealings, Stephen sits down with Cliff Sloan, former Clinton administration official, to get vetted for his inevitable appointment to the Obama Cabinet.The thing you

Specter says telecom immunity is 'festering wound': Download | Play Download | PlayMSNBCs Andrea Mitchell asked Sen. Arlen Specter about Barack Obamas choice of Eric Holder as Attorney General.

Rush Limbaugh attacks pensions and the American Dream: You should work till you die: The anti-union movement is on, and it all is centered around the automotive industrys quest for a rescue package/loan from the government. Limbaugh leads the charge in his Monday, Nov. 17 broadcast. As the clip unfolds it appears that his

Ned Lamont gives his take on the Lieberman saga: Download | Play Download | PlayA voice of reason explains what went down yesterday and why regarding the continuing saga of Joe Lieberman. A bit of background first for those who

Waxman edges Dingell on committee vote to be Oversight and Government Reform Chairman: I wrote earlier that I was supporting Waxman for the Chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee. This is good news.Congress Daily:By a three-vote margin, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee today recommended that Oversight and Government Reform Chairman

Tom Daschle will head up Obama's HHS, and serves as point on health care: Download | Play Download | PlaySo Tom Daschle is going to be Health and Human Services Secretary. Even the Republicans agree that its a brilliant

I'm Backing Waxman for the Chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee: Heres a very important story. How great has Waxman been since 06? I think he needs our backing in this fight for the Chairmanship. Im here for you Henry.Matt Stoller explains: Automakers and Dingell vs. WaxmanIm surprised, given the amount

Mike's Blog Roundup: AfterDowningStreet: The Bush administration is embedding their foot soldiers inside the government in order to sabotage any Obama initiatives while at the same time terminating federal employees who they assume would be supportive of the new administration. Obsidian Wings: Rumors

Michelle Bachmann denies saying she wanted the media to investigate members of Congress who mig(...): Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather)Michelle Bachmann is a pretty wild person as weve seen, but after spewing venom at Barack Obama for a few

Phony wingnut poll promoter gets testy when called out: Nate Silver interviewed John Ziegler, the wingnut who commissioned that falsehood-based poll purporting to demonstrate that Obama voters were stooopid. Silvers questions, as you can see, are perfectly normal and reasonable, but

Open Thread: by Pittsburgh artist Ian Short. Open Thread below...

Late Night Music Club with Jason Joseph: A few months ago the Late Night Music Club debuted Jason Josephs first single, One Man. A friend of ours did his own very powerful Obama-oriented video for it. Today Jason sent us the official video-- simple, stark and extremely

Hulk Smushed! Mark Begich declared winner in Alaska: Download | Play Download | PlayMark Begich finally takes down Ted Stevens, the rampaging Hulk from Alaska.Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the Republican lawmaker convicted on felony corruption

Adieu, Marilyn Musgrave: A fond look back: I know were supposed to be all bipartisan and forgiving and stuff in the wake of the Great Repudiation, but sometimes youve gotta sit back and smell the schadenfreude. Case in point: Colorado Republican Marilyn Musgrave:Two weeks after the brutal

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

eHarmony forced to offer same-sex dating services: Read this post »

“Demented:” Joy Behar disses homeschool students: Bigot.

Four words about Kathleen Parker: Read this post »

Where in the world: You can catch me on Neil Cavuto’s show today on FNC at around 4:10pm-ish Eastern. Read the rest »

Murtha Watch: Cut-and-run smear merchant wants immunity: Read this post »

al Qaeda calls Obama “House Negro:” Zawahiri just lacks, you know, “empathy”: Testing, testing...

Gagging pro-lifers in New York City: Zoning out free speech.

The Washington Monthly

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. * The statewide recount in Minnesota is off to a good start for Al Franken. With...

Waxman edges Dingell for gavel: WAXMAN EDGES DINGELL FOR GAVEL.... This comes as something of a surprise. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) will become the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee after House Democrats voted to replace current Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.). The...

Change: CHANGE.... Were still quite a ways from knowing what Obamas entire team is going to look like, but this debate seems to be increasingly common. I think several individuals are very frustrated to think that President-elect Obama may just cut...

The deteriorating job market: THE DETERIORATING JOB MARKET.... I dont want to alarm anyone, but the job market appears to be in pretty horrendous shape. New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more...

Dems hurt McConnell's feelings?: DEMS HURT MCCONNELLS FEELINGS?.... I can appreciate the fact that the Senate operates with a certain degree of cordiality, but surely members realize that when the election season comes, party leaders on both sides want to increase the size of...

The fairness doctrine, paranoia, and right-wing self-pity: THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, PARANOIA, AND RIGHT-WING SELF-PITY.... Ive been fascinated of late with the far-right hysteria about the reemergence of the fairness doctrine, because conservative activists are gearing up for a knock-down brawl against an enemy that doesnt exist. Everyone...

Bringing all the healthcare pieces together: BRINGING ALL THE HEALTHCARE PIECES TOGETHER.... Following up on Hilzoys overnight item, momentum for major healthcare reform in the next Congress got a little stronger yesterday, when the health insurance industry said it would support extending coverage to everyone, in...

Napolitano to DHS: NAPOLITANO TO DHS.... There were widespread hopes that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) would find a role in the Obama administration, so the overnight news was encouraging. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of...

Too Small to Fail: TOO SMALL TO FAIL.... The impact of the financial crisis on the banking industry has been pretty obvious, with most of the financial services industry in turmoil. But theres part of this story thats been largely overlooked: humble local banks...

Don't Throw Me In That Briar Patch!: Dont Throw Me In That Briar Patch! Well, this is interesting: The health insurance industry said Wednesday that it would support a health care overhaul requiring insurers to accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability. But in return, the...

Wednesday's Mini-Report: WEDNESDAYS MINI-REPORT.... Todays edition of quick hits: * Another painful day on Wall Street, with the Dow falling 427 points. It closed just below the 8,000 mark, a five-year low. * On a related note, in October, the Consumer Price...

McCain wins Missouri: MCCAIN WINS MISSOURI.... It took a little longer than expected, but we now know the results of the presidential race from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Missouri, the lone holdout, was called today for McCain. With all...

And then there were 58: AND THEN THERE WERE 58.... I was holding off a bit, waiting to see if thered be a statewide recount, but thankfully, Senator and convicted felon Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) conceded this afternoon. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has conceded defeat to...

Team of Rivals: TEAM OF RIVALS.... Doris Kearns Goodwins Team of Rivals, about Abraham Lincoln stocking his cabinet with his political enemies to help forge political reconciliation, has been getting more than its share of attention. The President-elect has not only talked about...

Even the Bushies: EVEN THE BUSHIES.... When it comes to the Bush administrations environmental policies, theres a fairly predictable pattern -- scientists will weigh in, career EPA employees will agree with them, and Bushs political appointees will ignore all of them. This one,...

Boehner's luck: BOEHNERS LUCK.... The result was a foregone conclusion, but the House Republican caucus made it official this afternoon, choosing to keep House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) as their leader. The vote count hasnt been released, but he reportedly handily...

Private jets: PRIVATE JETS.... Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, understands the importance of symbolic gestures and public relations. Yesterday, for example, when he arrived on Capitol Hill, hat in hand, hoping to convince lawmakers to help bail out American auto manufacturers, he...

Daschle to head HHS?: DASCHLE TO HEAD HHS?.... Even before the election, drafts of what an Obama cabinet might look like had former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle taking the lead at HHS. If the reports today are accurate, thats exactly whats going to...

Emanuel vows to 'throw long and deep': EMANUEL VOWS TO THROW LONG AND DEEP.... My biggest concern about Rahm Emanuel becoming the next White House chief of staff is his record of incrementalism. With that in mind, it was hard not to find his comments yesterday very...

Wednesday's campaign round-up: WEDNESDAYS 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. * The recount begins today in Minnesotas closely watched Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al...

Wonkette

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...

Clinton-Press Relationship Is More Dysfunctional Than Your Tragic Marriage: Hillary Clinton continued the Enfranchisement Tour 2k8 today in South Dakota, which is fully franchised and will likely go for Obama on June 3 but doesnt matter. While there she visited the only...

Dunkin' Donuts Nixes Terrorist Rachael Ray Ad: Remember when those nuts on the right, Michelle Malkin and Charles Johnson, condemned beloved fast food bakery Dunkin Donuts for letting teevee chef Rachael Ray wear a Palestinian scarf in this ad?...

Dana Perino Confused By Most Things, But Specifically McClellan's Criticism: The White House has issued a Papal Bull in response to former press secretary Scott McClellans new book, in which he makes bland accusations about the Bush administration like they may not have...

'MY FIRZT VOTE IN MY WHOLE EFFEN LIFE ..AND ITZ FOR HILLARY': Way back in the early 1990s, America learned the hard way that strange e-mails from people with AOL e-mail addresses like krazi hott lucey are not hott even if they are krazi. In other words,...

John McCain Gets No Love From Hollywood: John McCain is doing his best to romance The Hollywoods, but he has found few wealthy gay liberals willing to listen to his uplifting message of war without end. As a result, he has only been able to...

Barack Obama To Puerto Rico: I'm Mexican, Too!: Heres Barry Obamas latest pitch to the Puerto Ricans, which he delivers in their native language. He seems to be mentioning, once again, that he was born on an island too. And then he says that...

Kwame Kilpatrick Vetoes His Own Removal: Things havent gotten much better since we last checked in on Kwame Kilpatrick, the comical mayor of Detroit and a leading contender for Barack Obamas black vice presidency. You may recall that his...

Somebody Got An Obama Tattoo On His/Her Leg!: Hey people, if you are in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, you might stop by Studio 13 Creative Skin Design and ask Ryan Hadley for one of these sweet Barack Obama tattoos. Now GO GO GO, FIND US PHOTOS...

Brave Anti-O'Reilly Crusader Fired: Remember Barry Nolan, the cable news guy who courageously took a stand against some backwater TV organization giving Bill OReilly a prize for working once in the greater Boston metropolitan area?...

Poisoning The Well: New regulations make it harder than ever to go bankrupt these days — but that hasnt stopped many hard-working Americans from rising to the challenge. A U.S. businessman says...

Bush Propagandist Complains Of Bush Propaganda: Scott McClellan, one of approximately 200 Bush Administration spokesmen since 2001, left the White House a few years ago. During his tenure, he lied about Iraq, Katrina, Terror, and whatever else was...

Talking Points Memo

Not Reassuring ...: From Reuters ...Citigroup Inc faced a crisis of confidence on Wednesday as investors questioned the survival prospects of the U.S. banking giant, and its shares tumbled 23 percent to a 13-year low.The second-largest U.S. bank by assets has been reeling

Latest out of Minnesota: Today was the first day recounting in Minnesota. And Al Franken made up some decent ground against Norm Coleman. The day started with Coleman ahead by 215 votes. And after recounting 18% of the precincts, Franken had picked up 41

Annals of Bad PR: Detroit CEOs fly private jets to DC to seek taxpayer bailout.

TPMtv: The Day in 100 Seconds

Ted Stevens Concedes: The old rascal finally admits defeat in Alaskas protracted election process.

Holder Is No Gonzo: A quick look at what Eric Holders public statements on the issues swirling around the Bush Justice Department suggest about his potential tenure as attorney general.

The Streak Ends: Missouri officially goes for McCain.And our map is finally completed.

The Mandate: Former Sen. Tom Daschles possible nomination as secretary of HHS is another sign to advocates of heath care reform that Obama means business and will put health care front and center early next year.

TPMtv: Just Start Bailing: Bailout duo Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke took to the Hill again yesterday to talk TARP, while the CEOs of the Big Three car companies tried to get in on the action. In todays episode of TPMtv, we bring you

A TPM Bailout?: No, dont fret, were not reorganizing as a bank holding company to access TARP funds. And relative to a lot of other companies our finances are holding up well. But we are considering funding our own micro-bailout ... well, maybe

Better in the Senate: It seems that Clinton at the State Department is close to a done deal. But I think we should consider that during her time on the national stage Sen. Clinton has been at the helm in two big undertakings --

Daschle on Health Care Reform: Reports in the last hour name former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as Obamas pick to be the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.Heres an interview Steve Clemons did with Daschle earlier this year on the

Burrowing In: In response to the stories this week about Bush political appointees burrowing in to career positions in the federal government, weve gotten some reader emails that suggest people arent entirely clear on how this works -- or what the point

Final Acts: Even some Bush political appointees at EPA are crying foul over the administrations 11th-hour push to allow major polluters to build near national parks and wilderness areas.

Lost in Foggy Bottom: At the NY Observer, John Koblin has a fun rundown of the press hyperventilation over Obamas possible but not quite yet offer of State and Hillarys possible but not quite yet acceptance.

Hagiography Alert: From todays Page 1 canonization of Henry Paulson by the Washington Post:As he pored over the books of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he discovered that they were about to collapse and that the financial markets would experience

Election Central Morning Roundup: John McCain will reportedly run for re-election in 2010. That and the days other political news in the TPM Election Central Morning Roundup.

It Looks Like It's Over for Uncle Ted: The AP calls the Alaska Senate race for Mark Begich.

Texas Justice: An odd report out of South Texas where a Willacy County grand jury has apparently indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But this doesnt look like the comeuppance so many have hoped for. I cant

TPMtv: The Day in 100 Seconds

Power Line

But of course: Yesterday, I wrote: I dont see why a president hoping to sustain a larger than life persona would want a larger than life Secretary of State who has been his bitter rival. A reader explains:The answer is that Mr. Obama

An exceedingly strange new respect, part 2: Yesterday in An exceedingly strange new respect I noted Noemie Emerys column on Hillary Clinton. Emery traced the evolution of the respect at least some conservatives accorded Hillary Clinton as she found her footing opposing Barack Obama in the course

Time To Get Away From It All?: The stock market is tanking, taxes are rising, the news headlines are all bad. So if youre ready to flee, consider a tree house. Popular Mechanics profiles ten of the worlds greatest tree houses. Here is just one:

Eric Holder -- perfect for Obama, bad for the county: Im not seeing anything to like about Eric Holder as our next Attorney General. What I see is one-third standard-issue leftist -- on hate crimes, on racial preferences, on criminal rights, on terrorist rights (see this NRO editorial) -- and

Why not the worst? part 2: In the video below, Eric Holder testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the pardons extended by President Clinton to the 16 FALN terrorists in August 1999. Then Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch grills Holder concerning the lack of screening

Minnesota Recount Update: The recount in Minnesotas Coleman-Franken Senate race is underway; today, Franken gained a net 28 votes in Democratic St. Louis County. The gain was attributed to older voting machines that failed to read faint pencil marks. A Republican spokesman said

Now They've Gone Too Far!: Al Qaedas number two crackpot, Ayman Zawahiri, called Barack Obama a house Negro in an audio tape released tomorrow. That was beyond the pale, as State Department spokesman Sean McCormack explained:Its just, you know, more despicable comments from a terrorist,

Pirates of Washington: Michael Ramirez unites two stories in the news today; click to enlarge:

Across the great divide, Part Three: At TPMCafe, I have explained what is probably my main criticism of Angler, Barton Gellmans book about the Cheney vice presidency. Theres plenty to like about the book, but here I focus on what I see as a flaw:One of

Cleaning Up After the New Deal: In the Wall Street Journal, Holman Jenkins contemplates the idea that Barack Obama may launch a second New Deal:His friends advise Barack Obama to launch a New New Deal. Maybe thats because the old New Deal is sinking fast.Mr. Obamas

Check Out the Power Line Report: Weve been doing a weekly show for Pajamas TV called the Power Line Report. PJTV is a fledgling news network that has attracted a lot of talent in a short time. (No, I dont mean us!) The shows have been

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt: Thats the title of Mitt Romneys op-ed in todays New York Times. Romneys reasoning closely parallels what weve laid out here:I have several prescriptions for Detroits automakers.First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That

An old and limited respect: My respect for Hillary Clinton is neither new nor, I hope exceedingly strange. I have always considered her smart, but not as smart as advertised, resilient, and ruthless. Her campaign against Barack Obama largely reinforced this assessment. During the campaign,

Pirates of Somalia: Yesterdays Wall Street Journal reported the story of the seizure of the Saudi oil supertanker MV Sirius Star by Somali pirates. John wrote about it last night here. Mark Steyn comments here. Reader Charles Barker is a former Coast Guard

Why not the worst?: National Review makes the case that in ordinary times Eric Holder would simply be an uninspired choice for Attorney General. For these times, however, NR argues that it is difficult to imagine a worse choice for AG than Eric Holder.

An exceedingly strange new respect: We are all familiar with the strange new respect accorded nominal Republicans or former conservatives who betray their supporters. As Wlady Pleszczynski recalls, Bethell began bestowing the Strange New Respect Award on once-reliable conservatives who won the praise of the

Creative destruction at risk: Niall Ferguson is a bestselling author, a professor of history at Harvard, a senior research fellow at Oxford, and a senior fellow at Stanfords Hoover Institution. Ferguson is also as engaging a speaker as one could wish to hear. Last

African Piracy Resurgent: I dont have any special insight into the hijacking of a Saudi oil tanker by a gang of Somali pirates, other than to note that it is a remarkable story, and hardly a fluke. Pirates in the Indian Ocean have

Across the great divide, Part Two: The discussion of Angler, Bart Gellmans book about the Cheney vice presidency, continues at TPMCafe Book Club. Today, I responded to posts by Spencer Ackerman and Jacob Heilbrunn. Ackerman proposed a grand unified theory of Cheneyism under which the driving

Eric Holder, AG?: News reports indicate that Barack Obama has offered the post of Attorney General to Eric Holder. No surprise there, except perhaps on the part of internet liberals who thought the Obama administration would be different in some significant respect from

Eschaton

Overnight: enjoy

Suck On This, Tommy Friedman: His wifes family biz might go BK.

Late Night: enjoy

Facts Are Stupid Things: And the ones Bill OReilly makes up are even stupider.

More Thread: You talk too much.

Evening Thread: Enjoy.

The Bloggers: Ive been amused by the frequency at which the bloggers has become a new journalistic shorthand for slightly unreasonable and noisy people on the internets who the journalist can then courageously disagree with.

THREE HEADED MONSTER

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

What role should Iran and Syria play in a post war Iraq ?: With the Bush administration being pushed toward a regional resolution to the war in Iraq, the question becomes what role, if any, should Iran

What should US economic policy be toward Asia?: With President Bush wrapping up his latest Asian tour, should any changes be made to US economic policy in regard to Asia, or are

What do we do about Iran's impending nuclear capability ?: President Bush has mainly been talking about economic and diplomatic isolation, however, the administration is also leaving open the option of military action. The

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

AMERICAblog

Fed cuts growth rates again, hints at more rate cuts: The US is going to be fortunate to see positive growth in 2011 but even that may be optimistic. I cant say what the Fed is seeing out there that suggests the bad news will be gone by the end

Briton's "national pastime" is over: Shopping, of course. The US used to be the world leader in personal debt but today its the UK, where its even greater than the GDP. (The US is slightly lower.) As the economy melts down the endless shopping days

Yet another reason why Big Auto is failing: Clueless. Absolutely clueless. Anyone who is serious about keeping their company afloat - let alone snag billions - needs to re-think the way they do business. Management always loves to criticize the unions for costing too much but this royal

Housing starts fall to lowest levels since 1959: A nation of whiners or is the unrepentant Phil Gramm just an arrogant buffoon? From CNN:Housing starts and permits, both of them key measurements of home construction, hit record lows in October, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.Housing starts reached an

BREAKING: Obama picks AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security: Shes no Sarah Palin, but I guess shell do:Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor

Today eHarmony, tomorrow the world: About time.Online dating service eHarmony is adding another personality trait to its 29 dimensions of computability.The California-based company will begin providing same-sex matches under as part of a settlement with New Jerseys Civil Rights Division.Garden State resident Eric McKinley filed

MoDo likes Hillary for State: Maureen Dowd:One person who famously opposed Hillary’s presidential bid thinks she’d make a great secretary of state.“She’s smart and tough, a lot better than any of the old hacks like Holbrooke, Albright, etc.,” says David Geffen. “Barack Obama is going

How Oklahoma missed the Obama revolution: From the Oklahoma Gazette:The world wept for joy; Oklahoma spat defiantly. The glory train of history pulled out of the station; Oklahoma waved goodbye and said “good riddance.” Dr. King’s dream came true; Oklahoma slumbered on, curled up on the

Bush snubbed at G-20 summit

Meet the newest member of the AMERICAblog team: Joe got a dog. His name is Petey. Hes freaking adorable. Joe adopted him from the Washington Humane Society this afternoon. Like Boomer, who passed away last week, Petey is

Massive privacy breach leads to extortion over medical records: Wow. This company has records on 15% of the entire US population - and those records now appear to be in the hands of criminals.Corporate custodians of confidential medical data should be closely monitoring events connected to a nightmarish computer

Conservative writer Kathleen Parker says the religious right is killing the Republican party: A real tour de force here. You may recall that Parker was one of the first, and only, conservatives to come out an admit that Sarah Palin was an embarrassment. Here she takes on quite possible the GOPs biggest sacred

Daschle to be HHS secretary: No links yet. Roll Call doesnt provide their content for free, so no linky for Roll Call.

It's now way easier to post a comment on our blog: What are comments?Blog comments are a way for you, or any reader, to publicly join in a blog community (anonymously, if you like). Youll notice that under each title on this page theres a button that says comments. If you

South Park creators to write Broadway musical lampooning Mormons: Mormons have now become a cultural joke as a result of their overbearing intervention into politics. Way to go! They went from an obscure, misunderstood religion that most people had heard of but didnt know much about, to one of

AIG paying $3 million to executives who were fired: Amazing that AIG does not yet get it. Its time to use the power that the government has over there and clean house. The excuse from AIG is that this was deferred compensation that was previously earned. Um, yeah, but

Franken-Coleman recount starts today: “The scoreboard reads 0-0 with 2.9 million to go.”: Today, in Minnesota, the recount begins in the Senate race. MinnPost.com has an excellent piece explaining the current situation and what will happen over the next several days. The recount will determine the winner:“We do not know the winner .

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Good morning.Theres a lot going on out there. Its freezing in DC today. 27 degrees and windy. But, I saw that it will be 70 in Denver.So, Ted Stevens is gone. Congrats to Mark Begich. I met the Senator-election this

Want to enjoy some fresh air at a national park? Bush doesn't think so: Perhaps Bush is worried that hes not as unpopular as he could be. You need to have goals and who wants to be the first loser when you can be number one? Just imagine when we have an EPA that

Christianists stymied HIV research: Yet another reason why we should thank God that these self-important neanderthals with the intellectual curiosity of Sarah Palin are finally out of power. There is a price to letting under-educated luddites with delusions of grandeur in the halls of

TPMCafe

A Rorschach Test: I replied to Pauls first post before reading the most recent. So a few more words on the Potemkin Washington that Paul sees in my book.Paul says that in Angler-world the only pairs of sharp elbows appear to

What Really Happened: Uh oh. I waited too long to weigh back in, and now theres way too much to talk about. Ill address two points now and post again as soon as I can.Jake asks whats so new about a

Potemkin Washington: My opinion of Angler has become more favorable during the course of this discussion as I see some of the paths Bart didnt take. Before I fall into the tank completely, I should post some of my promised

Anti-Choicers Switching up Strategy?: The Washington Post has a piece up about the anti-choice movements next moves now that Obama has been elected. Some movement leaders are abandoning their strategy to overturn Roe, instead focusing on ways to reduce the number of abortions. (Well,

Remembering Our Friends- Supporting the Autoworkers: Ill hopefully have time to post on why allowing the U.S. auto industry to die without help would be a catastrophic mistake, but let me note a more basic political issue for progressives, of helping the UAW save their members

Not an Academic Question: David has with unerring professorial precision raised a question that I think is at the heart of the Bush presidency: to what extent was Cheney reflecting Bushs wishes? The opening scene of Angler, where Cheney colludes with Bush

Some Questions: I think at this point my admiration for Angler, and that of my colleagues, is amply clear. So I wanted in this next post to raise what I see as some unanswered questions about Cheneys White House operations.

Fight Club: My goodness, it looks like a little crockery is starting to get flung around the genteel confines of the cafe. Its about time that this book club turned into a fight club. Bart defends himself from Paul Mirengoffs contention that

Dick Cheney, neocon?: Paul Mirengoff takes me to task for likening Dick Cheney to Artur Sammler. He has a point. Its a bit of stretch to compare them because I made it sound like Sammler was a product, like Cheney, of

Very Much On This Planet: It seems to me that Angler undercuts Jacob Heilbrunns attempt to cast Vice President Cheney as a Dr. Sammler figure on a mission to combat the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s. For example, Bart shows that Cheney

U.S Power not Executive Power: Before I expand on my critique of Angler, I want to respond to Spencer Ackermans post in which he attempts to distill Cheneyism into the view that power for its own sake is an uncomplicated good, and letting

Mr. Cheney's Planet: Newsflash: Word is that Bart Gellmann will soon be emerging from a hidden location to respond to these posts. But before he does, Im going to offer a few thoughts on Dick Cheneys mental world. If youll recall,

Corporate Welfare: A stockbroker named Fred Schwed wrote a book in 1955 called Where Are The Customers Yachts?, which leads me to the tale this morning of the Big Three auto execs flying into Washington on their private jets to plead their

Toward A Grand Unified Theory Of Cheneyism: Barts book is one of the best to be written about the Bush administration, at least until the National Archives allows the scholars of the future full access to the classified record. Actually, chances are Liz Cheneys children

Washington Post Shills for Henry Paulson: The headline of a front page article in the Washington Post tells readers how Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson changed his approach to the economy in response to this storm. That is so sweet of the Post. We are looking at

Hillary for Secretary of State?: Im still trying to figure this one out. Im in the one the one hand, on the other hand mode.But, like Josh, Im surprised hed ask her and surprised she wants it. Whats the deal?

The Brain: The first thought I had on opening Angler was that for most of American history, no one would have dreamed of writing a vice-presidential biography. From 1804, when the 12th Amendment established our current method of choosing VPs,

An Anti-Cheney "Brief": Let me begin by thanking TPMCafe for inviting me to discuss Angler and by thanking Bart Gellman for reaching out to me following the publication of his book. As Bart notes, the other participants in this discussion have

What Can Barack Obama Learn from Ronald Reagan?: One of the more interesting moments of last nights 60 Minutes broadcast of their interview with Barack Obama was the point where he indicated that he was open to ideas from anyone, whether it be FDR or Ronald Reagan, as

Obama -- Not Biden: Greetings Bart. . .and very much look forward to being back tomorrow when Ill weigh in on your must read book for those wishing to understand the core sculpting force of the Bush years.But Jacob Heilbrunn suggested that I wrote

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