Nancy Pelosi is a woman on a mission. We may not know exactly what that mission is or where these train tracks end, but she’s on a path. America, having had more than sufficient time to observe her leadership as our first female Speaker of the House, has registered a rather overwhelmingly negative view of her performance to date, but would a little thing like that bother Pelosi? No way, Jose’. Nancy Pelosi on being unpopular: ‘I don’t care’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

It seems that Orly Taitz will be showing up on The Colbert Report this week. She will doubtless have her own certified United States birth certificate on hand. Aside from the delicious entertainment such a meeting promises, we should take this chance to attempt predicting some of the highlights. A lot of this will depend on the rationale of Taitz for accepting the interview. Is she simply unaware of Colbert’s format and nobody has had the heart to tell her that he’s not actually an adjunct...

Scientists are now worried that machines will grow smarter than human beings with upcoming advances in artificial intelligence. Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone. Their concern is that further advances could create...

The Obama administration recently unveiled a proposal which would make changes to international tax law in the United States tax code. The general thrust of this effort would be to reduce tax avoidance by American companies for overseas investments and resources and reduce the incentive for expatriating profits and jobs. An excellent nine point summary of the plan can be found in this International Business Law Services article. Here are a few of the key bullet points: Deny immediate deductions...

When exactly did the Franking Commission become part of the Democratic Party? Somehow, though the tradition of “franking” dates back to the English House of Commons, I don’t think very many people saw this coming. First they shut down the mailing of a graphic with a flow chart about health care on it, and now Rep. John Carter of Texas has been informed that he can’t record a telephone town hall introduction message with the awful, America endangering phrase, “government...

In entry number 752 of my ongoing, 4,000 part series of baseless and despicable attacks on Sarah Palin and her family, we find the soon to be ex-governor’s popularity heading for non viability as she packs her bags to evacuate the Alaska executive mansion. A new Washington Post – ABC poll seems to indicate a definite pattern in changing views towards Mrs. Palin, and they’re all heading in one direction. As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin prepares for the next stage of her political career,...

This was disappointing to be sure. Even after the Democrats ran up the white flag and admitted there would be neither cap and tax nor health care reform prior to the August recess, Roy Blunt (R-Mo) initially informed us that the GOP wouldn’t bother offering their own alternative to reforming health care. (Hat tip to the Plum Line.) “Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from...

Yesterday we discussed the refusal by the Secret Service to provide a list of health care executives who had visited the President at the White House to discuss policy changes. Shortly after President Obama’s presser, as promised, the list was delivered. I would like to retract my previous comments and simply say, well done, Mr. President. That’s what we need to see. By following the link you can see not only the full list, but the dates when they visited. In case you don’t recognize...

Long time readers will recall that I was one of those annoying dogs yapping at the heels of Dick Cheney when he had all those secret meetings with oil industry executives while establishing U.S. energy policy. I differed from the Bush administration’s position that executive privilege shielded the content of those meetings, as well as the industry attendees. Yes, I’m sure the fact that I was opposed to the Iraq war might have factored into my curiosity about the meetings, since we were...

I’m trying very hard to give a good chicken butt who the Surgeon General is, though it may wind up being a futile battle. Yes, the SG is technically in charge of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and has some vaguely defined duties in the event of a health emergency, and they can put warning labels on your smoke and your booze. But they never really seem to do very much. Still the office exists, and as with any good governmental function, it needs to be filled, I suppose. So now...

I had the sad experience today of moderating an online chat during an interview with Nick Gillespie of Reason TV and yet another screed on how awful it is if people should actually ask their government to “Buy American.” (Featured earlier today on Hot Air.) Nick’s primary modus operandi was the usual distraction of saying that some products (gasp!) have a lot of foreign made parts in them, followed up with a generous dose of bashing the Obama administration for having the nerve...

The Washington Post reports a glimmer of hope for 2nd amendment supporters this week, as several moderate Democrats may be lining up with the GOP to back a provision which would ensure the rights of gun owners in states with permissive laws when they travel across state lines. Senate Democrats are scrambling to defeat a Republican-backed provision that would allow gun owners to carry their weapons across state lines, overriding the stricter laws of many jurisdictions and giving preference to states...

As the Rochester, Minnesota Post Bulletin reports, a major manufacturer of ethanol, is hoping for a government waiver which will allow more ethanol to be blended into the gasoline you purchase at the pump. Richard Eichstadt is hoping the federal government will give the green light to blending gasoline with 15 percent ethanol. Eichstadt is the general manager of POET Biorefining in Preston, one of several ethanol plants in Minnesota that could benefit if the percentage of ethanol is gasoline is...

Since it seems to be the week for space news, dramatic photos are emerging of what appears to be the results of a major impact on Jupiter. Scientists have found evidence that another object has bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley of Australia, that a new dark “scar” had suddenly appeared on Jupiter, this morning between 3 and 9 a.m. PDT (6 a.m. and noon EDT) scientists...

Everyone loves a good science fiction film where heroes set forth boldly to battle asteroids, comets, aliens or The Borg. On the anniversary of our first steps upon the moon, it’s easy to fall into that old longing for adventure, heroism and exploration. But should we be pushing for a manned mission to Mars rather than further robotic explorations? Or even a permanent manned base on the moon? That’s the subject of my column this week at Pajamas Media, where I discuss the incredible risks...

Please. Make. It. Stop 2012 Match-ups: Obama, Romney Tied at 45%; Obama 48%, Palin 42% It’s not even nine months since the last election. Really. I can’t take it. I think the only reason those numbers look the way they do is because they failed to offer all of the most likely responses. “If the election were held today, would you…” 1. Vote for Barack Obama 2. Vote for Mitt Romney 3. Vote for Sarah Palin 4. Shoot yourself. Number four came in at roughly 68%. We can’t...

I only noticed this story, for which I can find no suitable adjective, because it was highlighted and responded to by Rick Moran at Right Wing Nuthouse. It’s from Free Republic honcho Jim Robinson, who apparently is unhappy with the performance thus far of President Obama and the Democratic controlled Congress, and seeks a remedy to this untenable situation by marching millions of people to Washington, D.C. and overthrowing the government. We have reached the point where the government’s...

We saw plenty of it both during and shortly after the election, but as with most cycles, it died down pretty quickly afterward. Oh, you missed it? I’m talking about the tempting, low hanging fruit of blaming independents and third party candidates for your fortunes after you get your ass absolutely kicked in and handed to you on a platter in the killing fields of the political arena. But today, watching the fumbling, crumbling remains of the national Republican Party in this nascent era of...

In a slightly more fun, casual story for your Sunday reading, an interesting wager has broken out in the blogosphere. In what he calls a Challenge to Climate Change Skeptics, Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com is offering a rather hefty wager to all takers based on … the weather. It came in response to another blogger who claimed that this summer seemed abnormally cool – referencing the “year without a summer” of 1816 – and an inference that this somehow meant global...

Let’s say you have a baby in a stroller but you find a deal on a used appliance that you just can’t pass up. What to do? Fresh from the camera, another of those scenes that makes you ask, What the Heck? When you see images like this, they are often accompanied by stories about rednecks, trailers, and something south of the Mason-Dixon line. Except this one is an original, taken today, and it’s from New York. (If you decide to use this image, make sure to credit The Moderate Voice.) Ladies...

Patrick Edaburn pointed out last night that the Washington Post (not exactly a bastion of Right wing conservatism) reported on recent CBO findings which indicate that the proposed House health reform plan will actually drive costs up, rather than producing the savings we’ve been promised. The numbers don’t seem to be the issue here, since they appear to be clear to everyone except the plan’s backers in Congress. More amusing was Patrick’s prediction that Democrats and their...

Have to give a tip of the hat to Hot Air for one of these videos, presented for your enjoyment this evening. The other is from my old film production company. While you may fully disagree with my negative opinion of a public option in the ObamaCare health plan, the good folks at the Sam Adams Alliance have come up with a really well done video on health care rationing. Next up, in case you are worried that people are not the only ones burdening the health care system with their poor habits, you’ll...

With a hat tip to regular reader jwest in a previous article’s comments, we find the odd story of former Detroit city councilwoman Monica Conyers in the Detroit Free Press this week. I honestly thought this was a bogus story until I did a quick Google News search and the story seems to have more than sufficient bona fides to comment on. The federal grand jury indictment might say “United States of America vs. Samuel L. Riddle Jr.” But the name of Monica Conyers surfaces everywhere in the...

While the hopes of many were dashed last fall when Elwyn Tinklenberg somehow failed to unseat Congressional Reality TV Star Michele Bachmann, I for one didn’t regret the money I sent his way for the effort. Even though I still get the occasional fundraising letter from Tinklenberg’s campaign, it seems that a new challenger may be stepping forward to fight the good fight. Minnesota could again have one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country in 2010. It could be...

Since I know you all just can’t get enough of me, tomorrow morning at 7:45 am Eastern, I’ll be the guest on America’s Morning News with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan in Washington, DC. The show is syndicated in cities across the country and you can see a list of stations at the link in case you’re in the broadcast area. If not, you can also catch their live feed online here. I believe we’ll be discussing my last PJM column, or the current state of affairs in politics...