As part of the launch of his new campaign web site, George Phillips (candidate for Congress in New York’s 22nd district) has compiled a list of the “Top Ten Hits” of his opponent, Maurice Hinchey. (D-NY) Included are priceless video memories of the congressman calling for a takeover of the oil industry by the federal government, accusations that George Bush intentionally let bin Laden get away, and his failing grades from the American Taxpayer Union and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce....

Just in case any of you were having too pleasant of a week, allow me to come along and just drag you down into a bottomless pit of despair. I’ve taken some time for reflection over these past few days on the subject of change. And no, I don’t mean the campaign slogan of the last presidential campaign. I refer, instead, to what seems to be the presiding theme of the history of our world, both in terms of the global environment over billions of years and the evolution of human society over,...

As we’ve long been anticipating here at TMV, New York Governor David Paterson has finally announced that he won’t be seeking a full term in the Governor’s mansion this fall. After weathering a number of accusations and approval numbers approaching those of Al Capone, the final straw seems to be a revelation that he attempted to pressure a woman accusing one of his aides of assault to drop her case. Albany insiders are already speculating that the Governor will step down, but it...

Due to scheduling issues, Mid Stream Radio will take to the air this morning at 10 am eastern, rather than our usual Saturday slot. We’ll be covering health care via reconciliation, PETA’s latest craziness, a couple of hot primary races and more. Ed Morrissey will be stopping by to brag about his Blogger of the Year award or something too. Join our lively chat room and/or call in with your own comments at 646-595-3963. See you on the radio.

With the presidential, bi-partisan health care summit rapidly approaching, anyone with a drop of political blood in their system has already heard the term “reconciliation” being tossed around as a way to ram the Democrats’ health care bill through Congress. This seems to have led to a lot of confusion and, very likely, deliberate obfuscation among the punditry class. Some Democrats are correctly pointing out that Republicans have availed themselves of the reconciliation process...

Say what you like about CPAC, (and there’s plenty to say from both sides) it is still one of the most high profile conservative events on the Republican dance card every year and it attracts the interest of conservatives across the nation who make up the GOP base. Because of this, folks who butter their bread via the conservative political arena, be they pundits or potential office seekers, make it a point to either show up or demonstrate their support. But 2008 presidential candidate and likely...

Today the annual gathering of prominent conservatives at CPAC, in Washington, DC, will come to a close, and as usual, the media has been “discovering” all sorts of controversy in the event. I did not attend CPAC this year due to scheduling conflicts, but I have been monitoring the activities by nearly continually moderating a live, online chat from the event, receiving nearly continuous tweets, IM’s, text messages and phone calls from the floor, all while watching the main dias...

Now the net neutrality debate is spreading across the pond to Europe, even as it continues to be batted around in Congress. Personally I’ve been wrestling with the net neutrality question for some time now and it’s not an easy one for me to nail down. On the one hand, there’s a certain libertarian, “Fight The Man” side of me that immediately gravitates toward it. We want the little guy to have the same chance to stand up and be heard right along with the power brokers...

Things started to break on Twitter overnight and exploded into full blown dementia today. Ruining a surprise which was supposed to be unveiled tomorrow at CPAC, various sources reported that the conservative web site, Hot Air, was being sold by Michelle Malkin to Salem Communications, which also owns Town Hall. Needless to say, this has shaken the planet far more than global warming, nuclear proliferation, gay marriage and the “V” alien invasion (which is far from fictional, by the way)...

They times they are a’ changing, my friends, and nowhere does that seem to be more true than in the generally deep blue states of New England. I’ve got a full roundup of the latest standings, box-scores and media catnip on the 2010 races up that way over at Pajamas Media today. Let us know if you have any inside dirt on any other elections in that area.

I wrote about this story last month, but the story of Emilio Maya and his sister Analia has quietly continued to move forward with some new twists and turns included. As this new report indicates, it seems that the Mayas have been working with immigration enforcement officials for several years, asked to help gather information on illegal activity in their community in exchange for a series of extensions on work permits and avoiding deportation. But that came to an end last year when Emilio was arrested...

As recently as yesterday, we saw some positive news coming out of D.C. (A rare event of late and more than welcome.) It looked like there might be some bipartisan cooperation on jobs, an issue where the Obama administration is only about one year late coming to the party. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) had hammered out a bill which it seemed both sides might be able to live with. Hurray! But wait… not so fast. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid led colleagues and the White...

While it remains depressingly futile to bang the drum of warning against the dangers posed to the American economy by the new “global economy” there is a piece up at HuffPo this week by Thom Harmann which everyone should read. Globalization Is Killing The Globe: Return to Local Economies The reason I find the subject depressing (which, not coincidentally, is also the reason I get beaten up by my hard core conservative cronies on this) is that there are aspects of it which are glaringly...

Ok, the headline is nothing but snark, but for those of us living in the Empire State it might not seem like such a bad idea at this point. I mean, why mess around with yet another governor who might build up our hopes only to dash them on the rocks of scandal? Let’s just put in somebody who is already on the docket for some federal crimes. If you’re wondering exactly what it is that I’m going on about today, reports are circulating that the New York Times is getting ready to unleash...

Now that the hub-hub over the Superbowl is finally fading away, we have time to turn our attention to the more important, but often sadly overlooked sports which make up the American way of life. These include activities such as eight-ball, shuffleboard, horseshoes and Foosball. What is it that makes sports such as these so superior? They are some of the only competitive athletic activities you can engage in while eating chicken wings and consuming copious quantities of alcohol. But even better than...

I suppose I’ve just become too jaded and cynical after these many years following politics and the various actors who commit the act of politicking. That’s why I was immediately dubious when Sarah Palin began screaming for the head of Rahm Emanuel recently over remarks he made last August which included the use of the phrase “f***ing retarded.” I had to fight off a few pangs of guilt at first. I mean, the woman has a developmentally disabled child. That could be a serious...

While it hasn’t garnered much national attention, what with all of the other sexy stories out there, the President recently proposed going back to the drawing board on education issues and taking another look at No Child Left Behind. We could get into another long, drawn out debate here about unfunded mandates, propping up an entrenched and frequently failing public school system or how much control the teacher’s unions have over federal government policy, but none of that is likely to...

Blame it on Scott Brown. Blame it on poll numbers which all seem to be shifting in one direction. Hell, maybe we should blame it on Rio. Whatever the reason, President Obama took the hopefully productive step of visiting with Republican legislators this week. While there were a few tense, testy and factually challenged moments, the conversation seemed engaging and ideas were floated where some common ground might be found between the President’s agenda and the goals of Republicans in a variety...

Hopes (if that’s the right word) for a civilian trial in the Big Apple for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his Club Gitmo pals is fading faster than sunshine in Seattle. Mayor Bloomberg has gone sour on the plan, the Governor doesn’t want it to happen and congressional support is wavering. But this week a new proposal was put forward. The mayor of Newburgh, New York (population roughly 28,000) which lies roughly 90 minutes upstate from New York City, has offered up his town as a site for the...

Today, after an extended holiday break, Mid Stream Radio returns to the airwaves (or would that be… computer waves?) at 1 pm eastern time. (Follow the link to tune in.) Today, my partner in crime and I will be covering a few different topics which include, in the first half hour, President Obama’s visit to the GOP leadership this week, a new proposal to move the KSM terror trials out to the suburbs in New York. In the second half, TMV’s very own Michael Stickings will be joining...